Patricia McPherson is a former American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a 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 term is (), li ...

and activist best known for her role in the 1980s TV series ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series '' Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...

'' as Bonnie Barstow.

Early life

McPherson was born in

Oak Harbor, Washington Oak Harbor is a city located on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, United States. The population was 22,075 at the 2010 census. Oak Harbor was incorporated on May 14, 1915. History Oak Harbor - otherwise known as Kla-tole-tsche in t ...

. She is the daughter of a naval officer. She graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in advertising.

Career

McPherson has made guest appearances in a variety of television shows including ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'', '' Starman'', ''

Murder She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series ...

'', ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both p ...

'', '' Matlock'', and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. McPherson retired from acting in 1991, although she made a cameo appearance as a Regent in the Syfy television series '' Warehouse 13'' in 2009. Aside from that, she has stated in recent interviews that she has no plans to return to acting; however, she has appeared at a few ''Knight Rider'' events over the years.

''Knight Rider''

McPherson is best remembered for her role in the 1980s TV series ''

'' as Bonnie Barstow, KITT's mechanic. She appeared in season one and was absent from season two. She returned in the season three opener and remained until the end of the series in 1986. ''Knight Rider'' has appeared in syndication in over 200 countries throughout the world, most notably in Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Personal life

McPherson is married to James Garrett. After McPherson retired from acting in the early 1990s, she decided to pursue conserving wildlife and the forests; her efforts have included helping in attempts to preserve the Ballona Wetlands in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

and working with the Ballona Wetlands Trust to sue the

Playa Vista Playa Vista is a neighborhood in the Westside area of Los Angeles, California. The area was the headquarters of Hughes Aircraft Company from 1941 to 1985 and the site of the construction of the Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" aircraft. The ...

community for failure to take action concerning

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ea ...

Filmography

* ''

'' (1982–83, 1984–86) (TV) as Bonnie Barstow (62 episodes) * ''

'' (1987) (TV) as Michelle 'Mike' Forester (1 episode) * '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1988) (TV) as Ariel (1 episode) * ''

'' (1988) (TV) as Victoria Aynders (1 episode) * '' Murder, She Wrote'' "A Body to Die For" (1990) (TV) as Betty (1 episode) * '' Matlock'' "The Witness Killings" (1991) (TV) as Karen Sylvester (2 episodes) * '' Warehouse 13'' (2009) (TV) as Regent (1 episode)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McPherson, Patricia Living people Actresses from Washington (state) American film actresses American television actresses People from Oak Harbor, Washington American women environmentalists 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)