Bethel Leslie

Jane Bethel Leslie (August 3, 1929 – November 28, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. In a career spanning half a century, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurel Award in 1964, a Tony Award in 1986, and a CableACE Award in 1988.

Early years Jane Bethel Leslie was born in New York City. Her parents were a lawyer, Warren Leslie, and Jane Leslie, She had a brother, writer Warren Leslie.

While a 13-year-old student at Brearley School, Leslie was discovered by George Abbott,

Career

Stage Over the next four decades, Leslie appeared in a number of Broadway productions, including Goodbye, My Fancy (1948), The Time of the Cuckoo (1952), Inherit the Wind (1955), Catch Me If You Can (1965), and Long Day's Journey Into Night (1986). In 1950, Leslie was cast as Cornelia Otis Skinner in The Girls, a television series based on Skinner's Our Hearts Were Young and Gay. She departed the show after two months to appear with Helen Hayes in the play The Wisteria Trees, adapted from Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, by Joshua Logan.

Television Leslie began working in television in the 1940s and frequently was a guest on the many anthology series popular in the early to mid-1950s, such as Studio One and Playhouse 90. She appeared with Ronald Reagan and Stafford Repp in the 1960 episode "The Way Home" of The DuPont Show with June Allyson. Later, she was one of the repertory of actors starring in The Richard Boone Show (1963–1964).

Leslie made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, and was featured as Perry's client in all three episodes. In 1958, she played Janet Morris in "The Case of the Fugitive Nurse" and Evelyn Girard in "The Case of the Purple Woman". In 1960, she played Sylvia Sutton in "The Case of the Wayward Wife". In 1962, she portrayed the part of Martha Hastings in the episode "The Long Count" on CBS's Rawhide. She guest-starred in many television series, including The Texan, Mackenzie's Raiders (as Lucinda Cabot in "The Lucinda Cabot Affair"), The Man from Blackhawk, Riverboat, Wanted: Dead or Alive (episode "Secret Ballot"), Trackdown, Bat Masterson, The Rifleman, The High Chaparral, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Pony Express, Stagecoach West, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, Have Gun – Will Travel (in which she played a Chinese woman), and Wagon Train.

Her other credits were on drama series, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Richard Diamond, Private Detective and The Fugitive, both starring David Janssen; The Eleventh Hour; The Lloyd Bridges Show; Mannix; Route 66 (episodes "The Layout at Glen Canyon" and "City of Wheels"); Straightaway; Bus Stop; Target: The Corruptors!; The Investigators; The Man and the Challenge; Adventures in Paradise; Ben Casey; One Step Beyond; Thriller and Empire. She became a regular on The Doctors when she took over the role of Maggie Powers after Ann Williams left the part. Leslie was also featured in the 1964 episode "The Fluellen Family" in Daniel Boone. She had recurring roles on Another World and All My Children and was featured in the television adaptations of In Cold Blood and Saint Maybe.

Writing Leslie was the head writer for The Secret Storm in 1970. She also wrote episodes for Gunsmoke, Bracken's World, Barnaby Jones, McCloud, The New Land, Matt Helm, and Falcon Crest. In 1970, producer Howard Christie referred to Leslie as "a good actress who has turned into a fine scriptwriter."

Filmography Film + Year Title Role Notes1959 The Rabbit Trap Abby Colt 1963 Captain Newman, M.D. Mrs. Helene Winston

A poll of media critics and editors named her Most Promising New Talent in Radio Television Daily's 1963 All-American Favorites—Television.

Leslie's 1986 Broadway portrayal of a drug-addicted mother in Long Day's Journey into Night brought her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress.

Personal life Leslie was married to director Andrew McCullough.

Death Bethel Leslie died of cancer at 70 in her apartment in Manhattan. Grand Central Station It Makes a Difference