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Karen Steele (March 20, 1931 – March 12, 1988) was an American actress and model with more than 60 roles in film and television. Her most famous roles include starring as Virginia in Marty, as Mrs. Lane in Ride Lonesome, and as Eve McHuron in the episode "Mudd's Women".
When she was 13 years old, a surfing accident resulted in Steele's leg being cut by coral. She later developed osteomyelitis in the leg with infection so severe that amputation was seriously considered until a doctor brought to Hawaii from Hong Kong ended the infection. The leg had to be rebuilt with wires and metal, but after 22 operations she began rehabilitation to resume walking.
Steele attended the University of Hawaii and studied acting at Rollins College in Florida for a year. After that, she found work as a cover girl and model.
In 1957, she guest starred on the TV program Maverick, as Molly Gleason in the episode "Point Blank" opposite James Garner and Mike Connors. In 1958, she played the titular role in the episode "Madame Faro" of NBC's Jefferson Drum, another western series.
Steele made two guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, as Doris Stephanak in "The Case of the Haunted Husband" (1958) and as murder victim Carina Wileen in "The Case of the Fatal Fetish" (1965). She appeared as Mae Dailey in the 1961 episode "Big Time Blues" on the ABC/Warner Brothers drama, The Roaring 20s. Earlier, she was cast in a guest-starring role in another ABC/WB series, The Alaskans starring Roger Moore.
In 1962, she portrayed the part of Dolly LeMoyne in the episode "The Woman Trap" on CBS's Rawhide starring Clint Eastwood. Her character in "Survival of the Fattest", a 1965 episode of NBC's Get Smart, was named Mary 'Jack' Armstrong, said to be "the strongest female enemy agent in the world". Profile, allmovie.com; accessed December 29, 2016. This is a reference to Jack Armstrong, the clean-cut fictional hero of Jack Armstrong the All American Boy, an adventure series broadcast on radio from 1933 to 1951. She appeared in an early episode of ("Mudd's Women", 1966). Like many actor, later in her career she turned to television commercials for income. She also became involved in charitable causes and community service. In early 1970, she went on a handshake tour of service hospitals in the South Pacific, rather than accept a series that would have paid her $78,000. As a result, she lost her agent.
Career
Steele's first acting job was on the radio program Let George Do It. She subsequently appeared in the films The Clown (in an uncredited role, 1953) and Man Crazy (also 1953) as Marge. The following year, she landed the role of Millie Darrow in "So False and So Fair" on the television anthology Studio 57, but a supporting role in Marty (1955) was her highest profile film role. Profile , tacky-times.com; accessed December 29, 2016.
Personal life
In later life, she settled in Golden Valley, Arizona, and married Dr. Maurice Boyd Ruland, a psychiatrist at the Mohave Mental Health Clinic. They were married until her death from cancer at age 56 at the Kingman Regional Medical Center in Kingman, Arizona.
Filmography
Film
Television
External links
Categories: 1931 Births, 1988 Deaths, American Film Actresses, Western Film Actresses, American Radio Actresses, American Television Actresses, Actresses From Hawaii, Rollins College Alumni, 20th-century American Actresses, American Female Models, Deaths From Cancer In Arizona, American People Of Danish Descent, American People Of English Descent, American People Of French Descent, Western Television Actors
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