Randy Stuart
Encyclopedia
Randy Stuart, born as Elizabeth Shaubell (October 24, 1924 - July 20, 1996), was an American actress whose longest running role was as Louise Baker, the wife of the Cold War
spy in the 26-episode adventure television series, Biff Baker, U.S.A.
, which aired on CBS
, with Alan Hale, Jr.
, as the title character. In 1949, she had appeared as Lieutenant Eloise Billings in the film I Was a Male War Bride
, with Cary Grant
and Ann Sheridan
.
Stuart's parents were itinerant musicians in the American South and the Middle West. She was born in Iola
in Allen County
in southeastern Kansas
, and made her stage debut at the age of three. The Shaubells relocated to California
, where Stuart attended college. A screen test in the play The Women led to Stuart being placed under contract at 20th Century Fox
. Her film debut was uncredited in the 1947 picture, The Foxes of Harrow
.
In 1950 and in 1957, Stuart appeared, respectively, in the films All About Eve
as a telephone friend of Eve, starring Anne Baxter
, and The Incredible Shrinking Man
as Louise Carey, the wife of Scott Carey, played by Grant Williams
. In 1958, she was cast as Nancy Dawson in the western
film, Man from God's Country, starring George Montgomery
.
In 1959 to 1960, Stuart appeared as Nellie Cashman
in eleven episodes of the ABC
western television series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
, with Hugh O'Brian
in the title role of Marshal Wyatt Earp
. Nellie was briefly a romantic interest for Earp. From 1958 to 1961, Stuart guest starred four times in different roles on Clint Walker
's ABC western, Cheyenne. In 1960, she played the mentally unbalanced Claire Russo in the episode "Tangled Trail" of Ty Hardin
's ABC western series, Bronco
. Her other western appearances were twice on Lawman
and once each on Bonanza
, Cimarron City
, Colt .45
, and Maverick
.
She appeared in the ABC-Warner Brothers dramas, including 77 Sunset Strip
, as Lucy Norton in the 1962 episode "The Reluctant Spy", Bourbon Street Beat
, The Roaring 20s, and Hawaiian Eye
. She also guest starred on CBS
fantasy-drama The Millionaire. She appeared twice on the 1955-1956 NBC comedy It's a Great Life
, with Frances Bavier
.
Stuart appeared twice in 1967 and 1968 as Eileen Gannon, wife of Harry Morgan
's character, Officer Bill Gannon, on NBC's Dragnet
. Her final appearance was as Miss Kallman in the 1975 episode "The Covenant" of ABC's Marcus Welby, M.D.
, with Robert Young
in the title role.
Stuart died at the age of seventy-one in Bakersfield
, California.
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
spy in the 26-episode adventure television series, Biff Baker, U.S.A.
Biff Baker, U.S.A.
Biff Baker, U.S.A. is an American crime drama television series that aired on CBS from November 6, 1952, to March 26, 1953 starring Alan Hale, Jr. as Cold War spy Biff Baker.-Synopsis:...
, which aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, with Alan Hale, Jr.
Alan Hale, Jr.
Alan Hale, Jr. was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Skipper on the popular sitcom Gilligan's Island. Hale was the lookalike son of popular supporting film actor Alan Hale, Sr....
, as the title character. In 1949, she had appeared as Lieutenant Eloise Billings in the film I Was a Male War Bride
I Was a Male War Bride
I Was a Male War Bride is a 1949 comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan.This film was based on I was an Alien Spouse of Female Military Personnel Enroute to the United States Under Public Law 271 of the Congress, a biography of Henri Rochard, a Belgian who...
, with Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
and Ann Sheridan
Ann Sheridan
-Life and career:Born Clara Lou Sheridan in Denton, Texas on February 21, 1915, she was a student at the University of North Texas when her sister sent a photograph of her to Paramount Pictures. She subsequently entered and won a beauty contest, with part of her prize being a bit part in a...
.
Stuart's parents were itinerant musicians in the American South and the Middle West. She was born in Iola
Iola, Kansas
Iola is a city situated along the Neosho River in the northwestern part of Allen County, located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,704. Iola is the county seat of Allen County. It is named in honor of Iola Colborn.-History:The...
in Allen County
Allen County, Kansas
Allen County is a county located in southeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 13,371...
in southeastern Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, and made her stage debut at the age of three. The Shaubells relocated to 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...
, where Stuart attended college. A screen test in the play The Women led to Stuart being placed under contract at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Her film debut was uncredited in the 1947 picture, The Foxes of Harrow
The Foxes of Harrow
The Foxes of Harrow is an adventure film directed by John M. Stahl and produced by William A. Bacher. The film Rex Harrison, Maureen O'Hara, Richard Haydn with Victor McLaglen, Vanessa Brown, Patricia Medina, Gene Lockhart, and Hugo Haas...
.
In 1950 and in 1957, Stuart appeared, respectively, in the films All About Eve
All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
as a telephone friend of Eve, starring Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons , The Razor's Edge , All About Eve and The Ten Commandments .-Early life:...
, and The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Incredible Shrinking Man is a 1957 science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold and adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson from his novel The Shrinking Man ....
as Louise Carey, the wife of Scott Carey, played by Grant Williams
Grant Williams
Grant Williams was an American film actor and operatic tenor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of Scott Carey in the seminal science fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Man , which has since become a cult classic.-Early life:Born John Joseph Williams in New York City to a Scottish father...
. In 1958, she was cast as Nancy Dawson in the western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film, Man from God's Country, starring George Montgomery
George Montgomery
George Montgomery was an American painter, sculptor, furniture craftsman, and stuntman who is best known as an actor in western style film and television....
.
In 1959 to 1960, Stuart appeared as Nellie Cashman
Nellie Cashman
Ellen Cashman , better known as Nellie Cashman, was a native of County Cork, Ireland, who became famous across the American and Canadian west as a nurse and gold prospector.-Early years:...
in eleven episodes of the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
western television series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a Western television series loosely based on the adventures of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black and white series ran on ABC-TV from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian as Earp. An off-camera barbershop quartet sang the theme song and hummed...
, with Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
in the title role of Marshal Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
. Nellie was briefly a romantic interest for Earp. From 1958 to 1961, Stuart guest starred four times in different roles on Clint Walker
Clint Walker
Norman Eugene Walker, known as Clint Walker , is an American actor best known for his cowboy role as "Cheyenne Bodie" in the TV Western series, Cheyenne.-Life and career:...
's ABC western, Cheyenne. In 1960, she played the mentally unbalanced Claire Russo in the episode "Tangled Trail" of Ty Hardin
Ty Hardin
Ty Hardin, born Orison Whipple Hungerford, Jr., is a former American actor best known as the star of the 1950s ABC western television series Bronco.-Early life:...
's ABC western series, Bronco
Bronco (TV series)
Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James,...
. Her other western appearances were twice on Lawman
Lawman (tv series)
Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
and once each on Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, Cimarron City
Cimarron City (TV series)
Cimarron City is an American Western television series starring George Montgomery and John Smith that aired on NBC from October 11, 1958 until April 4, 1959...
, Colt .45
Colt .45 (TV series)
Colt .45 is an American Western television series shown on ABC between 1957 and 1960. The half-hour show derives from the 1950 Warner Brothers film of the same name starring Randolph Scott and formed part of the William T...
, and Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
.
She appeared in the ABC-Warner Brothers dramas, including 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
, as Lucy Norton in the 1962 episode "The Reluctant Spy", Bourbon Street Beat
Bourbon Street Beat
Bourbon Street Beat is a private detective series which aired on the ABC network from 1959-1960 and featured Andrew Duggan as Cal Calhoun, Richard Long as Rex Randolph, Van Williams as Kenny Madison, and Arlene Howell as Melody Lee Mercer, the secretary at the New Orleans detective agency in which...
, The Roaring 20s, and Hawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye is an American television series that ran from October 1959 to September 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company television network.-Premise:...
. She also guest starred on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
fantasy-drama The Millionaire. She appeared twice on the 1955-1956 NBC comedy It's a Great Life
It's a Great Life
It's a Great Life is an American situation comedy which aired on NBC from 1954 to 1956...
, with Frances Bavier
Frances Bavier
Frances Elizabeth Bavier was an American stage and television actress. Originally from the New York theatre, Bavier worked in film and television from the 1950s...
.
Stuart appeared twice in 1967 and 1968 as Eileen Gannon, wife of Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
's character, Officer Bill Gannon, on NBC's Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
. Her final appearance was as Miss Kallman in the 1975 episode "The Covenant" of ABC's Marcus Welby, M.D.
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...
, with Robert Young
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
in the title role.
Stuart died at the age of seventy-one in Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
, California.