Catherine Harrington
Encyclopedia
Catherine Marie Peyton Harrington (November 15, 1918 - August 29, 1964) is a fictional character
on the television drama Peyton Place
. She was portrayed by Mary Anderson. She appeared in 12 episodes in 1964. She first appeared in the second episode. Her final appearance was in the twentieth episode.
and is the mother of Rodney Harrington
and Norman Harrington. She is the daughter of the powerful Martin Peyton. In the series, Catherine soon noticed she was not feeling well.
She soon makes remarks of her suspicion of Leslie having an affair with his married secretary Julie Anderson. Leslie himself is willing to leave Catherine for Julie, but she does not want to leave her husband for Leslie, so Leslie stays on Catherine's side.
When her son Rodney marries Betty Anderson
, Catherine looks down on her and makes sure she knows it. When she starts feeling more and more sick, she demands to be treated by her old friend Dr. Robert Morton. Dr. Morton tells her and the Harrington family she is not dangerously sick. Because of that, the Harrington family does not worry about her health.
At one moment, Catherine collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Dr. Morton cannot be there on time, so it is Dr. Michael Rossi who treats her. This happens with a lot of controversy, because Leslie does not want Dr. Rossi to treat her. Dr. Rossi notices she is in a bad shape and tells Leslie she has to be operated immediately. Leslie responds this can only be decided by Dr. Morton.
Dr. Rossi decides to operate her anyways. When Dr. Morton arrives at the hospital, he walks into the surgery room. He interrupts Dr. Rossi, which endangers the surgery. Catherine finally dies while in surgery.
Leslie is outraged and decided to try proving Catherine was incompetent when she made her will, so he will remain the owner of the Peyton Mills. Norman is angry at his father for doing this and decided to testify against him in court.
It is later revealed Catherine has murdered Elizabeth Carson in 1946. Elizabeth had an affair with Leslie in that period and Catherine could not handle it. She never got sentenced for it, because Paul Hanley, Elizabeth's sister, testified against her husband Elliot Carson. Elliot finally served eighteen years in prison for the murder Catherine committed.
Finally, it is revealed Catherine had an affair with a man named Brian Howard. At age 17, she gave birth to his twins. The girl, Ann Howard, went to him and the boy went to her father's maid Hannah Cord. Hannah raised the kid, named Steven Cord, as her own.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the television drama Peyton Place
Peyton Place (TV series)
Peyton Place is an American prime-time soap opera which aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964 to June 2, 1969.Based upon the 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious, the series was preceded by a 1957 film adaptation. A total of 514 episodes were broadcast, in...
. She was portrayed by Mary Anderson. She appeared in 12 episodes in 1964. She first appeared in the second episode. Her final appearance was in the twentieth episode.
Onscreen history
Catherine is unluckily married to Leslie HarringtonLeslie Harrington
Leslie Harrington is a fictional character in the novel and movie Peyton Place as well as the television series of the same name. In the movie, Leslie was played by actor Leon Ames. Paul Langton played the role in the television series....
and is the mother of Rodney Harrington
Rodney Harrington
Rod Harrington is a fictional character on the television drama Peyton Place. He was portrayed by Ryan O'Neal. He was also a character on the 1957 film adaptation of the original novel. In this version, he was portrayed by Barry Coe.-Film version:...
and Norman Harrington. She is the daughter of the powerful Martin Peyton. In the series, Catherine soon noticed she was not feeling well.
She soon makes remarks of her suspicion of Leslie having an affair with his married secretary Julie Anderson. Leslie himself is willing to leave Catherine for Julie, but she does not want to leave her husband for Leslie, so Leslie stays on Catherine's side.
When her son Rodney marries Betty Anderson
Betty Anderson
Betty Anderson is a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place, written by Grace Metalious, as well as the subsequent films and TV series based on the novel. In the film, she was played by actress Terry Moore; and in the TV series, she was portrayed by actress Barbara Parkins; in the short-lived...
, Catherine looks down on her and makes sure she knows it. When she starts feeling more and more sick, she demands to be treated by her old friend Dr. Robert Morton. Dr. Morton tells her and the Harrington family she is not dangerously sick. Because of that, the Harrington family does not worry about her health.
At one moment, Catherine collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Dr. Morton cannot be there on time, so it is Dr. Michael Rossi who treats her. This happens with a lot of controversy, because Leslie does not want Dr. Rossi to treat her. Dr. Rossi notices she is in a bad shape and tells Leslie she has to be operated immediately. Leslie responds this can only be decided by Dr. Morton.
Dr. Rossi decides to operate her anyways. When Dr. Morton arrives at the hospital, he walks into the surgery room. He interrupts Dr. Rossi, which endangers the surgery. Catherine finally dies while in surgery.
Post-death revealings
Dr. Rossi is blamed for Catherine's death, but he soon makes Dr. Morton admit he was wrong. Nobody seems te be really upset with her death, except for Norman. When her will is read out loud, she seemd to have demanded Leslie will not have partnership over the Peyton Mills anymore.Leslie is outraged and decided to try proving Catherine was incompetent when she made her will, so he will remain the owner of the Peyton Mills. Norman is angry at his father for doing this and decided to testify against him in court.
It is later revealed Catherine has murdered Elizabeth Carson in 1946. Elizabeth had an affair with Leslie in that period and Catherine could not handle it. She never got sentenced for it, because Paul Hanley, Elizabeth's sister, testified against her husband Elliot Carson. Elliot finally served eighteen years in prison for the murder Catherine committed.
Finally, it is revealed Catherine had an affair with a man named Brian Howard. At age 17, she gave birth to his twins. The girl, Ann Howard, went to him and the boy went to her father's maid Hannah Cord. Hannah raised the kid, named Steven Cord, as her own.