Date of Birth
17 October 1926,
Santa Cruz, California, USA
Beverly
Lucy Fessenden
Mini Biography
Born Beverly Fessenden in Santa Cruz, California, Beverly Garland studied dramatics under Anita Arliss, the sister of renowned stage and screen star George Arliss. She acted in little theater in Glendale and then in Phoenix, after her family relocated to Arizona. Garland also worked in radio and appeared scantily clad in a few risque shorts (with titles like "Fanny With the Cheeks of Tan") before making her feature film debut in a supporting part in D.O.A. (1950). Her husbands include actor Richard Garland and land developer Fillmore Crank, who built the two hotels which bear her Name.
Mini Biography
In 2001 Beverly Garland began her "second 50 years in show business" and has guest-starred on a number of television programs including "The Guardian" (2001) on CBS and "Weakest Link" (2001) on NBC, as well as maintaining her continuing roles on "7th Heaven" (1996) on the WB and "Port Charles" (1997) on ABC, which began in the 1990s. In addition, She is the recipient of one of the entertainment industry's highest honors, receiving her "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983. In 2001, in recognition of her 50 years in show business, the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters inducted her into its Hall of Fame. Ms. Garland has two very significant historical television "firsts": she was television's first policewoman as the star of "Decoy" (1957) in 1957 and, more importantly, the show gave her the honor of becoming the first actress to star in a television dramatic series. Now widowed (her husband of 39 years died in 1999), She continues to operate, with the assistance of three of her four children, the 255-room Beverly Garland Holiday Inn in North Hollywood.
Spouse
Trivia
Starting with "Remington Steele" (1982), She played mothers of three television women with hazardous lives; from the aforementioned show, Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist), Amanda King (Kate Jackson) of "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" (1983) & Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher) of "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (1993).
Son, James and daughter, Carrington, with Crank. Stepchildren, Cathleen and Fillmore, Jr.
The Beverly Garland hotels are named after her. Her late husband, Fillmore Crank, was a land developer.
Tina Cole is married to her stepson, Fillmore Crank Jr.
Interviewed in "Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup" by Tom Weaver (McFarland 1988).
[referring to her 1950s Roger Corman cult films] It's funny today because it's so ridiculous. But at the time, it was very serious! We were just actors doing our best, I think. None of us overacted. I'm not saying we weren't good. We didn't do it tongue-in-cheek. We really meant it. We gave our all. We were serious, good actors and we played it seriously.
[on acting in "B" movies] You don't have to act in these pictures. All you have to do is possess a good pair of lungs. I can scream with more variations from shrill to vibrato than any other girl in pictures.
Where Are They Now
(November 2006) Still resides in the dramatic California contemporary She and her husband purchased in the early 1960s. Recently re-designed by her decorator-daughter Carrington, the Hollywood Hills mid-century house boasts spectacular city & canyon views which can be seen through the house from the street.
