Leora Dana

Leora Dana
Leora Dana in trailer for Some Came Running (1958)
Born(1923-04-01)April 1, 1923
New York City, U.S.
DiedDecember 13, 1983(1983-12-13) (aged 60)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s)American film, TV and stage actress
Years active1956–1983
AwardsTony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Leora Dana (April 1, 1923 – December 13, 1983) was an American film, stage and television actress.

Early life

Dana was born in New York City; her elder sister was Doris Dana.[1] Dana graduated from Barnard College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[1][2]

Career

Stage

In 1947, Dana made her stage debut in London.[2] In 1948, she debuted on Broadway in The Madwoman of Chaillot.[1]

Film

After appearing in the 1957 western 3:10 to Yuma with Van Heflin and Glenn Ford, Dana had supporting roles in two 1958 Frank Sinatra films; Kings Go Forth and Some Came Running. Her other film credits included Pollyanna (1960), A Gathering of Eagles (1963), The Group (1966), The Boston Strangler (1968), Change of Habit (1969), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Wild Rovers (1971), Shoot the Moon (1982), Baby It's You (1983), and Amityville 3-D (1983).[citation needed] Dana also played Anne Fry, the wife of the patriot John Fry, played by Jack Lord in the 1957 Paramount Pictures orientation film for Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot. The film has the distinction of being the longest-running motion picture in history, having been shown continually in the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center for over five decades.[3]

Television

Dana guest-starred in three episodes of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1961, Dana appeared in an episode ("The Scott Machine") of the television series The Asphalt Jungle, and later appeared in the 1977 miniseries Seventh Avenue. In 1978–1979, Dana played the role of alcoholic clothing designer Sylvie Kosloff, the biological mother of villainess Iris Cory (Beverlee McKinsey) on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World.[citation needed]

Awards

In 1949, Dana won the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Female, for The Madwoman of Chaillot on Broadway.[4] She won the 1973 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, for The Last of Mrs. Lincoln.[1]

Death

Dana died of cancer, aged 60, December 13, 1983 in New York City.[1]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1954 Valley of the Kings Lovely Girl Uncredited
1957 3:10 to Yuma Alice Evans
1957 Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot Anne Fry
1958 Kings Go Forth Mrs. Blair
1958 Some Came Running Agnes Hirsh
1960 Pollyanna Mrs. Paul Ford
1963 A Gathering of Eagles Evelyn Fowler
1966 The Group Mrs. Renfrew
1968 The Boston Strangler Mary Bottomly
1969 Change of Habit Mother Joseph
1970 Tora! Tora! Tora! Mrs. Kramer
1971 Wild Rovers Nell Buckman
1982 Shoot the Moon Charlotte DeVoe
1983 Baby It's You Miss Vernon
1983 Amityville 3-D Emma Caswell
1984 Nothing Lasts Forever Joyce released posthumously

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Philco Television Playhouse Emmy Blanchard Episode: "Nocturne"
1951 The Philco Television Playhouse Clarice Episode: "Mr. Arcularis"
1954 The Motorola Television Hour Thea Episode: "Black Chiffon"
1955 Studio One Laura Ford Episode: "The Incredible World of Horace Ford"
1956 Armstrong Circle Theatre Ruth Episode: "Man in Shadow"
1956 Studio One Margaret Norton Episode: "The Arena"
1956 Star Tonight Mrs. Teeling Episode: "The Chevigny Man"
1956 Telephone Time Elizabeth Barrett Browning Episode: "Mr. and Mrs. Browning"
1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Irene Cole Season 1 Episode 35: "The Legacy"
1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Vera Brown Season 2 Episode 14: "John Brown's Body"
1956 Kraft Television Theatre Louise Episode: "The Sears Girl"
1957 Kraft Television Theatre Marion Hunter Episode: "The Medallion"
1957 Climax! Rose Skinner Episode: "Tunnel of Fear"
1957 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Mrs. Ditwiter Episode: "The Traveling Corpse"
1958 Suspicion Sue Carey Episode: "The Eye of Truth"
1958 Shirley Temple's Storybook Dame Van Winkle Episode: "Rip Van Winkle"
1958 The United States Steel Hour Abby Hill Episode: "The Bromley Touch"
1959 Alcoa Theatre Janet Kennedy Episode: "High Class Type of Mongrel"
1959 The Third Man Gwen Easterday Episode: "Death of an Overlord"
1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Naomi Shawn Season 4 Episode 31: "Your Witness"
1959 Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre Anne Coleman Episode: "King of the Valley"
1960 Playhouse 90 Eleanor Lambert Episode: "A Dream of Treason"
1960 Startime Mrs. Tawley Episode: "Incident at a Corner"
1961 The Aquanauts Viviam Episode: "The Margot Adventure"
1961 The Asphalt Jungle Doris Scott Episode: "The Scott Machine"
1961 The Working Mother Laura Tyler TV movie
1961 The Defenders Carol Clark Episode: "The Treadmill"
1962 Bus Stop Katherine Benson Episode: "The Opposite Virtues"
1962 Ben Casey Mrs. Duncan Episode: "And Even Death Shall Die"
1963 Stoney Burke Ellen Mundorf Episode: "The King of the Hill"
1964 Channing Fran Episode: "A Claim to Immortality"
1964 The Lieutenant Edith Kaine Episode: "Operation – Actress"
1964 Slattery's People Mary Sanborn Episode: "Question: What Is Truth?"
1965 The Nurses Betty Bauer Episodes: "Act of Violence" (parts 1 & 2)
1967 Judd, for the Defense Elizabeth Rossiter Episode: "Conspiracy"
1969 N.Y.P.D. Frieda Elliot Episode: "Everybody Loved Him"
1974 The American Parade Susan B. Anthony Episode: "We the Women"
1976 The Adams Chronicles Abigail Smith Adams (age 44–74) Miniseries
1977 Seventh Avenue Mrs. Gold Miniseries
1979–80 Another World Sylvie Kosloff Recurring role
1980 Nurse Celia O'Brien TV movie

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1952 Grand Central Station Seed of Doubt[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Leora Dana, 60, Stage Actress". The New York Times. December 14, 1983. p. B5. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. New York: Perigee Books. p. 301. ISBN 0-399-50601-2. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  3. ^ McCluney Jr., Richard L. (Summer 2004). "Remastering a Masterwork: Restoration of "The Patriot"". Colonial Williamsburg Journal. Retrieved April 28, 2024. The longest-running motion picture ever, for forty-seven years The Patriot has introduced guests…
  4. ^ "The Clarence Derwent Award | Past Recipients: 1945-Present". Actors' Equity Association. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  5. ^ Kirby, Walter (February 17, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". Decatur Daily Review. p. 40. Retrieved June 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.