Oliver played the female lead character Vina in "The Cage" (1964), which was the first pilot of Gene Roddenberry's new show, Star Trek. Two years later, Susan returned to the big screen as another tough cookie in the better-received biopic The Gene Krupa Story (1959), as a jazz singer who lures the renowned drummer (played by Sal Mineo) down the road to drugs and near ruin.
[16], Episode: "The Menagerie" (Parts 1 & 2) During her career in Hollywood, Oliver appeared in more than 100 television programs. But most of all, I want to be myself. In 1966, Susan made bittersweet news, when her regular role as Ann Howard in the prime-time soap opera Peyton Place (1964), was pushed off a cliff to her death. [13], In 1967, piloting her own Aero Commander 200, she became the fourth woman to fly a single-engined aircraft solo across the Atlantic Ocean and the second to do it from New York City. Publicity Listings Susan Oliver was born Charlotte Gercke, the daughter of George Gercke, journalist, and Ruth Hale Oliver, an astrology practitioner, in New York City in 1932. But, there are a few factors that will affect the statistics, so, the above figures may not be 100% accurate. Welcome to my blog. She left a fine legacy of work in theater, motion pictures and television.Born Charlotte Gercke on February 13, 1932 (some sources incorrectly list years as early as 1929 or late as 1937), in New York City, she was the daughter of well-to-do George Gercke, a political reporter and journalist for the New York World, and his astrology practitioner wife, Ruth Oliver (aka Ruth Hale Oliver), both of whom divorced while Susan was still quite young (age 3). These events caused her to avoid flying for the next year, even turning down job offers (with the exception of auditioning for Butterfield 8) if they were so short notice she could only travel by air. By September 1949 and using her new name, Oliver returned to the East Coast to begin drama studies at Swarthmore College, followed by professional training at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. Susan Oliver (born Charlotte Gercke, February 13, 1932 – May 10, 1990) was an American actress, television director, and aviator. Susan Oliver at Find a Grave; Listen to Susan Oliver on Zero Hour hosted by Rod Serling Zero Hour Podcast 1973-12-24 (ep51) John Dehner and Susan Oliver – Fourth Of Forever – Part 1, with a new introduction. If you have any advice/complain, please feel free to contact us. [citation needed]. Not every actor will be a good director, you must have a good visual sense, a good story sense. From 1975 to 1976, Oliver was a regular cast member of the TV soap opera Days of Our Lives. [12], In July 1964, Hal Fishman introduced her to personal flying when he took her on an evening flight over Los Angeles in a Cessna 172. Radio was the main source of entertainment, information, and political propaganda, and jazz, blues, gospel, and folk music, became immensely popular. [12], In 1968, she was contacted by Learjet to see if she was interested in obtaining a type rating on one of their jets with the intent to set record flights for them. Susan continued to find extensive dramatic work in live East coast television plays, with roles on The Kaiser Aluminum Hour (1956), The United States Steel Hour (1953), Studio 57 (1954) and Matinee Theatre (1955). Oliver was the daughter of George Gercke, a journalist, and Ruth Hale Oliver, an astrology practitioner, in New York City in 1932. & The Wild Wild West TV Series, Actors/Actresses Who Appears in Both The Twilight Zone & The Wild Wild West series, Prettiest Actresses Appeared in The Wild Wild West (TV Series). The pilot was Margaret Mead (not the famous anthropologist), an experienced pilot who had flown in several derbies with different co-pilots. Susan Oliver's age 86 years (at death) & Zodiac Sign Aquarius, nationality American (by birth) & Race/Ethnicity is White. Let's check, How Tall is Susan Oliver? ASIN: B0014C7WYK, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, "Star Trek's original Green Girl the subject of Kickstarter documentary", "Susan Oliver Is Dead; Television Actress". She began the year with an ingenue part, as the daughter of an 18th-century Manhattan family, in her first Broadway play, Small War on Murray Hill, a Robert E. Sherwood comedy. Her parents divorced when she was still a child. Susan Oliver was born Charlotte Gercke, the daughter of George Gercke, journalist, and Ruth Hale Oliver, an astrology practitioner, in New York City in 1932. She then continued her training at New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse, while finding stage work in both summer stock and regional theaters. Two years later, Oliver's performance was reused in the first season, two-part episode "The Menagerie" (1966).
She wrote about her aviation exploits and philosophy of life in an autobiography published in 1983. Her father was a political reporter and journalist for the New York World. In 1970, she appeared as Carole Carson/Alice Barnes on the TV Western "The Men From Shiloh" (rebranded name for The Virginian) in the episode titled "Hannah". Her parents divorced when she was still a child. Her Body Measurements are 34 inch. [6] On November 9, 1960, she was cast as the lead guest star in "The Cathy Eckhart Story" on Wagon Train, with husband-and-wife actors John Larch and Vivi Janiss as Ben and Sarah Harness. The Twilight Zone: People Are Alike All Over, View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro, Actors/Actresses Who Both Appears in The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
She made one appearance on The Andy Griffith Show and ABC's family Western series, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters. In addition to her scores of television appearances, Oliver also had roles in several theatrical features, including The Gene Krupa Story (1959), Butterfield 8 (1960),[10] and The Caretakers (1963). In July 1957, Oliver was chosen for the title role in her first motion picture, The Green-Eyed Blonde, a low-budget independent melodrama scripted by Dalton Trumbo (under a pseudonym), and released by Warner Bros. in December on the bottom half of a double bill. She and the pilot escaped injury. The registry shows her to have earned commercial pilot ratings for airplane single-engined land, airplane multiengined land, instrument airplane, and private privileges for glider. She made her last onscreen appearance in the November 6, 1988, episode of the syndicated horror anthology Freddy's Nightmares.
[5] She also made two appearances in Quinn Martin's The Invaders (episodes: "Inquisition" and "The Ivy Curtain") on ABC[5] . Her last aviation medical examination was in May 1976; therefore, she could not legally pilot any aircraft except gliders after May 1978, marking the end of her piloting of powered aircraft.
Topbilled, she played the rebellious delinquent leader at a girls' reformatory and lent class to the rather exploitative material, which was written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo. [15], Oliver was diagnosed with colorectal cancer that later metastasized to her lungs, and she died on May 10, 1990, at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.
Her father was a political reporter and journalist for the New York World.