Dee Hartford (born Donna Higgins; April 21, 1928 - October 21, 2018) was an American television actress. She was married to Howard Hawks from 1953 to 1959. Her sister was actress

Eden Hartford Eden Hartford (born Edna Marie Higgins; April 10, 1930 – December 15, 1983) was an American film actress from 1957 to 1962. She is best known as the third wife of comedian Groucho Marx from 1954 until their divorce in 1969. She was born to ...

; her former

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling, or the sibling of one's spouse, or the person who is married to the sibling of one's spouse.Cambridge Dictionaries Online.Family: non-blood relations. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referre ...

was comedian Groucho Marx.

Early years

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Hartford is the daughter of Edgar Higgins and Beatrice Higgins (née Thomas). She attended East High School in Salt Lake City and LDS Business College before becoming a model.

Career

Hartford initially achieved fame in the late 1940s as a model for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. Her screen debut was in '' A Girl in Every Port'' (1952), directed by

Chester Erskine Chester Erskine (November 29, 1905 – April 7, 1986) was an American director, producer, and writer. Biography Chester Erskine was born in Hudson, New York and studied for a short time at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first dir ...

. In 1964-65, she made three guest 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 c ...

''; as Leslie Ross in "The Case of the Accosted Accountant," as Lois Gray in "The Case of the Missing Button", and she played Rhonda Coleridge in "The Case of the Baffling Bug". In 1964, she also appeared in "

The Bewitchin' Pool "The Bewitchin' Pool" is the 156th and last episode of the first incarnation of the American anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone''. (" Come Wander with Me", however, was the final episode to be filmed.) It originally aired on June 19, ...

", (the last original episode of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' to be broadcast, but not the last one to be filmed). Hartford also guest-starred in '' Gunsmoke'', '' Burke's Law'', '' The Outer Limits'', ''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''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 re ...

'', ''

The Cara Williams Show ''The Cara Williams Show'' is an American situation comedy starring Cara Williams which centers on a married couple who try to conceal their marriage from their employer. Original episodes aired from September 23, 1964, until April 21, 1965 on CBS ...

'', '' Batman'' (two episodes), ''

Time Tunnel ''The Time Tunnel'' is an American color science fiction TV series written around a theme of time travel adventure starring James Darren and Robert Colbert. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science-fiction television series and ...

'', ''

Land of the Giants ''Land of the Giants'' is a one-hour American science fiction television series that aired on ABC for two seasons, beginning on September 22, 1968 and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. ''Land of the Gi ...

'' and ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'' (three episodes). She appeared as the android Verda in the 1966 ''Lost in Space'' episode "The Android Machine" and in a sequel, "Revolt of the Androids". She also appeared in a third episode of ''Lost in Space'' as Nancy Pi Squared in the “Space Beauty” episode about an intergalactic beauty pageant.

Personal life

Hartford married Howard Hawks on February 20, 1953, at his home in Hollywood, California. They divorced in 1959. In 1972, she married Stuart Cramer III. She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes referred to as the Mormons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartford, Dee 1928 births 2018 deaths American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Salt Lake City 20th-century American actresses Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from California 21st-century American women