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Beverly Garland, whose long and varied acting career ranged from B-movie cult stardom in the 1950s portraying gutsy characters in movies such as "Not of This Earth" and "It Conquered the World" to playing Fred MacMurray's wife on the sitcom "My Three Sons," has died. She was 82.

Garland, who also was an involved owner of her namesake hotel in North Hollywood, died Friday evening after a lengthy illness at her Hollywood Hills home, said son-in-law Packy Smith.

In a more-than-50-year career that began with her film debut in a supporting role in the 1950 film noir classic "D.O.A.," Garland appeared in about 40 films and scores of television shows.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 5510.story

Bob Juch wrote:Beverly Garland, whose long and varied acting career ranged from B-movie cult stardom in the 1950s portraying gutsy characters in movies such as "Not of This Earth" and "It Conquered the World" to playing Fred MacMurray's wife on the sitcom "My Three Sons," has died. She was 82.

"Not Of This Earth" is one of my all-time favorite "B" movies. And, I'm not talking about the Traci Lords hack job.

Another famous person I thought had died years ago.

The Beverly Garland Hotel has been the focal point of several bb gatherings. There is one auditorium/meeting room there which has posters from her movies. Some are printed in Spanish and were most likely issued in Mexico.

ulysses5019 wrote:The Beverly Garland Hotel has been the focal point of several bb gatherings. There is one auditorium/meeting room there which has posters from her movies. Some are printed in Spanish and were most likely issued in Mexico.

I have a lot of good memories of the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn. Don Pardo held court in the lobby for hours, telling many great stories. He is a hell of a guy. I also had some good experiences there with Bob Harris and Ken Jennings. I am honored to call them my friends. They are both remarkable people. Thanks to Beverly Garland for providing a venue where such encounters can happen.

Beverly Garland is remembered with affection in Norman, for her participation in Stark Fear, an odd movie project made largely on the University of Oklahoma campus. I was astonished to discover the film listed on IMDB with a 1962 release date, although I've been under the impression that it was filmed a few years earlier than that. Heck, I've seen it two or three times, and I remain surprised that it ever was released at all.

Stark Fear was one of those grandiose ideas that sometimes arise over faculty coffee pots. Ned Hockman, who had served in a film unit for the army during WWII with Ronald Reagan, Frank Capra and others who went on to greater fame in Hollywood, would direct, while the script would be written by the late Dwight Swain, who wrote science fiction and western novels as well as scripts for many documentary films. Most of the roles on both sides of the camera would be filled by students and local citizens, and the location shots would be nearby. For example, the Tri-Delt sorority house would be transformed into the leading lady's mansion, and a then-pool hall/pinball parlor on Campus Corner would become the setting for another dramatic scene. Now, the professors thought as their ideas coalesced, all they needed was two or three known actors to take the leading roles.

Somehow, Beverly Garland was convinced to accept the starring role, opposite Skip Homeier as her husband and Kenneth Tobey as "Kane," which probably reveals more about the director's and screenwriter's aspirations than it does about the role. I don't know why any of them agreed to do it, as they couldn't have been paid much, and "a free trip to Oklahoma" probably was not a big attraction. Perhaps they were convinced that their participation would add significantly to the education of the students in the film program. I do know that their scenes were filmed within the span of a few days, while the rest of the production took place over several months. (All of the local participants had full-time jobs and/or class schedules to complete.)

The film's final cut was and remains considerably less than the masterpiece envisioned by its creators, with the greatest interest for viewers of later years being to figure out where various scenes actually were shot, with or without nominal disguises.

IMDB reports that "Beverly Garland says this is her least favorite of all the movies she's made. She also said that first-time director Ned Hockman walked off the set after disagreements with the cast and producers, and that co-star Skip Homeier finished directing the picture."

This all took place long before I ever arrived at OU, so I don't dispute Miss Garland, but at most Homeier would have directed only the remaining scenes involving the leading characters, and Hockman completed all the post-production work. Despite her statement, to this day Hockman and everyone else who took part in the project have only the greatest praise for Beverly Garland. They say she was gracious, charming, and genuinely nice to absolutely every person with whom she had contact both on and off-campus.

Hockman, now 88, is the last of the "old guard" faculty from the journalism school, and I love him dearly.

Rest in Peace, Beverly. Please remain kind to Ned when you meet again.

silvercamaro wrote:Hockman, now 88, is the last of the "old guard" faculty from the journalism school, and I love him dearly.

One of his students, Jack Patchell, made a great cartoon titled "Making the Grade" last year.

Bob Juch wrote:

silvercamaro wrote:Hockman, now 88, is the last of the "old guard" faculty from the journalism school, and I love him dearly.

One of his students, Jack Patchell, made a great cartoon titled "Making the Grade" last year.

I'm delighted to hear you say that. Thanks. Jack is a current OU student and the president of the Student Film Production Club.