Rebecca Welles (born Reba Tassell; February 5, 1928 – February 13, 2017) was an American television and film actress.

Early years

Welles was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Lena (née Schiller and Samuel Tassell. Her only sibling was fashion designer

Gustave Tassell Gustave Tassell (February 4, 1926 – June 9, 2014) was an American fashion designer and Coty Award winner who became a fashion star in the early 1960s with starkly refined clothes that appealed to women like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Greer Ga ...

. In 1944, she was the recipient of a $500 tuition award from the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the W ...

to the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

. She spent two years at the academy and to act in stock theater in Philadelphia. As a youngster, she was a member of the Bessie V. Hicks Players in Philadelphia.

Career

Welles' first TV appearance was in the episode "A Chill on the Wind" on '' Studio One'' in 1951, where she was credited under her birth name, but subsequently worked under the surname Welles. (A newspaper source in February 1951 says of Welles, "Last November she had a walk-on in the ''Studio One'' drama of ''A Letter to Cairo''.) Active from 1951 to 1964, Welles made appearances on about 50 TV shows, including ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television Private investigator#PIs in fiction, private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith (actor), Roger Smith, Richard Long (actor), Richard Long (fr ...

'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' (S2E33 “Moon”), '' Boots and Saddles'', ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

'', ''

Alcoa Theatre ''Alcoa Theatre'' is a half-hour American anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on Monday nights from September 30, 1957 to May 23, 1960. The program also aired under the title ''Turn of Fate''. ''Alcoa Theatre'' was syndicated together ...

'', and four episodes of ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

''. She made five appearances on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

'', including three roles as defendants: in 1959 she played Carol Delaney in "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop", and Carol Taylor in "The Case of the Frantic Flyer." She played Rita Norge in the 1957 episode "The Case of the Runaway Corpse." In her other two appearances, she played the role of murderer Edith Bristol in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Waylaid Wolf" and murderer Leslie Eden in the 1964 episode "The Case of the Illicit Illusion." In addition, Welles appeared in four feature films, including ''

Good Morning, Miss Dove ''Good Morning, Miss Dove'' is a 1955 DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope film that tells the sentimental story of a beloved schoolteacher who reflects back on her life and former students when she is hospitalized. It stars Jennifer Jones, Robert Stack, ...

'' (1955) and ''

Desire Under the Elms ''Desire Under the Elms'' is a 1924 play written by Eugene O'Neill. Like ''Mourning Becomes Electra'', ''Desire Under the Elms'' signifies an attempt by O'Neill to adapt plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy to a rural New England setting. ...

'' (1958). She made her last onscreen appearance in a 1964 episode of ''

Arrest and Trial ''Arrest and Trial'' is a 90-minute American Crime film, crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-64 United States network television schedule, 1963-1964 season on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 pm North ...

''. In a reversal of sorts, Welles was the inspiration for an episode of ''

Big Town ''Big Town'' is a popular long-running radio drama featuring a corruption-fighting newspaper editor initially played from 1937 to 1942 by Edward G. Robinson in his first radio role, with echoes of the conscience-stricken tabloid editor he had ...

'' on CBS. A newspaper article in ''The Bridgeport Telegram'' on February 21, 1951, reported "Susan Douglas stars as ''Miss Cinderella'' ... which was inspired by the experience of Reba Tassell, the TV Cinderella girl who made such a hit on ''Studio One'' last month."

Personal life

Welles married Barton Goldberg in 1946. They had two daughters together, Elizabeth and actress

Gwen Welles Gwen Welles (born Gwen Goldberg, March 4, 1951 – October 13, 1993) was an American actress. Early years Gwen Welles was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as Gwen Goldberg. She was the daughter of clothing designer Rebecca Welles and Barton G ...

, before they divorced in 1961. Welles married television director

Don Weis Don Weis (May 13, 1922 – July 26, 2000) was an American film and television director. Biography Weis was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Emma (née Wiener; 1889–1971) and Meyer Weis (1886-1942). He graduated from the University of Southern ...

on August 25, 1961, in Los Angeles.California, Marriage Index 1960-1985

Death

Welles died on February 13, 2017, in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

, eight days after her 89th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Welles, Rebecca 1928 births American film actresses American television actresses 2017 deaths Actresses from Philadelphia People from Chattanooga, Tennessee 21st-century American women Western (genre) television actors