Meg Wyllie

Margaret Gillespie Wyllie (February 15, 1917 – January 1, 2002) was an American actress who appeared primarily on television. She portrayed Mrs. Kissel in The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964).

Early years Born in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, Wyllie grew up in the Philippines, where her father worked as an engineer in sugar plantations on Negros Island near Bacolod. She attended the Brent School in Baguio for grammar school and high school then moved to New York City in the 1940s. Two on an Island (1940) She had previously appeared in Dear Brutus and Morning Glory there.

Wyllie was in the original production of The Glass Menagerie.

Television Wyllie "appeared on nearly every popular TV series of the late 1950s and much of the 1960s." as Mrs. Blowers in Wagon Train in the episode "The Ricky & Laurie Bell Story" and in The Twilight Zone episode "The Night of the Meek". That same year, she was cast as Mrs. Shafer in the episode "The Captain's Dilemma" of the CBS military sitcom/drama series, Hennesey, starring Jackie Cooper as a United States Navy physician and Abby Dalton as nurse Martha Hale.

Between 1962 and 1966 Wyllie made four guest appearances on Perry Mason. Her most substantial role of these was as Ninevah Stone in the episode, "The Case of the Nebulous Nephew" (1963). She also played Marguerite Keith, the owner of a home in the path of a road, in the 1964 episode "The Case of the Ruinous Road".

In the 1963–1964 season, Wyllie had a recurring role as Mrs. Kissel in 18 episodes of ABC's family western series, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, starring child actor Kurt Russell in the title role. Mark Allen played Matt Kissel, her husband, in nineteen episodes. She was in an episode of the Addams Family as Mrs. Dragwater. in "Cousin Itt's Problem". * In nine episodes, four of The Osmonds were cast as the singing sons of the Kissel family, all with given names of books of the Old Testament, Micah, Deuteronomy, Lamentations, and Leviticus. She played the first-ever villain in Star Trek, the Talosian "Keeper" in the pilot episode, "The Cage" (1964). Not broadcast in its original form for many years, this material was used in the two-parter, "The Menagerie" (1966). She also appeared in Batman alongside Tallulah Bankhead in one episode “Black Widow Strikes Again” (1967).

Wyllie appeared on ABC's General Hospital as three different characters-Nurse Doris Roach (1974) who revealed to Lesley Faulkner that her daughter (Laura Vining) was still alive; Antique shop proprietor Hester Frumpkin (1982) who worked for Laura's kidnapper, David Gray; and a brief replacement for Anna Lee as Lila Quartermaine (1994). She also played several different characters on both The Golden Girls and Designing Women.

Death Wyllie died on January 1, 2002, at the age of 84 in Glendale, California, from heart failure. She was survived by a cousin.

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Role Notes1960 The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) Sister Florence S2:E11, "The Night of the Meek"1962 Wagon Train Matilda S6:E5, "The John Augustus Story "1965 Wagon Train Betsy's mother S8:E22, "The Betsy Blee Smith Story "1966 Star Trek: The Original Series The Keeper S1:E0, "The Cage"1966 Star Trek: The Original Series The Keeper S1:E11-E12, "The Menagerie"1967 Batman Grandma S2:E55, "Black Widow Strikes Again"1974 The Bob Newhart Show Mrs. Fleming S3:E10, "Life is a Hamburger"1977 The Love Boat Sister #1 S1:E10, "Dear Beverly; Strike; Special Delivery"1987 The Golden Girls Candy the stewardess S3:E5, "Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself"1988 The Golden Girls Edna S3:E14, "Blanche's Little Girl"1991 The Golden Girls Millicent Kennedy S7:E6, "Mother Load"1994 Mad About You Aunt Lolly Stemple S3:E8, "Giblets for Murray"1995 Mad About You Aunt Lolly Stemple S3:E14, "Mad About You, part 2"; S3:E16, "The Alan Brady Show"; S3:21 "Cake Fear"