Ellen Weston (born Ellen Weinstein) is an American actress, producer, and writer.

Early years

Born in New York City, Weston is the daughter of educators; her mother was a teacher, and her father was a superintendent of schools. She attended

Performing Arts High School The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was m ...

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, and

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

. She completed work on her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree two years after she dropped out to act full-time.

Career

Weston's

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

credits include '' Toys in the Attic'', ''

A Far Country ''A Far Country'' is a play by Henry Denker. The work premiered on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre on April 4, 1961, where it closed on November 25, 1961, after 271 performances. Produced by Roger L. Stevens and Joel Schenker, the production ...

'', and '' Mary, Mary''. Her first notable television role was a stint as Robin Fletcher on ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'' from 1963 to 1964, followed by another daytime role as Karen Gregory on '' Another World''. From 1978 to 1980, she appeared as Derek's ex-wife on ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

''. She portrayed Betty Harrelson in ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

'' and Dr. Steele in ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...

''. She also appeared in ''

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir ''The Ghost and Mrs. Muir'' is a 1947 American romantic fantasy film starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. It was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and is based on a 1945 novel written by Josephine Leslie under the pseudonym of R.A. Dick. I ...

'', ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'', ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'', ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

'', '' Hawkins'', and ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psy ...

'' and in television movies such as ''

Letters from Three Lovers ''Letters from Three Lovers'' is a 1973 made-for-television drama film directed by John Erman. An ''ABC Movie of the Week'' and a sequel to '' The Letters'' (1973), the film is co-produced by Aaron Spelling, written by Ann Marcus and stars Martin ...

'' (1973), ''

Miracle on 34th Street ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (initially released as ''The Big Heart'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1947 American List of Christmas films, Christmas comedy-drama film released by 20th Century Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on ...

'' (1973), ''

The Questor Tapes ''The Questor Tapes'' is a 1974 American made-for-television sci-fi drama film about an android (portrayed by Robert Foxworth) with incomplete memory tapes who is searching for his creator and his purpose. Conceived by Gene Roddenberry, who is ...

'' (1974), and ''

Revenge of the Stepford Wives ''Revenge of the Stepford Wives'' is a 1980 American made-for-television science-fiction thriller film inspired by the Ira Levin novel '' The Stepford Wives''. It was directed by Robert Fuest with a screenplay by David Wiltse and starring Sharon ...

'' (1980). The only feature film in which Weston has appeared was ''Dangerous Relations''. In 1972, Weston co-wrote seven songs with singer

Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop music, pop hit "It's My Party (Lesley Gore song), I ...

for Gore's MoWest debut album '' Someplace Else Now''. Her first television writing job was as a staff writer for the CBS soap opera ''

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

''. She was hired to write made-for-TV movies, including ''Lies Before Kisses'', ''See Jane Run'', ''The Disappearance of Vonnie'', and ''As The Beat Goes On: The

Sonny and Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...

Story''. She was also a producer on several of these. In 2003,

John Conboy John Conboy (March 1934 – January 2018) was an American soap opera producer until his death in January 2018. Career In 1982, Conboy left ''The Young and the Restless'' and became executive producer of the newly created CBS soap opera ''Capitol'' ...

, executive producer of ''

'', hired Weston — who had worked for him on ''

'' and ''

'' — as the head writer. Weston's central story was the Maryanne Carruthers mystery. The story brought actress Carrie Nye, a friend of Weston, back to the show. The story was criticized for its resemblance to a similar plot that ''Guiding Light'' had broadcast 20 years earlier and for the substantial revisions to history that the story made for five main characters. Weston was replaced with new head writer

David Kreizman David Kreizman (born 1974) is an American writer known for his work on television soap operas. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia. He was signed as a head writer at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from March 21, 2013 to August 15, ...

in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Ellen Living people American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American soap opera writers Jewish American writers Actresses from New York City Writers from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state) American women television writers Women soap opera writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)