Amanda Blake

Amanda Blake
in Stars in My Crown (1950)
Born	Beverly Louise Neill (1929-02-20)February 20, 1929 Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Died	Sacramento, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1950–1989
Spouse(s)	Don Whitman (m. 1954–55) Jason Day (m. 1964–67) Frank Gilbert (m. 1967–82) Mark Spaeth (m. 1984–85)

Amanda Blake (February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the television western Gunsmoke. Along with her third husband Frank Gilbert, she ran one of the first successful programs for breeding cheetahs in captivity.

Early life and career

Amanda Blake was born Beverly Louise Neill in Buffalo, New York, the only child of Jesse and Louise (née Puckett) Neill. Her father was a banker, and she was a telephone operator before taking up acting. Catherine ″Kate" Moore Barry (1752–1823), one of her ancestors, was a heroine of the American Revolutionary War. She warned local patriots of Banastre Tarleton's approach, giving them time to group and prepare for the Battle of Cowpens (January 17, 1781), a major American victory that helped pave the way for the British defeat at Yorktown. Blake placed a cameo-sized portrait of Barry owned by her family in the Spartanburg, South Carolina, local history museum, where it remains on display.

As Miss Kitty in Gunsmoke, 1966

Nicknamed "the Young Greer Garson", she became best known for her 19-year stint as the saloon-keeper Miss Kitty on the television series Gunsmoke from 1955 to 1974.

In 1968, Blake was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. She was the third performer inducted, after Tom Mix and Gary Cooper, selected in 1958 and 1966, respectively.

Due to her continuing role on television, Blake rarely had time for films. She appeared in a TV comedy routine with Red Skelton and was a panelist on the long-running Hollywood Squares and Match Game 74, as well as making comedy appearances on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast. In 1957, she guest-starred as Betty Lavon-Coate in the episode titled "Coate of Many Colors" on Rod Cameron's crime drama, State Trooper. After the Gunsmoke reunion film, she made two feature-film appearances: in The Boost, a drug-addiction drama starring James Woods and Sean Young, and B.O.R.N (both 1988).

Animal welfare

After Gunsmoke, Blake went into semiretirement at her home in Phoenix, taking on only a few film and TV projects. She said she wanted to devote more time to her animals. She had been known for bringing her pet lion Kemo onto the Gunsmoke set. He lived in an animal compound at her home where her husband Frank Gilbert and she also ran an experimental breeding program for cheetahs. They were some of the first to breed cheetahs successfully in captivity, and raised seven generations of cheetahs.

Blake joined with others to form the Arizona Animal Welfare League in 1971, today the oldest and largest "no-kill" animal shelter in the state. In 1985, she helped finance the start-up of the Performing Animal Welfare Society and devoted a great deal of time and money in support of its efforts, including travels to Africa. Blake reportedly was a one-time board member of the Humane Society of the United States. In 1997, the Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge opened at Rancho Seco Park in Herald, California. The refuge provides sanctuary for free-ranging African hoofed wildlife, most of which were originally destined for exotic animal auctions or hunting ranches.

Declining health and death

Blake had been a heavy cigarette smoker and had surgery for oral cancer in 1977. She became a supporter of the American Cancer Society and made fundraising appearances throughout the country. In 1984, she was the recipient of the society's annual Courage Award.

According to The New York Times, Blake died on August 16, 1989, from complications of AIDS. Some confusion existed over the exact cause of her death. When she died at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California, a statement by the hospital and some of her friends reported the cause of death as cancer. Blake's death certificate, however, listed the immediate cause as cardiopulmonary arrest due to liver failure and cytomegalovirus (CMV) hepatitis. CMV hepatitis is AIDS-related. The facts of her death from AIDS-related complications were reported in People the same year she died, being detailed by other friends and her main doctor.

She reportedly contracted AIDS from her fourth husband, Mark Spaeth, who predeceased her by four years.

Selected filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	Stars In My Crown	Faith Radmore Samuels
1950	Duchess of Idaho	Linda Kinston
1950	Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard	Karen Michelle
1951	China Corsair	Jane Richards	Uncredited
1951	Smuggler's Gold \	Susan Hodges
1951	Never Trust a Gambler	The Redhead at Police Station	Uncredited
1951	Criminal Lawyer	Receptionist	Uncredited
1951	Sunny Side of the Street	Susie Manning
1951	The Family Secret	Telephone Girl	Uncredited
1952	Scarlett Angel	Susan Bradley
1952	Cattle Town	Marian Hastings
1953	Lili	Peach Lips (red-haired dame)
1953	Sabre Jet	Helen Daniel
1954	Miss Robin Crusoe	Robin Crusoe
1954	About Mrs. Leslie	Gilly
1954	A Star Is Born	Susan Ettinger
1954	The Adventures of Hajji Baba	Banah
1955	The Glass Slipper	Birdena
1955	High Society	Clarissa Jones
1988	The Boost	Barbara
1988	B.O.R.N.	Rosie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars		2 episodes
1953	Cavalcade of America	Nancy Hart	Episode: "Breakfast at Nancy's"
1954	Four Star Playhouse	Susan Pierce	Episode: "Vote of Confidence"
1955– 1974	Gunsmoke	Kitty Russell	425 episodes
1956	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Carol Arlington	Episode: "Whodunit"
1957	State Trooper	Betty Lavon-Coate	Episode: "Coate of Many Colors"
1957– 1963	The Red Skelton Show	Ruby	7 episodes
1958	Studio One	Joan Roberts	Episode: "Tide of Corruption"
1959	Steve Canyon	Molly McIntyre	Episode: "Room 313"
1966	Clown Alley	Pickpocket Clown	CBS Made for TV Movie
1974	Betrayal	Helen Mercer	ABC Movie of the Week
1976	The Quest	Miss Sally	Episode: "Day of Outrage"
1979	The Love Boat	Nora Knox	Episode: "The Oldies But Goodies..."
1982	The Best Little Special in Texas (TV Movie documentary)	Herself
1983	Hart to Hart	Big Sam	Episode: "The Wayward Hart"
1984	The Edge of Night	Dr. Juliana Stanhower	June 19 - June 29, 1984
1986	Brothers	Carlotta	Episode: "A Penny a Dance"
1987	Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (TV movie)	Kitty Russell	including flashbacks to Gunsmoke episodes
1989	The New Dragnet	Mrs. Sylvia Wilson	Episode: "Nouveau Gypsies"

External links

• Amanda Blake Gunsmoke.net

• Amanda Blake at Find a Grave