Pilar Seurat (born Rita Hernandez; July 25, 1938 – June 2, 2001) was a

Filipino American Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

film and television actress in the 1960s.

Career

Born in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Seurat began her Hollywood career as a dancer in Ken Murray's "Blackouts", the popular postwar variety show at the

El Capitan Theatre El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entert ...

. Though she primarily played Asian characters, Seurat was adept at playing various nationalities; her breakthrough role was as Louisa Escalante, the blind murder victim's sister in

John Frankenheimer John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits are ''Birdman of Alcatraz (film), Birdman of Alcatraz'', ''The Manc ...

's '' The Young Savages'' (1961). She was frequently cast on 1960s television shows whose production staff sought performers for Asian, Hispanic, or Native American roles, including in '' Adventures in Paradise'', '' The Fugitive'', '' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'', '' Seaway'', ''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian ...

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

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'', '' Stoney Burke'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'', '' Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', ''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...

'', '' Hawaii Five-O'', '' The F.B.I.'', '' I Spy'', ''

The Lieutenant ''The Lieutenant'' is an American television program, television series, the first created by Gene Roddenberry. An hour-long drama, it aired on NBC on Saturday evenings in the 1963–1964 television schedule. It was produced by Arena Product ...

'', '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'', '' Rawhide'', and ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

''.

Personal life

In 1959, Seurat married producer Don Devlin. Their son,

Dean Devlin Dean Devlin (born August 27, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor of film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with director Roland Emmerich, and for his work on the The Librarian (franchise), ''Li ...

, would later become a prominent producer and screenwriter. The couple divorced in 1963. In 1970, she married writer Don Cerveris and retired from acting, adopting the name Pilar Cerveris. This marriage ended in 1981. Seurat’s father, Major Al Hernandez, was a Filipino-American who fought against Japanese occupiers in the Philippine jungle during World War II. He later authored a book titled “Bahala na,” recounting his wartime experiences. Pilar had a sister, Angela Hernandez, who lived in the Philippines, and a younger half-sister, Alana Lambros, a television producer in Los Angeles.

Death

Seurat died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on June 2, 2001, at the age of 62, in Los Angeles. She is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. The 2002 comedy-horror film ''

Eight Legged Freaks ''Eight Legged Freaks'' (originally titled ''Arac Attack'', under which it was released in some parts of Europe and other countries around the world) is a 2002 monster comedy horror film directed by Ellory Elkayem and starring David Arquette, ...

'', produced by her son, was dedicated to her memory.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seurat, Pilar 1938 births 2001 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in California Filipino film actresses Filipino television actresses Actresses from Manila Actresses from Los Angeles 20th-century American women