Narda Onyx (20 December 1931 – 18 March 1991) was an Estonian-born naturalized American

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. At the age of eleven, Onyx escaped along with her family (her grandparents, mother, and two-year-old brother) through

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

lines and deceived her would-be

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

captors near the end of

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 ...

. The Onyx family made their way to the American occupation forces at

Bonn, Germany The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, and sought refuge with the Swedish

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. She and her mother worked as waitresses for the American forces. Later the family moved to Sweden, where Narda resumed her acting career. She travelled to England, where she worked for the Old Vic Company. She moved to Canada in 1951, received a US work permit in 1954, and then received a US residency permit in 1956. She appeared in dozens of supporting roles on television and in motion pictures during the 1950s and 1960s. Shows in which she appeared include ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from ...

'', '' Have Gun - Will Travel'', and ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...

'' In addition, she played

Gretl Braun Margarete Berta "Gretl" Braun (; 31 August 1915 – 10 October 1987) was one of the two sisters of Eva Braun. She was a member of the inner social circle of Adolf Hitler at the Berghof. Gretl became the sister-in-law of Hitler following his mar ...

in ''

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

'' (1962) and Maria Frankenstein in ''

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter ''Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter'' is a low-budget Western horror film released in 1966, in which a fictionalized version of the real-life western outlaw Jesse James encounters the fictional ''grand''daughter (the film's title notw ...

'' (1966). In 1964, she authored a biography of

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

entitled ''Water, World & Weissmuller''.

Personal life

On 20 October 1961, she became an American citizen. While in Canada she met and married George Virand, also an Estonian refuge, and they moved to Hollywood.

References

External links

* * 1934 births 1991 deaths American film actresses American television actresses Estonian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American actresses {{US-tv-actor-1930s-stub