Leora Dana

Leora Dana (April 1, 1923 – December 13, 1983) was an American film, stage and television actress from New York City. Dana appeared in numerous productions across film television and theatre including The Madwoman of Chaillot, Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, and The Asphalt Jungle. She won several awards across her career, including the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising female. Dana died in 1983.

Early life Dana was born on April 1, 1923, in New York City; her elder sister was Doris Dana. When Dana was 5 years old, her father abandoned the family. Dana graduated from Barnard College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In the summer of 1945, while she was a student at Barnard, she was a theatrical apprentice at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine. She was the female lead in the playhouse's production of Dear Brutus.

Career Stage In 1947, Dana made her stage debut in London.

Television Dana guest-starred in three episodes of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1960, she appeared in episode "Incident at a Corner," which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. 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 Another World. On March 11, 1954, she starred in "Dark Victory" on Kraft Television Theatre.

Awards In 1949, Dana won the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Female for The Madwoman of Chaillot on Broadway. She won the 1973 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for The Last of Mrs. Lincoln. They were divorced in 1958. She died of cancer, aged 60, December 13, 1983 in New York City.