Jan Sterling
Most active in films during the 1950s, Jan Sterling received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The High and the Mighty (1954), and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same performance. Her career declined during the 1960s, however she continued to play occasional roles for television and theatre. Sterling was born Jane Sterling Adriance in New York City, into a well-to-do family. She was educated in private schools before heading to Europe with her family. She was schooled by private tutors in London and Paris, and was enrolled in Fay Compton's dramatic school in London. As a teenager she returned to Manhattan, and using variations of her given name, such as Jane Adriance and Jane Sterling, began her career by making a Broadway appearance in Bachelor Born, and went on to appear in such major stage works as Panama Hattie, Over 21, and Present Laughter. In 1947, she made her film debut in Tycoon, billed as Jane Darian. Ruth Gordon reportedly insisted she change her stage name and they agreed upon Jan Sterling. She played a prominent supporting role in Johnny Belinda (1948). Alternating between films and television, Sterling appeared in several television anthology series during the 1950s, and played film roles in Caged (1950), Mystery Street (1950), The Mating Season (1951), Ace in the Hole (1951), Flesh and Fury (1952), The Human Jungle (1954), and Female on the Beach (1955). Often cast as hard and determined characters, she played a more sympathetic character in Sky Full of Moon (1952). In 1950, she was cast as Ruth in the ABC western series The Marshal of Gunsight Pass. The series was telecast live from a primitive studio lot at the Iverson Ranch at Chatsworth, California. In 1954 Sterling was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The High and the Mighty. Later that year, she travelled to England to play the role of Julia in the first film version of George Orwell's 1984, despite being several months pregnant at the time. During the following years, she appeared regularly in films such as Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Kathy O, and The Female Animal. In late 1968, she began portraying the role of conniving Miss Foss in the long-running CBS soap opera The Guiding Light. She retired from films in favor of the stage in 1969 and returned to television in 1979 to portray Lou Henry Hoover in the miniseries Backstairs at the White House. Sterling's marriage to John Merivale ended in divorce, and her career began to decline after the death of her second husband, the actor Paul Douglas, in 1959. In the 1970s, she entered into a long-lasting personal relationship with Sam Wanamaker. Jan Sterling died in 2004 in Los Angeles, California, aged 82.
The Harder They Fall
as Beth WillisJobless sportswriter Eddie Willis is hired by corrupt fight promoter Nick Benko to promote his...
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Ace in the Hole
as Lorraine MinosaAn arrogant reporter exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to revitalize his career.
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In a totalitarian future society, a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by...
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Caged
as Jeta "Smoochie" KovskyA single mistake puts a 19-year old girl behind bars, where she experiences the terrors and...
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The Incident
as Muriel PurvisTwo hoodlums terrorize the passengers of a late-night New York City subway train.
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The High and the Mighty
as Sally McKeeDan Roman is a veteran pilot haunted by a tragic past. Now relegated to second-in-command...
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Johnny Belinda
as Stella McCormickA small-town doctor helps a deaf-mute farm girl learn to communicate.
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Mystery Street
as Vivian HeldonWhen a young woman's skeletal remains turn up on a Massachusetts beach, Barnstable cop Peter...
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Appointment with Danger
as DodieAl Goddard, a detective who works for the United States Postal Inspection Service, is assigned...
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Women's Prison
as Brenda MartinA crusading psychiatrist battles a sadistic female warden to improve conditions at a women's prison.
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Man with the Gun
as Nelly BainA stranger comes to town looking for his estranged wife. He finds her running the local girls....
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Tycoon
as Dancer at Fiesta (uncredited)Engineer Johnny Munroe is enlisted to build a railroad tunnel through a mountain to reach mines....
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Union Station
as Marge WrighterPolice catch a break when suspected kidnappers are spotted on a train heading towards Union...
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Pony Express
as Denny RussellBuffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok join forces to establish a mail route that can get mail from...
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First Monday in October
as Christine SnowFor the first time in history a woman is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she becomes...
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The Mating Season
as BetsyEllen McNulty leaves her New Jersey hamburger stand and heads west to pay a surprise visit to...
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Split Second
as Dorothy 'Dottie' ValeEscaped convicts hold hostages in a ghost town targeted for a nuclear bomb test.
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Rhubarb
as Polly SicklesRich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet he names Rhubarb....
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The Human Jungle
as Mary AbbottDanforth is assigned to take over the police department in a section of a large city saddled...
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Slaughter on 10th Avenue
as Madge PittsA rookie assistant DA is assigned to investigate the murder of a longshoreman, killed for...
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The Female Animal
as Lily FrayneJaded movie star Vanessa Windsor, saved from a studio accident by handsome extra Chris Farley,...
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Flesh and Fury
as Sonya BartowDeaf boxer Paul Callan captures the interest of gold-digging blonde Sonya Bartow and retired...
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Female on the Beach
as Amy RawlinsonLynn Markham moves into her late husband's beach house the morning after former tenant Eloise...
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High School Confidential!
as Arlene WilliamsA tough kid comes to a new high school and begins muscling his way into the drug scene. This is...
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Gunfire
as FloTubercular Frank James has become a born again and retired from his career as an outlaw with his...
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My Kidnapper, My Love
as Letty FairlainSmall-time crook Rooney cons his crippled brother, a street-wise news vendor, into snatching a...
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Dangerous Company
as Ray's MotherThe true story of Ray Johnson, a convict who spent most of his life in and out of prison until...
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Kathy O'
as Celeste SaundersA movie publicist is assigned to keep the public from learning that a beloved child star is an...
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The Costume Designer
as Self (archive footage)This short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The...
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Having Babies
as Mrs. FontreilThe story of four couples who are about to have children using the Lamaze method.
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The Skipper Surprised His Wife
as Rita RossiniA captain tries to keep home as tight as his ship.
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Return from the Sea
as FriedaA hardened career navel officer must come to terms with adapting to civilian life with the help...
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The Minx
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Alaska Seas
as Nicky JacksonA crooked salmon fisherman tries to steal his best friend's fiancée and put him out of business.
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The Vanquished
as Rose SlaterA man returns to his home -- a post Civil-War village -- and finds the law is in the hands of a...
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Sky Full of Moon
as Dixie DelmarA cowboy seeks fame and fortune in Las Vegas where he meets a girl working in a casino.
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American in Paris
as Gloria MilesThe owner of a travel agency in Paris tries to help fellow Americans in trouble.
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Love in a Goldfish Bowl
as Sandra SlideTwo platonic college friends spend a weekend away together. One is romanced by a member of the...
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The Angry Breed
as Gloria PattonIn Vietnam, aspiring actor Johnny Taylor is given a prize film script after saving the life of a...
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as SelfThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight...
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The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
as Beatrice BartelA continuation of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, hosted by the master of...
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Little House on the Prairie
as uncreditedLittle House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael...
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Burke's Law
as Devora CatoBurke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on...
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Burke's Law
as Vera SelbyBurke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on...
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Three's Company
as Judge SheffieldThe three single roommates Janet Wood, Chrissy Snow and Jack Tripper all platonically share...
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The Incredible Hulk
as uncreditedDuring an experiment gone bad, radiation turns a scientist into a raging green behemoth whenever...
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The Name of the Game
as Elsa RoarkeThe Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and...
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Adventures in Paradise
as Topaz HarmonyAdventures in Paradise is an American television series created by James Michener which ran on...
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Mannix
as Anne MarionMannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS....
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Run for Your Life
as Clara MalloryRun for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only...
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Climax!
as Dinah LakeClimax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...
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Climax!
as Audrey CaldwellClimax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...
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Naked City
as Myrtle TiloffNaked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network....
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Bonanza
as Dianne JordanThe High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch...
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Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Fran HollandA television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
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Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Wanda FerliniA television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
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Lux Video Theatre
as LeeLux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...
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Lux Video Theatre
as Chris HunterLux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...
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Lux Video Theatre
as JuliaLux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...
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Lux Video Theatre
as Mary FordLux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...
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Lux Video Theatre
as MaggieLux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...
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The Oscars
as SelfAn annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The...
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Medical Center
as Florence BrentMedical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976. It was produced...
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The Brian Keith Show
as uncreditedThe Brian Keith Show is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1972 to March 1974....
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Letter to Loretta
as LuciaLetter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to...
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Riverboat
as Lorna LangtonRiverboat is a 44-episode western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds...
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Suspicion
as GeorgianaSuspicion is the title of an American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC...
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The Jackie Gleason Show
as uncreditedThe prodigiously talented Gleason became a TV icon after he joined CBS from DuMont, where his...
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Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as uncreditedSchlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS....
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Breaking Point
as uncreditedBreaking Point is an American medical drama that aired on ABC from September 16, 1963, to April...
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Backstairs at the White House
as Lou HooverBehind the scenes at the White House during eight administrations, as told by the people who...
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General Electric Theater
as Gloria MilesGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...
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Kung Fu
as uncreditedThe adventures of a Shaolin Monk as he wanders the American West armed only with his skill in...
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