Laura Devon

Laura Devon
File:Laura Devon - Publicity Photograph - The Lieutenant, Season 1 - Episode 5, A Very Private Affair (1964).jpg Devon in The Lieutenant (1964)
Born	Disputed (1931-05-23)May 23, 1931 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	Beverly Hills, California
Occupation	Actress, singer, model
Years active	1959–1967
Spouse(s)	Brian Kelly (1962–1966; divorced) Maurice Jarre (1967–1984; divorced)
Children	Kevin Jarre

Laura Devon (May 23, 1931 – July 19, 2007) was an American actress, singer and model.

Early life

Laura Devon was born May 23, 1931 in Chicago. Her birth name has been given as either Mary Lou Briley or Mary Laura Briley. Her father was identified in the press as Merrill Devon, an automotive engineer, and her mother as Velma Prather.

She attended school in Chicago and Grosse Pointe. She entered Wayne State University, majoring in journalism and political science, where she learned how to act in school theater productions.

In 1954, she gave birth to her only child, Kevin, who became a noted screenwriter. After performing in amateur theatricals and light opera, her first professional part was a lead in a production of The Boy Friend at the Vanguard Playhouse in Detroit.

In 1962, she married Brian Kelly, son of Justice Harry F. Kelly, then a member of the Michigan Supreme Court and a former Michigan governor. Kelly was a fellow actor and, a month after their wedding, he and Devon appeared together on stage in Lillian Hellman's Toys in the Attic at the Laguna Beach Summer Theater. Two years later, he was to become well known for his role as Porter Ricks on the TV series Flipper. They divorced in January 1966.

Screen career and filmography

Devon and Dean Martin in Rawhide (1964)

In 1961, Laura Devon was discovered by Bob Goldstein of 20th Century Fox while she was singing at the London Chop Shop in Detroit. She tells the story of her coming to Hollywood in this way:

There was talk about testing me for "High Heels" at the time. I had an agent at MCA who told me U.I. was also interested: he took me there first to test and they signed me to a contract straight off, so I never got to 20th. But for the full year at U.I. I was never put into a picture. I had voice, dancing and acting lessons: Louis Graveure coached me in singing, Charles Conrad in drama, and the studio paid the bills. It was like being totally subsidized and with nothing to do but study.

Devon appeared in five feature-length commercial films.

Film
Year	Film	Role	Director
1964	Goodbye Charlie	Rusty Sartori	Vincente Minnelli
1965	Red Line 7000	Julie Kazarian	Howard Hawks
1966	Chamber of Horrors	Marie Champlain	Hy Averback
1967	A Covenant with Death	Rosemary	Lamont Johnson
	Gunn	Edie	Blake Edwards

During a seven-year period (1960-1967), Laura Devon had featured roles in numerous popular TV shows. A 1962 appearance in Route 66 was her first significant part. Following that, she appeared in: Insight, The New Breed, The Twilight Zone, Stoney Burke, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Rawhide (an episode entitled "Canliss", as Dean Martin's gunfighter character's wife in 1964), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Rogues, Bonanza, I Spy, The Fugitive, T.H.E. Cat, The Big Valley, Coronet Blue, and The Invaders. She had a recurring role on four episodes of Dr. Kildare and she was a member of the repertory cast that rotated major and supporting roles on the critically acclaimed series The Richard Boone Show.

Marriage

In 1967, she married film composer Maurice Jarre and retired from acting. The couple had one child. Devon and Jarre divorced in 1984.

Singing career

Laura Devon released only one professional recording, a single: "I Like the Look" (A side)/"Dreamsville" (B side). Both songs were composed by Henry Mancini and were featured in the film Gunn, Devon's last film. She can be heard on the soundtrack to the 1975 film Mr. Sycamore, performing the song "Time Goes By", written by her then husband, Maurice Jarre, and lyricist Paul Francis Webster.

Later life and death

Laura Devon died of heart failure in Beverly Hills on July 19, 2007, aged 76.

External links

• Laura Devon at the Internet Movie Database