Doris Packer (May 30, 1904 – March 31, 1979) was an American actress, possibly best known for her recurring role as Mrs. Cornelia Rayburn, Theodore Cleaver's elementary school principal in the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, '' Leave It to Beaver''. Packer portrayed the mother of millionaire playboy Chatsworth Osborne, Jr. on CBS's '' The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis''. Earlier, she played Clarice Armitage, mother of Milton Armitage, whose character on the series Osborne replaced. In most of her screen roles, she was known for her aristocratic and intellectual bearing and precise use of the English language.

Background

Packer was born in Menominee, Michigan. Her family moved to southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

when she was quite young. She became interested in acting while in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. After attending the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

, she moved to

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to study under noted drama teacher Evelyn Thomas. Packer also appeared in Broadway shows. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Packer enlisted in the U.S. Army Women's Army Corps (WACs), joining in 1943 as a

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

and eventually reaching the rank of Technical Sergeant. Her discharge records were likely lost in the 1973 fire at the Military Personnel Records Center. In 1954, she appeared as Florence on an episode ("Sixteen Vertical") of Rod Cameron's

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

series, ''

City Detective ''City Detective'' is a half-hour syndicated crime drama starring Rod Cameron as Bart Grant, a tough 1950s New York City police lieutenant. The show's title was a bit of a misnomer, as Grant fought crime "from Mexico to the Mojave Desert to New ...

''. In 1955–1956, Packer appeared three times as a nurse in the NBC sitcom '' It's a Great Life'', featuring

Frances Bavier Frances Elizabeth Bavier (December 14, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American stage and television actress. Originally from New York theatre, she worked in film and television from the 1950s until the 1970s. She is best known for her role o ...

. In 1958, she guest-starred on Rod Cameron's subsequent syndicated series, ''

State Trooper State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction ...

'', in "The Last Stage Robbery", an episode with a surprise ending. Packer played wealthy society matrons on ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in ...

'' and ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

'' and as Mrs. Wiley on ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

''. She had a recurring role as Clara Mason in the 1960-61 sitcom ''

Happy Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sinc ...

''. Packer played Mrs. McGillicuddy in the 1961 episode "Gladys' Political Campaign" on the CBS sitcom, ''

Pete and Gladys ''Pete and Gladys'' is an American sitcom television series starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams that aired on CBS on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time for two seasons, beginning on September 19, 1960. The last episode was b ...

''. She appeared in an episode of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' entitled " I Sing the Body Electric". She played the wealthy Mrs Huntingdon in a 1963 episode "I'm No Henry Walden!" on CBS's ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Product ...

''. She appeared on three episodes of '' The Beverly Hillbillies'' as wealthy matron Mrs. Fenwick. She made a guest appearance on '' Perry Mason'' in 1962 as Mrs. Campion in "The Case of the Polka Dot Pony". During the first season of '' Petticoat Junction'' in 1964, Packer appeared in the thirtieth episode, titled "Kate and the Dowager". She portrayed a hotel guest whom Kate Bradley was trying to impress. Packer appeared on NBC's

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

, '' The Barbara Stanwyck Show''. In 1964–1965, Packer appeared on the short-lived CBS sitcom, '' Many Happy Returns'', starring John McGiver and set in the complaint division of a fictitious

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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with the unlikely name of Crockmyer's. In 1965 she appeared in the episode, 'We Love You, Miss Pringle' in '' My Favorite Martian'': Season 2, Episode 26. In 1973, she guest-starred in an episode of the situation comedy '' A Touch of Grace''.

Family

Packer was married to stage director Rowland G. Edwards for twenty-five years — from September 29, 1928 until his death on August 10, 1953. The couple had no children.

Death

She died, aged 74, in 1979 in

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

, California, of natural causes. Her grave marker notes her military service.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Packer, Doris 1904 births 1979 deaths Actresses from Greater Los Angeles Actresses from Michigan People from Menominee, Michigan Military personnel from Michigan American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Women's Army Corps soldiers University of California, Los Angeles alumni 20th-century American actresses