Amanda Blake
Born Beverly Louise Neill
February 20, 1929
Buffalo, New York, USA
Died August 16, 1989 (aged 60)
Sacramento, California
Cause of death Cardiopulmonary arrest; liver failure; cytomegalovirus hepatitis
Occupation Actress
Amanda Blake (February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress “Miss Kitty Russell” on the western television series Gunsmoke. Along with her third husband, Frank Gilbert, she ran one of the first successful programs for breeding cheetahs in captivity.
Amanda Blake was born Beverly Louise Neill in Buffalo, New York, the only child of Jesse and Louise (née Puckett) Neill. Her father was a banker; Blake herself was a telephone operator before she took up acting. Catherine ″Kate” Moore Barry (1752–1823), one of her ancestors, was a heroine of the American Revolutionary War. She warned local patriots of Banastre Tarleton’s approach, giving them time to group and prepare for the Battle of Cowpens (January 17, 1781), a major American victory that helped pave the way for the British defeat at Yorktown. Blake placed a cameo-sized portrait of Barry owned by her family in the local history museum in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at which it remains on display.
Nicknamed “the Young Greer Garson”, she became best known for her 19-year stint as the saloon-keeper Miss Kitty on the television series Gunsmoke from 1955 to 1974.
Prior to that, Blake had appeared in a few Hollywood films, such as the 1952 western Cattle Town and in the starring role of Miss Robin Crusoe, a 1954 adaptation of the Robinson Crusoe adventure. In 1968, Blake was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. She was the third performer inducted, after Tom Mix and Gary Cooper, selected in 1958 and 1966, respectively.
Because of her continuing role on television, Blake rarely had time for films. She did appear on a number of television shows, including a recurring comedy routine on The Red Skelton Show, as a panelist on the long-running Hollywood Squares and the 1970s revival of Match Game, as well as comedy appearances on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast. In 1957, she guest-starred as Betty Lavon-Coate in the episode titled “Coate of Many Colors” on Rod Cameron’s crime drama, State Trooper. After the Gunsmoke reunion film, she made two feature-film appearances: in The Boost, a drug-addiction drama starring James Woods and Sean Young, and B.O.R.N, both in 1988.
After Gunsmoke, Blake went into semi-retirement at her home in Phoenix, Arizona, and took on few film or television projects. She instead devoted more time to her animals. She had been known for bringing her pet lion, Kemo, onto the Gunsmoke set. Kemo lived in an animal compound at her home, at which she and husband Frank Gilbert ran an experimental breeding program for cheetahs. They were some of the first to breed cheetahs successfully in captivity; they raised seven generations of cheetahs.
Blake had been a heavy cigarette smoker and had surgery for oral cancer in 1977. She became a supporter of the American Cancer Society and made fundraising appearances throughout the country. In 1984, she was the recipient of the society’s annual Courage Award, which was presented to her by then U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan. Blake died at age 60 on August 16, 1989, at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California. It was later widely reported in the popular media that Blake’s doctor claimed that she had actually died of AIDS. To date when? however, no copy of an HIV test for Blake has surfaced.
Selected filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1950 Stars In My Crown Faith Radmore Samuels
1950 Duchess of Idaho Linda Kinston
1950 Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard Karen Michelle
1951 China Corsair Jane Richards Uncredited
1951 Smuggler’s Gold Susan Hodges
1951 Never Trust a Gambler The Redhead at Police Station Uncredited
1951 Criminal Lawyer Receptionist Uncredited
1951 Sunny Side of the Street Susie Manning
1951 The Family Secret Telephone Girl Uncredited
1952 Scarlett Angel Susan Bradley
1952 Cattle Town Marian Hastings
1953 Lili Peach Lips (red-haired dame)
1953 Sabre Jet Helen Daniel
1954 Miss Robin Crusoe Robin Crusoe
1954 About Mrs. Leslie Gilly
1954 A Star Is Born Susan Ettinger
1954 The Adventures of Hajji Baba Banah
1955 The Glass Slipper Birdena
1955 High Society Clarissa Jones
1988 The Boost Barbara
1988 B.O.R.N. Rosie
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1952 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 2 episodes
1953 Cavalcade of America Nancy Hart Episode: “Breakfast at Nancy’s”
1954 Four Star Playhouse Susan Pierce Episode: “Vote of Confidence”
1955–
1974 Gunsmoke Kitty Russell 425 episodes
1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Carol Arlington Episode: “Whodunit”
1957 State Trooper Betty Lavon-Coate Episode: “Coate of Many Colors”
1957–
1963 The Red Skelton Show Ruby 7 episodes
1958 Studio One Joan Roberts Episode: “Tide of Corruption”
1959 Steve Canyon Molly McIntyre Episode: “Room 313”
1966 Clown Alley Pickpocket Clown CBS television film
1974 Betrayal Helen Mercer ABC Movie of the Week
1974 Tattletales Herself Game show: one week/5 episodes with husband Frank
1976 The Quest Miss Sally Episode: “Day of Outrage”
1979 The Love Boat Nora Knox Episode: “The Oldies But Goodies…”
1982 The Best Little Special in Texas Herself TV Movie Documentary
1983 Hart to Hart Big Sam Episode: “The Wayward Hart”
1984 The Edge of Night Dr. Juliana Stanhower June 19 – June 29, 1984[10]
1986 Brothers Carlotta Episode: “A Penny a Dance”
1987 Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge Kitty Russell TV movie
Including flashbacks to Gunsmoke episodes
1989 The New Dragnet Mrs. Sylvia Wilson Episode: “Nouveau Gypsies”