Leigh Snowden (June 23, 1929 – May 16, 1982) was an American actress in motion pictures and television.
Early life
Snowden was born Martha Lee Estes in
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
When her father died when she was three, Estes and her mother moved to
Covington Covington may refer to:
People
* Covington (surname)
Places United Kingdom
* Covington, Cambridgeshire
* Covington, South Lanarkshire
United States
* Covington, Georgia
* Covington, Indiana
* Covington, Kentucky, the largest American cit ...
, Tennessee. When she was 16, Estes married her classmate, James Snowden, and moved with him to San Francisco, California, when he joined the military. After the birth of two children, a girl and boy, Leigh and James Snowden got an uncontested divorce with Leigh gaining custody of the children.
Early career
After her divorce, Snowden moved to Los Angeles, California, and worked in modeling and in small parts on television. She got her big break into show business on a
Jack Benny Christmas show that was televised from the San Diego Naval Base. When Snowden walked across the stage in front of an audience of 10,000 sailors, the sailors cheered and whistled so enthusiastically that 11 Hollywood studios contacted her the next day. The event led to the newspaper headline "Sailors' Whistles Blow Blonde into Film Studio".
Snowden chose
Universal Pictures because of the training provided by its film school; she began voice and acting classes with
Mara Corday,
Pat Crowley,
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
,
James Garner, and
John Saxon.
Snowden appeared in the films ''
All That Heaven Allows'', ''
The Square Jungle'', ''
The Creature Walks Among Us'', ''
Outside the Law'', ''I've Lived Before'', and ''
Hot Rod Rumble
''Hot Rod Rumble'' is a US, low budget, black-and-white 1957 teen-oriented drag racing crime drama produced by Norman T. Herman and directed by Leslie H. Martinson. It stars Leigh Snowden and Richard Hartunian. The film tells the story of a cla ...
'' in addition to television appearances. Her last performance in movies was as Evie in ''
The Comancheros'' (1961). Her last TV roles came in episodes of ''
This Is Alice'' (1958) and ''
Tightrope'' (1960).
In 1956, Snowden met accordionist
Dick Contino at a party given by actor
Tony Curtis. In September, after a three-month acquaintance, Snowden and Contino were married.
Contino's family, who were Catholic, originally objected to the marriage because Snowden was divorced, but they relented and attended the civil ceremony in a Beverly Hills hotel. Snowden and Contino had three children together, in addition to her two children from her first marriage. Snowden left acting after her marriage and the birth of their first child. She sometimes appeared with him, as a singer, in his nightclub acts.
Return to acting
In 1971, Snowden appeared in the role of Maggie in the
Fresno Community Theater production of ''
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...
'' by
Tennessee Williams. She professed a love of the stage, though she claimed to be nervous about having to appear in her slip during most of the play's second act.
Death
Snowden died of cancer at age 52 on May 16, 1982, in
North Hollywood, California.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snowden, Leigh
1929 births
1982 deaths
American stage actresses
American television actresses
People from Covington, Tennessee
Actresses from Tennessee
Deaths from cancer in California
American film actresses
20th-century American actresses