Early career

Born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on July 2, 1940, she started her acting career in the theater. Following a solid performance in Six Characters in Search of an Author in 1964, she moved to Broadway with a debut in The Devils the following year. Throughout the rest of the decade, she appeared in such plays as Under Milk Wood

Under Milk Wood

Under Milk Wood is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, adapted later as a stage play. A movie version, Under Milk Wood directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released during 1972....

, Murder in the Cathedral and Dear Liar, and garnered fine reviews for her Portia in Julius Caesar in 1966.

Career

Colby's first important television role was in an episode of the television series Columbo, titled "Murder by the Book" in 1971. Colby began a bi-coastal career and played a host of support/guest roles on such established shows as The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple (TV series)

The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....

, McMillan & Wife, The F.B.I., Medical Center

Medical Center (TV series)

Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976.-Synopsis:The show starred James Daly as Dr. Paul Lochner and Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon, surgeons working in an otherwise unnamed university hospital in Los Angeles. The show focused both on the lives of the doctors...

, Kung Fu

Kung Fu (TV series)

Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...

and Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....

.

Colby appeared in 1970s plays such as Aubrey Beardsley the Neophyte, House of Blue Leaves, Afternoon Tea and Hot l Baltimore

Hot l Baltimore

Hot l Baltimore was a short-lived 1975 television situation comedy series adapted from the hit off-Broadway play by Lanford Wilson.-Premise and run:...

. She returned to the classics with an off-Broadway role as Elizabeth in Richard III, and was back on Broadway with the plays Murderous Angels in 1971 and a revival of A Doll's House in the early part of 1975.

In 1974, she appeared in two films, California Split

California Split

California Split is a 1974 film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of gamblers. It was the first non-Cinerama movie to use eight-track stereo sound.-Plot:...

and Memory of Us. Early in 1975, she co-starred in Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins

Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins

Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins is a 1975 film directed by Dick Richards and written by John Kaye. The film was the second film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, for which he received an associate producer credit...

.

It was in a MTM Productions role as a streetwise

Streetwise

Streetwise may refer to:*Rover Streetwise, a small hatchback made by the MG Rover Group*Possessing knowledge of youth culture, also called "street"...

 prostitute opposite Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...

 in an episode of the The Mary Tyler Moore Show

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...

that led to an appearance in a subsequent episode.

In 1975, MTM cast her as the new regular player on the Mary Tyler Moore Show spin-off, Phyllis

Phyllis (TV series)

Phyllis is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 11, 1975 to March 13, 1977.Created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. it was the second spin-off series from The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards'...

, starring actress Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...

. Colby, who appeared earlier with Leachman in the TV movie A Brand New Life in 1973, was cast as Leachman's boss, Julie Erskine, the owner of a commercial photography studio.

Death

On July 24, 1975, just three episodes into the TV series, Colby and an acting colleague, James Kiernan, 35, were walking to their car following an acting class in Venice, Los Angeles, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, when they were shot inside a parking area. Colby was killed instantly; however, Kiernan was able to describe the shooting to police before he also succumbed to his wounds. Kiernan said that he did not recognize the two men who shot them, and that the shooting had occurred without warning, reason or provocation. Police noted that there was no attempt to rob the pair and concluded that it was a random drive-by shooting. The killers were never identified.

Liz Torres

Liz Torres

Elizabeth "Liz" Torres is an actress, singer, and comedienne of Puerto Rican descent.-Early years:Torres was born in the Bronx borough of New York City where her parents had settled after moving from Puerto Rico. There she received her primary and secondary education...

 took over the role of Julie Erskine on Phyllis. Colby's final appearance was in the TV movie The Ashes of Mrs. Reasoner, which aired in 1976.

At the time of her death, Colby was separated from her husband, Bob Levitt, son of Ethel Merman

Ethel Merman

Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...

.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1968	Petulia Petulia Petulia is a British drama film directed by Richard Lester. The screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus is based on the novel Me and the Arch Kook Petulia by John Haase...	Patient	Uncredited
1969	N.Y.P.D.	Lila	TV, 1 episode
1971	Columbo: Murder by the Book	Lilly La Sanka	Television movie
	The Odd Couple The Odd Couple (TV series) The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....	Monique	TV, 1 episode
1972	Look Homeward, Angel	Miss Brown	Television movie
1973	The F.B.I.	Marti	TV, 1 episode
	McMillan & Wife	Linda Comsack	TV, 1 episode
	ABC Afterschool Special ABC Afterschool Special The ABC Afterschool Special is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1996, usually in the late afternoon on week days. Most of the episodes were dramatic presentations of situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were...		TV, 1 episode
1974	Judgement: The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg		Television movie
	Medical Center Medical Center (TV series) Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976.-Synopsis:The show starred James Daly as Dr. Paul Lochner and Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon, surgeons working in an otherwise unnamed university hospital in Los Angeles. The show focused both on the lives of the doctors...	Mrs. Polumbo	TV, 1 episode
	Kung Fu Kung Fu (TV series) Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...	Josie	TV, 1 episode
	Memory of Us	Iris
	California Split California Split California Split is a 1974 film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of gamblers. It was the first non-Cinerama movie to use eight-track stereo sound.-Plot:...	Receptionist
	Gunsmoke Gunsmoke Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....	Kathy Carter	TV, 1 episode
1974–1975	The Mary Tyler Moore Show The Mary Tyler Moore Show The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...	Sherry	TV, 2 episodes
1975	Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins is a 1975 film directed by Dick Richards and written by John Kaye. The film was the second film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, for which he received an associate producer credit...		Alternative title: Rafferty and the Highway Hustlers
	Phyllis Phyllis (TV series) Phyllis is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 11, 1975 to March 13, 1977.Created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. it was the second spin-off series from The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards'...	Julie Erskine #1	TV,3 episodes
1976	The Ashes of Mrs. Reasoner		Television movie

External links