Charla Doherty

Charla Sue Doherty (August 6, 1946 – May 29, 1988) was an American film and television actress who appeared on the first season of the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Early years Charla Sue Doherty was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Charles Squires Doherty and Genevieve Recher Doherty. Seven months before her birth, Doherty's father won second prize in a contest seeking answers to the question "Why I hate Jack Benny...". The contest, sponsored by Benny's radio program, awarded $1500 to Charles Doherty, then a law student at Case Western Reserve University. The money was used to pay for costs associated with her birth. Much later, it provided a unique publicity angle for her appearance on The Jack Benny Program. The family then relocated to her mother's hometown of Dayton, where Doherty attended Belmont Elementary School and started dance lessons. When she was nine, her family moved to Palos Verdes Estates, California, where she continued to study dance. Soon after the move to California, her parents took her to Del Mar Racetrack, where she found herself sitting next to Betty Grable. Doherty later said this was her favorite memory and the first time she wanted to become an actress herself. By her senior year (1962-1963) she was class treasurer and took afternoon courses at UCLA in world history and psychology through a cooperative program the two institutions had for high achieving HPS students. She graduated from HPS during June 1963. She later enrolled at UCLA and worked towards a Bachelors of Arts degree in History as her acting schedule allowed.

Early career While still a junior at HPS, Doherty acquired an agent and was listed in a major casting directory as available for ingénue parts. Her first television role came at age 15, on an episode of The Donna Reed Show. This project by Fox's TV division never made it on the air, but did bring Doherty to the attention of Fox film producers, who cast her in Take Her, She's Mine. Doherty's agent used the resulting publicity to push the story about her father winning the Jack Benny contest, which led to her appearing on that program nine months later in April 1964. Doherty did episodes of eleven prime time television series during 1964–1965, before landing a recurring role on a daytime soap opera. Her journeyman status as an actress is reflected in that only one show, Wagon Train, used her on more than one episode. Veteran actors at this period in television were more typically signed for two different roles during the course of a season. Her second film, Village of the Giants (1965), was lightly regarded by critics and did not bring her much individual publicity.

Days of Our Lives Doherty originated the role of Julie Olson on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. She played the troubled teen from the show's first episode on November 8, 1965 until November 21, 1966, appearing on 51 episodes during that year and two weeks. The character then disappeared from the show's storyline until spring 1967 when it was recast with actress Kathy Dunn. The circumstances leading to the recasting are not known.

Later career An episode of The Guns of Will Sonnett, filmed during summer 1967 was her last credited television series work. She played the role of Joanna Ramsey in a made-for-television movie In the Year 2889, released in late 1969 but which may have been produced earlier.

Doherty's first known stage work came in January 1968, when a combined cast of eight professional and eight amateur actors performed Life with Father in Santa Barbara, California. The show was a project initiated by the local high school's drama teacher and students, who collected money for the insurance bond, and persuaded Actor's Equity to grant permission for pros to perform on the same stage with amateurs. Doherty played Hermia, in a cast that included Kim Hamilton, Dana Elcar, Bonnie Bedelia, Mark Lenard, Don Pedro Colley, and Robert Ito.

Personal life At age 17, Doherty was reported to be five feet tall, weigh 89 pounds, and her IQ was reported as 183 by a newspaper columnist. He was 18 years her senior, had emigrated to the US from the UK as a child, and became a U.S. citizen in 1965. They had a son, Trevor Black. The couple divorced in Los Angeles on March 1, 1982.

Obituary discrepancies Upon her death on May 29, 1988, at age 41, there were two informants from whom obituary articles across the nation drew. One was her publicist, Michael Druxman, whose information was picked up by the Associated Press (AP) and copied across the country. It contained two minor inaccuracies about Doherty's career, concerning her length of time on Days of Our Lives and that she appeared on the Mannix TV series.

The other informant reported to the Los Angeles Times that Doherty had died at her mother's house in nearby Woodland Hills. This obituary had several minor inaccuracies about Doherty's career, concerning her length of time on Days of Our Lives, the number of movies she made, and that she appeared on the Ben Casey TV series. This version of the obituary was also picked up by other newspapers, with the inserted dateline of "Hollywood" and credited to the Los Angeles Times.

Both informants agreed that she died of natural causes 1965 Village of the Giants Nancy

+ Television (in original broadcast order) Year Series Episode Role Notes 1962 The Donna Reed Show The Golden Trap Janice At age 15, her first credited TV role The Donna Reed Show The Boys in 309 Cheerleader Newspaper photo for this episode identified her by name 1964 Arrest and Trial Funny Man with a Monkey Laurie The Jack Benny Program Harlow Gets a Date Judy Weber Charla gets to thank the man who paid for her birth Mickey Honest Injun White Fawn Charla plays a Native American trying to reclaim land My Three Sons First, You're a Tadpole Ellen 1965 Branded Coward Step Aside Karin - Clay's Gal Charla plays Johnny Crawford's girl friend Kraft Suspense Theatre Won't It Ever Be Morning? Shirley Rankin Charla plays a 15 year old murder victim Wagon Train The Indian Girl Story Patty McNeil Mister Roberts Bookser's Honeymoon Suzette Tim Rooney sneaks his island native bride (Charla) aboard ship for their honeymoon Days of Our Lives (13 Episodes) Julie Olson Charla's only recurring role in a TV series Gidget The War Between Men, Women, and Gidget Darcy Dr. Kildare Perfect Is Too Hard to Be Kathy Calvert 1966 Days of Our Lives (38 Episodes) Julie Olson Charla's role lasted thru November1967 The Guns of Will Sonnett The Natural Way Ellie Wilson 1969 In the Year 2889 (TV Movie) Joanna Ramsey Her last screen appearance, like her first, co-starred Paul Petersen