Amanda Blake

Amanda Blake (born Beverly Louise Neill; February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the Western television series Gunsmoke. Along with her fourth husband, Frank Gilbert, she ran one of the first successful programs for breeding cheetahs in captivity.

Early life Amanda Blake was born Beverly Louise Neill in Buffalo, New York, the only child of Jesse and Louise (née Puckett) Neill. Her father was a banker. Blake was a telephone operator and briefly attended Pomona College before she took up acting. Blake attended Brenau Academy from 1944 to 1945. She then served on the board of advisors and became a trustee.

Career

In the late 1940s, Blake was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as the studio saw her as its next Greer Garson. She appeared in a few Hollywood films, such as the 1952 Western Cattle Town and in the starring role of Miss Robin Crusoe, a 1954 adaptation of the Robinson Crusoe adventure. In 1954, she appeared in A Star Is Born.

Blake became best known for her 19-year stint as the saloon-keeper Miss Kitty on the television series Gunsmoke from 1955 to 1974. On February 27, 1974, Blake brought a lion named Kemo onto the Gunsmoke set.

Because of her continuing role on television, Blake rarely had time for films. She did appear on a number of television shows, including a recurring comedy routine on The Red Skelton Show; as a celebrity on Hollywood Squares, Tattletales, and the 1970s revival of Match Game; and comedy appearances on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast.

In 1957, Blake guest-starred as Betty Lavon-Coate in the episode titled "Coate of Many Colors" on Rod Cameron's crime drama, State Trooper. Later, after a Gunsmoke reunion film, she made two feature-film appearances: in The Boost, a drug-addiction drama starring James Woods and Sean Young, and B.O.R.N, both in 1988.

In 1968, Blake was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. She was the third performer inducted, after Tom Mix and Gary Cooper, selected in 1958 and 1966.

Personal life Blake was married five times, first to Jack Shea (1952–53), then Don Whitman in 1954, divorced from him in 1956. After her divorce from Whitman, she went onto the "saloon set" of Gunsmoke. Blake felt like it was home to her on the days when she was not needed. She married Austin, Texas, city councilman Mark Edward Spaeth in 1984. Spaeth died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1985.

Animal welfare After Gunsmoke, Blake went into semiretirement at her home in Phoenix and took on few film or television projects. She instead devoted more time to her animals. She had been known for bringing her pet lion, Kemo, onto the Gunsmoke set.

Blake joined with others in 1971 to form the Arizona Animal Welfare League, today the oldest and largest "no-kill" animal shelter in the state. In 1985, she helped finance the start-up of the Performing Animal Welfare Society. Blake reportedly was a one-time board member of the Humane Society of the United States. In 1997, the Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge opened at Rancho Seco Park in Herald, California. The refuge provides sanctuary for free-ranging African hoofed wildlife, most of which were originally destined for exotic animal auctions or hunting ranches.

Declining health and death In 1977, Blake, who was a heavy cigarette smoker, developed oral cancer that was successfully treated with surgery. She became a supporter of the American Cancer Society and made fundraising appearances throughout the country. In 1984, she was the recipient of the society's annual Courage Award, which was presented to her by then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

On August 16, 1989, Blake died of AIDS-related hepatitis at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California, at the age of 60. Her death was initially attributed to throat cancer, but after her death, her doctor publicly announced her death was due to complications from AIDS. How Blake contracted the disease is unknown. Blake's close friends insisted that she was not a drug user or sexually promiscuous, and that she may have acquired AIDS from her fifth husband, who also had died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1985.

Filmography + Film Year Title Role Notes 1950 Stars in My Crown Faith Radmore Samuels Duchess of Idaho Linda Kinston Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard Karen Michelle 1951 Smuggler's Gold Susan Hodges China Corsair Jane Richards Uncredited Never Trust a Gambler The Redhead at Police Station Uncredited Criminal Lawyer Receptionist Uncredited Sunny Side of the Street Susie Manning Telephone Girl Uncredited 1952 Scarlet Angel Susan Bradley Cattle Town Marian Hastings 1953 Lili Peach Lips (red-haired dame) Sabre Jet Helen Daniel 1954 About Mrs. Leslie Gilly A Star Is Born Susan Ettinger Banah Miss Robin Crusoe Robin Crusoe 1955 Birdena High Society Clarissa Jones 1988 Barbara B.O.R.N. Rosie

+Television Year Title Role Notes 1952 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 2 episodes 1953 Cavalcade of America Nancy Hart Episode: "Breakfast at Nancy's" 1954 Four Star Playhouse Susan Pierce Episode: "Vote of Confidence" 1955–1974 Gunsmoke Kitty Russell 425 episodes 1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Carol Arlington Season 1 Episode 26: "Whodunit" 1957 State Trooper Betty Lavon-Coate Episode: "Coate of Many Colors" 1957–1963 Ruby 7 episodes 1958 Studio One Joan Roberts Episode: "Tide of Corruption" 1959 Steve Canyon Molly McIntyre (uncredited) Season 1/Episode 31: "Room 313" 1966 Clown Alley Pickpocket Clown CBS television film 1974 Betrayal Helen Mercer ABC Movie of the Week Match Game Herself Game show: one week/5 episodes Tattletales Herself Game show: one week/5 episodes with husband Frank 1976 Miss Sally Episode: "Day of Outrage" 1979 Nora Knox Episode: "The Oldies But Goodies..." 1982 The Best Little Special in Texas Herself TV movie documentary 1983 Hart to Hart Big Sam Episode: "The Wayward Hart" 1984 The Edge of Night Dr. Juliana Stanhower June 19–29, 1984 1986 Brothers Carlotta Episode: "A Penny a Dance" 1987 Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge Kitty Russell TV movieIncluding flashbacks to Gunsmoke episodes 1989 Mrs. Sylvia Wilson Episode: "Nouveau Gypsies", (final appearance)