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Born in Redding Ridge, CT, the daughter of a musician (composer/arranger Arthur Lange) and an actress, she made her Broadway debut at 11 in The Patriots (1943). She later appeared in stock and on TV and made an auspicious screen debut in the role of Emma in BUS STOP (1956). The following year she was nominated for an Oscar® for her performance in PEYTON PLACE (1957). An attractive blonde, she subsequently played leads in other films and TV dramas and starred in the TV series "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" (for which she won Emmys® in 1969 & 1970) and "The New Dick Van Dyke Show" (1973-4). Other notable screen credits include THE YOUNG LIONS (1958), THE BEST OF EVERYTHING (1959), POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (1961), JIGSAW (1968), DEATH WISH (1974), THE PRODIGAL and I AM THE CHEESE (both 1983), A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY'S REVENGE (1985), BLUE VELVET (1986), TUNE IN TOMORROW (1990), CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER (1994) and JUST CAUSE (1995). She also made frequent appearances in made-for-TV movies and TV series.
She returned to Broadway in 1977, after an absence of 34 years, in the bedroom comedy Same Time Next Year. Her first husband (1956-61) was actor Don Murray; her second (1963-1971) was director Alan J. Pakula. She married Charles Hollerith, Jr., a former producer and vice-president of the Actors' Fund of America, in 1986. They remained married until her death. Her son Christopher Murray (b. 1957) is an actor.
1 nomination |
Nominated Supporting Actress