June Dayton (born Mary June Wetzel; August 24, 1923 – June 13, 1994) was an American television actress who appeared in a variety of shows from the 1950s into the 1980s.
Early life
Dayton was born in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...
. She used her hometown of Dayton to create a professional name.
Her introduction to acting came via a dramatic arts course in college.
[ ]
Stage
Dayton's
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
credits include ''The Ivy Green'' (1949), ''Tenting Tonight'' (1947) and ''Lovely Me'' (1946).
She worked in summer
stock theater for several years, and in 1951, she toured in Australia with a production of ''
The Moon Is Blue''.
[
]
Television
Dayton played Mary Aldrich in ''The Aldrich Family
''The Aldrich Family'', a popular radio teenage situation comedy (July 2, 1939 – April 19, 1953), was also presented in films, television and comic books. In the radio series' opening exchange, awkward teen Henry's mother called, "Hen-''reeeee ...
'',The Brighter Day
''The Brighter Day'' is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from January 4, 1954, to September 28, 1962. Originally created for NBC Radio by Irna Phillips in 1948, the radio and television versions ran simultaneously from 1954&nda ...
'', Jennifer in ''A Date with Life'', Grace Baden in ''Lucas Tanner
''Lucas Tanner'' is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1974–75 season. The title character, played by David Hartman, was a former baseball player and sportswriter who becomes an English teacher at the fictional Harry S ...
'', and Lucy Spaulding in '' Paradise Bay''.
Dayton appeared as a guest star in episodes of '' Studio One'', ''Robert Montgomery Presents
''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...
'', '' Kraft Theatre'', ''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 chara ...
'' (“Laughing Gas” - 1958 - S3E29), '' The Investigators'', '' The Fugitive'', ''The F.B.I.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
'', ''Barnaby Jones
''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was o ...
'', and '' Quincy, M.E.''. She made five 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 ...
'', twice as the defendant: in 1957 she played Myrna Davenport in "The Case of the Runaway Corpse", and in 1958, she played Sue Hardisty in "The Case of the Buried Clock". Dayton played Catherine Driscoll in the episode "The Party Line" on CBS's '' Dennis the Menace''. She had a memorable role as Helen Turner in ''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 ...
'' episode " A Penny for Your Thoughts", which featured Dick York
Richard Allen York (September 4, 1928 – February 20, 1992) was an American radio, stage, film, and television actor. He was the first actor to play Darrin Stephens on the ABC fantasy sitcom ''Bewitched''. He played teacher Bertram Cates in th ...
. She appeared in an episode of ''Armstrong Circle Theatre
''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The U.S. Steel Hour''. It fi ...
'' titled "Divorcees Anonymous Divorcees Anonymous was an organization in the United States which received notable press attention in the 1950s. The group's goal was to prevent divorce, primarily by teaching women to win back or change their husbands, reflecting the societal vie ...
".[McMahon, Mike (8 January 1957)]
Entertainment Highlights
''Plattsburgh Press-Republican''
In 1965, Dayton was cast as Virginia Farragut in "The Battle of San Francisco Bay" in the syndicated anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...
, ''Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...
''.One Man's Way
''One Man's Way'' is a 1963 American drama film directed by Denis Sanders and written by John W. Bloch and Eleanore Griffin. The film stars Don Murray as the preacher and author Norman Vincent Peale. The cast also includes Diana Hyland, William ...
'' (1963), ''Tora! Tora! Tora!
''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' ( ja, トラ・トラ・トラ！) is a 1970 epic war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda and Kinji ...
'' (1970), '' Something for Joey'' (1977), ''Deadman's Curve
''Deadman's Curve'' is a 1978 American made-for-television biographical film based on the musical careers of Jan Berry and Dean Torrence. The film was developed from a 1974 article published in ''Rolling Stone'' by Paul Morantz, who also helpe ...
'' (1978) and '' The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2'' (1978). Dayton was in an episode of ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' about an ex army buddy who Rob thought is a jewel thief.
Personal life
Dayton married actor Dean Harens
Dean Arthur Harens (June 30, 1920 – May 20, 1996) was an American actor. He appeared in movies, plays and many TV programs over four decades.
Early years
Born in South Bend, Indiana in 1920, Harens studied at the Goodman Theatre in ...
in 1947. The marriage lasted until her death in 1994.
Death
Dayton died of cancer in Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
, California. She was 70.[
]
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dayton, June
1923 births
1994 deaths
Actresses from Ohio
20th-century American actresses
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses