Olive Deering

Olive Deering ( Corn; October 11, 1918 – March 22, 1986) was an American actress of film, television, and stage, active from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. She was a life member of The Actors Studio, as was her elder brother, Alfred Ryder.

Early life Deering was the daughter of Zelda "Sadie" (née Baruchin) and Max Corn, Her brother was actor Alfred Ryder. She began attending the Professional Children's School when she was age 11.

Career Stage Her first stage role was a walk-on bit in Girls in Uniform (1933). She appeared onstage in Moss Hart's Winged Victory, Richard II (starring Maurice Evans) and Counsellor-at-Law (starring Paul Muni). She received kudos for her performance in the Los Angeles production of Tennessee Williams's Suddenly Last Summer. Other stage appearances included No for an Answer, Ceremony of Innocence, Marathon '33, The Young Elizabeth, They Walk Alone, and Garden District.

In 1940, siblings Deering and Ryder co-starred in Medicine Show on Broadway. In 1980, Deering and Ryder appeared in revival of Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play at the studio theater of The Harold Clurman Theater.

Film Deering as Miriam, with Edward G. Robinson and Charlton Heston, in The Ten Commandments (1956) Films she appeared in include Shock Treatment and Caged. In 1948, director Cecil B. DeMille cast her as Miriam, the Danite girl who loves Samson, in his film Samson and Delilah. In his autobiography, DeMille wrote that Deering was "one whose talent and dedication to her art should carry her very far in the theater, whether on screen or stage." DeMille cast her again as the biblical Miriam, sister of Moses, in The Ten Commandments (1956).

Radio Deering also appeared on many radio programs including Lone Journey, True Story and Against the Storm, playing in more than 200 television programs, including Desdemona on the Philco Summer Playhouse production of Othello.

Television Deering's early television appearances included co-starring in "The Unconquered", an episode of Somerset Maugham TV Theatre, on November 19, 1950, and appearing in an episode of Suspense on June 12, 1951. Others included the role of murderess Rebecca Gentrie in the 1958 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Empty Tin". On June 6, 1962, she starred in "Journey to Oblivion", an episode of Armstrong Circle Theatre.

She had a supporting role in the Sci Fi series Outer Limits in the episode "The Zanti Misfits", which aired on December 30, 1963. One of her later television appearances was in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, titled "One of the Family" (original air date February 8, 1965).

Personal life and death Deering married film director Leo Penn on February 19, 1947 in Los Angeles, California. After their divorce, she married Alan James in 1959. He died in 1969.

Television appearances Year Program Episode Role 1950 Television Theater Portrait in Smoke 1951 Kraft Television Theatre Kelly Odette 1951 Danger Lady on the Rock Loreli 1951 Tales of Tomorrow The Search for the Flying Saucer 1955 Studio One Summer Theater The Pit 1958 Shirley Temple's Storybook The Wild Swant 1958 Climax! Deadly Tattoo 1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 4 Episode 25: "The Kind Waitress" Thelma Tompkins 1959 Johnny Staccato The Wild Reed 1959 One Step Beyond The Burning Girl 1960 Markham "The Searing Flame" episode 1960 Armstrong Circle Theatre The Numbers Racket 1963 The Outer Limits The Zanti Misfits 1965 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Season 3 Episode 16: "One of the Family" Christine Callendar