Terry Lynn Huntingdon (born May 8, 1940) is an American actress who began working in film and television roles after winning the title of Miss USA 1959.

Early years

Huntingdon comes from a family of five-generation Californians. She attended

Mt. Shasta High School Mt. Shasta High School is a public high school located in Mount Shasta, California in southern Siskiyou County. It is one of the five members of the Siskiyou Union High School District. Mt. Shasta High school's mascot is a bear and the rivaling ...

, where she was a majorette and went from there to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where she majored in dance.

Beauty contests

One of Huntingdon's first beauty pageant titles was Miss Mount Shasta in 1954–1955. After winning the

Miss California USA Miss California USA is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The pageant is directed by Crown Diva Productions. California's most ...

crown, Huntingdon went on to become California's first representative to achieve the title of Miss USA. She was the first Miss USA to win the title at a pageant held in her home state. She was second runner-up in the

Miss Universe 1959 Miss Universe 1959, the 8th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 24 July 1959 at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States. 34 contestants competed and in the end Akiko Kojima of Japan won the competition, becoming the ...

pageant.

Acting

Huntingdon made occasional television and film appearances. In her first television role in 1959 she appeared 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 ...

'' as defendant Kitty Wynne in "The Case of the Bartered Bikini." She was a contestant on the television quiz show ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...

'', hosted by

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

, in 1960. She also appeared as Hecuba in

the Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

feature film ''

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules ''The Three Stooges Meet Hercules'' is a 1962 American comedy fantasy film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the third feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard ...

''.

Paternity suit

Huntingdon was involved in a paternity suit in 1963 when attorney Arthur Crowley denied being the father of her daughter, who was then a year old. In 1965, California's 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed the Superior Court's verdict, which went in Crowley's favor, and ordered a new trial. In 1966, the California Supreme Court reversed the verdict in which Crowley was absolved, and it ordered a new trial.

Other activities

After leaving acting, Huntingdon worked in a variety of jobs including being a production manager for a women's clothing business, modeling, working in the office of U.S. Senator

Alan Cranston Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as a President of the World Federalist Association from 1949 to 1 ...

, and being a photographer for the

Office of Economic Opportunity The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 as an i ...

in the early 1970s. In 1980, she was appointed to the board of Women's National Bank.

Personal life

On April 19, 1975, Huntingdon married U.S. Senator

Joseph Tydings Joseph Davies Tydings (né Cheesborough; May 4, 1928 – October 8, 2018) was an American lawyer and politician. He was most notable for his service as a Democratic member of the United States Senate representing Maryland from 1965 to 1971. Bo ...

of Maryland, with whom she had a daughter, actress

Alexandra Tydings Alexandra Huntingdon Tydings is an American actress, director, writer, producer, and activist, best known for her role as Greek goddess Aphrodite on the television series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and its spin-off, '' Xena: Warrior ...

Filmography

Published works

*"California Girl: Miss USA 1959"

References

External links

Miss USA official websiteMiss California official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huntingdon, Terry 1940 births Living people Miss Universe 1959 contestants Miss USA 1950s delegates Miss USA winners People from Mount Shasta, California