Beverly Garland (October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American film and television actress, businesswoman, and hotel owner. Garland gained prominence for her role as Fred MacMurray's second wife, "Barbara Harper Douglas", in the 1960s sitcom My Three Sons (a role she played from 1969 until the series ended in 1972). In the 1980s, she co-starred as Kate Jackson's widowed mother, "Dotty West", in the television series Scarecrow and Mrs. King, on CBS. She also had a recurring role as Ginger Jackson on The WB Television Network series 7th Heaven.

Biography

Early life & career

Garland was born Beverly Lucy Fessenden in Santa Cruz, California, the daughter of Amelia Rose, who worked in business, and James Atkins Fessenden, a singer and salesman. Garland grew up in Glendale, California. Her 1950s acting roles tended to be tough women who could handle themselves in violent situations. Nineteen fifty-six was a busy year for Garland, as she played a female marshal in the Western Gunslinger, with Chris Alcaide as her deputy, a prison escapee in Swamp Women, and a scientist's wife who battles an alien in It Conquered the World. All three movies were directed by Roger Corman and were spoofed in the 1990s by Mystery Science Theater 3000. Garland then starred as undercover police officer "Casey Jones" in the syndicated television series Decoy.

Television success

In 1957, Garland made television history as the star of the syndicated TV series Decoy, the first American television police series with a woman in the starring role. However, it only lasted a single season of thirty-nine episodes. Despite its relatively short run, this groundbreaking series paved the way for many future police/detective shows starring women, such as NBC's Police Woman starring Angie Dickinson, ABC's Honey West starring Anne Francis, CBS's Cagney and Lacey starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, and ABC'S Charlie's Angels starring Kate Jackson.

Garland appeared twice as Dooris Denny Bona in the episodes "Remember the Alamo" and "The Widow of Kill Cove" in 1960 in Rod Cameron's syndicated private detective series COronado 9. In 1957, she guest starred as Elli Austin in the episode "Rodeo Rough House" of another of Cameron's syndicated series, State Trooper. She also appeared in the 1955 episode "Man Down, Woman Screaming" of Cameron's first syndicated series, City Detective, the story of a tough New York City police lieutenant. She appeared too as Sarah Garvey in the episode "Cattle Drive to Casper" in the NBC anthology series Frontier. At about this time, she also appeared in the first Brian Keith series Crusader, a Cold War drama.

Garland guest starred in 1963 as Marya Stone in the episode "What Did She Mean By Good Luck?" in NBC's medical drama about psychiatry, The Eleventh Hour.

In the 1964-1965 television season, Garland co-starred in the role of Ellie Collins with Bing Crosby as husband Bing Collins in the ABC sitcom The Bing Crosby Show. Carol Faylen and Diane Sherry played her teenaged daughters.

Although Garland co-starred with Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld in the 1968 feature film Pretty Poison, she is best known for playing suburban moms on several TV series. Garland appeared as "Barbara Harper Douglas," second wife of "Steve Douglas" (Fred MacMurray), for the final three seasons of My Three Sons (1969–72) and as "Dotty West," mother of "Mrs. King" (Kate Jackson), on all four seasons of the lighthearted espionage drama Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983–87). Garland was also featured in the successful series Remington Steele as the mother of Stephanie Zimbalist's character, detective Laura Holt.

Her decades of TV guest appearances range from the first-season Twilight Zone episode "The Four of Us Are Dying," about a con artist with a thousand faces (1960). Garland also guest starred in an episode in the final season of Kung Fu. She reprised her earlier Western personae as a tough gun-slinging widow. She appeared on the Mary Tyler Moore Show as a long-ago girlfriend of Lou Grant. Garland also had a recurring role as "Lois Lane's" mother on the 1990s TV series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, starring Teri Hatcher. On 7th Heaven, she appeared as the stepmother of Annie Camden, opposite Graham Jarvis, Annie's father. Peter Graves, the brother of James Arness, appeared in 7th Heaven as Eric Camden's father, with Barbara Rush in the role of Eric's stepmother. In addition to working with Graves on 7th Heaven, Garland also starred opposite James Arness in four Gunsmoke episodes until the long-running western ended in 1975.

On radio, Garland was an original player of the California Actors Radio Theatre. C.A.R.T. often recorded its programs on the grounds of Garland's hotel in The Beverly Garland Little Theater which was decorated with large movie posters from many of Garland's feature films.

For her contribution to the television industry, Garland has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

Business career

Garland owned and operated the Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn (4222 Vineland Avenue) in North Hollywood at the time of her death.

Personal life

In 1999, her husband of 39 years, businessman Filmore Crank, died. Subsequently, Garland combined her acting career with an increased devotion to the hotel Crank built and named for her. Situated on the former Gene Autry property and originally built as a Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge in the 1970s, the sprawling 255-room Spanish-Mission style resort Beverly Garland Holiday Inn and Conference Center is located in North Hollywood.

Garland's daughter, actress Carrington Garland is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the third Kelly Capwell on the soap opera Santa Barbara.

Death

On December 5, 2008, Garland died in the mid-century contemporary house in the Hollywood Hills that was her home of over 40 years. A memorial service and reception was attended by several hundred people on December 13 at her namesake hotel property, Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn in North Hollywood. Her body was cremated.