Valora Noland (born Valor Baum; December 8, 1941 – March 27, 2022) was an American actress, notable for her 1960s movie and television work, and, in her later years, photographer and author.

Biography

Noland was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, as Valor Baum, on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. Her mother named her "Valor", inspired by a speech by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. Her family moved from Seattle to the countryside near

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

in 1943. Sometime around 1959 she decided to become an actress. After graduating from Santa Cruz High School, she was accepted by the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

and, while studying there for a year and a half, settled on "Valora Noland" for her stage name and moved to Hollywood. Valora's first job was an improvised scene with three other actors for the film ''

Five Finger Exercise ''Five Finger Exercise'' is a 1962 American drama film made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Daniel Mann and produced by Frederick Brisson from a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, based on the play by Peter Shaffer. The film ...

'', later cut before distribution. Still, it enabled her to buy her

SAG SAG, SAg, or sag may refer to: Land formations * Sag (geology), or ''trough'', a depressed, persistent, low area * Sag pond, a body of water collected in the lowest parts of a depression People * Ivan Sag (1949–2013), American linguist ...

card, and somewhat larger parts in TV shows followed. She had a small role in a 1961 episode of the TV western ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show wa ...

'' entitled "High Country". She played Vinnie in ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary an ...

'' episode entitled "Everywhere That Mary Goes." Her first movie role was in ''

Beach Party ''Beach Party'' is a 1963 American film and the first of seven beach party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience.Smith, Gary A. Smith (2009) ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland p.21 ...

'' (1963), and the next year, 1964, she played a part in an independent production, ''Summer Children'', made on Catalina Island. It was never officially released. This was followed by ''

Muscle Beach Party ''Muscle Beach Party'' is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series. ...

'' and after that a film titled '' Sex and the College Girl'', which took place on

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. A third "island" film came in 1965 when she was chosen to play the unfaithful wife in '' The Passionate Strangers,'' a Philippine production. Back in Hollywood, Valora joined the cast of ''

The War Wagon ''The War Wagon'' is a 1967 American Western (genre), Western heist film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. Released by Universal Pictures, it was produced by Marvin John Schwartz, Marvin Schwartz and adapted by ...

'' for a minimal role and appeared in guest roles in television shows including ''

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 ...

'', '' The Virginian'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', and ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private inves ...

'' as Cindy Gier in "Live Blueberries". Season 1 episode 7. Noland was also active as a photographer and, as Valora Tree, authored the books ''"Horse Stories"'', and ''Water Lily Ponds'', a volume of poetry. Noland died on March 27, 2022, at the age of 80 in

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, in California with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum and apple-growing region. Today, wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop, a ...

Characters

*Clare in ''The Rifleman'' episode, "The High Country" (1961) *Vinnie in ''The Donna Reed Show'' episode, "Everywhere That Mary Goes" (1963) *Vickie in ''Sex and the College Girl'' (1964) *Duchess Vicky in ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E'' episode, "The Round Table Affair" (1966) *Amanda Harley in ''The Virginian'' episode, "Girl on the Pinto" (1967) *Daras in ''Star Trek'' episode, " Patterns of Force" (1968)

Filmography

*''

'' (1963) - Rhonda *''

'' (1964) - Animal *'' Sex and the College Girl'' (1964) - Vickie *'' Summer Children'' (1965) - Diana *'' The Passionate Strangers'' (1966) - Margaret Courtney *''

'' (1967) - Kate

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noland, Valora 1941 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Seattle Photographers from Washington (state)