Louise O Neill Popular Books
Louise O Neill Biography & Facts
Amanda Blake (born Beverly Louise Neill, 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 fourth husband, Frank Gilbert, she ran one of the first successful programs for breeding cheetahs in captivity. Early life 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 was a telephone operator and briefly attended Pomona College before she took up acting. Catherine Moore ″Kate" Barry (1752–1823), one of Amanda's 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. Career In the late 1940s, Blake was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as the studio saw her as its next Greer Garson. She 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 1954, she appeared in A Star Is Born. Blake became best known for her 19-year stint as the saloon-keeper Miss Kitty on the television series Gunsmoke from 1955 to 1974. On February 27, 1974, Blake brought a lion named Kemo on to the Gunsmoke set. 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 celebrity on Hollywood Squares, Tattletales, and the 1970s revival of Match Game; and comedy appearances on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast. In 1957, Blake guest-starred as Betty Lavon-Coate in the episode titled "Coate of Many Colors" on Rod Cameron's crime drama, State Trooper. Later, after a 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. 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 in 1966. Personal life Blake married Don Whitman in 1954 and divorced him in 1956. After the divorce from Whitman, she would go to the 'saloon set' of Gunsmoke. Blake felt like it was home to her on the days when she was not needed. She married Austin, Texas, city councilman Mark Edward Spaeth in 1984. Spaeth died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1985. Animal welfare After Gunsmoke, Blake went into semi-retirement at her home in Phoenix 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 joined with others in 1971 to form the Arizona Animal Welfare League, today the oldest and largest "no-kill" animal shelter in the state. In 1985, she helped finance the start-up of the Performing Animal Welfare Society and devoted a great deal of time and money in support of its efforts, including travels to Africa. Blake reportedly was a one-time board member of the Humane Society of the United States. In 1997, the Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge opened at Rancho Seco Park in Herald, California. The refuge provides sanctuary for free-ranging African hoofed wildlife, most of which were originally destined for exotic animal auctions or hunting ranches. Declining health and death In 1977 Blake, who was a heavy cigarette smoker, developed oral cancer that was successfully treated with surgery. 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 Reagan. On August 16, 1989, Blake died of AIDS-related pneumonia at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California at the age of 60. Her death was initially attributed to throat cancer but, after her death, her doctor publicly announced her death was due to complications from AIDS. It is not known how Blake contracted the disease. Blake’s close friends insisted that she was not a drug user or sexually promiscuous, and that she may have acquired AIDS from her fifth husband who also died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1985. Filmography References Citations Sources Aaker, Everett (2017). Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 1810. ISBN 978-1476662503. Green, Stanley (1990). Hollywood Musicals Year by Year. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 188. ISBN 978-0634007651. External links Amanda Blake at IMDb Amanda Blake at AllMovie Amanda Blake Gunsmoke.net. Discover the Louise O Neill popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Louise O Neill books.
Best Seller Louise O Neill Books of 2024
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Girls with Sharp Sticks
Suzanne Young“Enough plot twists to give a reader whiplash.” CosmopolitanFrom New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young comes the start of a thrilling, subversive new series about a girls...
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The Hungry Road
Marita Conlon-McKennaThe No.1 bestselling novel of the Great Irish Famine from one of Ireland's most beloved writersIreland's hopes for freedom are dashed with the arrival of a deadly potato blight tha...
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The Weight of Love
Hilary Fannin'This is heartache for grown ups. The Weight of Love pulls you in and does not let go' ANNE ENRIGHT'Beautiful and painful, exquisitely written, shot through with nostalgia for our ...
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Astra
Naomi FoyleIsland is a Gaian paradise in the middle of a blasted world but its success comes at a dark price.Like every child in IsLand, all Astra Ordott has ever wanted is to get her Securi...
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Silenced
Ann ClaycombA powerful fairy tale of four women each cursed by the same abusive man. Gripping and essential, it will captivate readers of Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, Heather Walter's Malice ...
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How to Write a Mystery
Mystery Writers of AmericaFrom 70 of the most successful mystery writers in the business, an invaluable guide to crafting mysteriesfrom character development and plot to procedurals and thrillers“this is a ...
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SweetFreak
Sophie McKenzieGet ready for a brand new edgeofyourseat read from bestselling author Sophie McKenzie! When everyone thinks you're a liar, how hard will you fight for the truth?Carey and Ame...
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The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp
Sarra ManningA hilarious contemporary retelling of the classic society novel, VANITY FAIR, featuring the irrepressible Becky SharpBeautiful, brilliant, ruthless – nothing can stop Becky Sharp.B...
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Cemetery Lake
Paul CleaveA heartthumping, noholdsbarred murdermystery that keeps you guessing until the very last page. Some secrets won't stay buried . . . A standard exhumation becomes anything but f...
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Winging It
Tommy Tiernan'A great read' Brendan O'Connor, RTÉIn nearly three decades as a performer, Tommy Tiernan has never wanted to play it safe. So, when it came to doing a chat show, he threw out the ...
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Lucky
Marissa StapleyREESE’S BOOK CLUB PICKA thrilling rollercoaster ride about a heist gone terribly wrong, with a plucky protagonist who will win readers’ hearts.What if you had the winning ticket th...
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The Double Tenth
George BrownMalaya, 1952 The War of the Running Dogs.They shot the Chinese courier and took the documents he was carrying. Then they cut off his hands and rolled him into a shallow grave.Anot...
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Limelight
Daisy BuchananThis good girl is naked on the internet... By day, Frankie lives an ordinary life: doting daughter, supportive sister, adoring aunt and (mostly) capable colleague. The only troub...
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White Villa
Emily HouricanWhat happens when you invite an outsider in?It was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime a luxury villa in Ibiza, a group of university friends, and their last chance to cut lo...
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The Stolen Ones
Shy KeenanThe children are sending her messages...Dr. Cordelia Hunter has been brought in by the police's elite child protection unit to consult on their investigation into a terrifying inte...
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The Blood of the Hoopoe
Naomi FoyleIs Astra ready to accept her destiny? A gripping novel for 'Hunger Games fans of all ages' says Library Journal. War is breaking out in Kadingir. Still struggling to accept her rol...
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The Sky is Mine
Amy BeashelShortlisted for the Bristol Teen Book Award 2020Longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2021Nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2021‘Izzy is my hero, and her voice deserves to b...
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Man Down
James GoodhandWill Parks needs to man up.A man stands. A man fights. A man bleeds.These are the first lessons you learn in a town where girls are objects, words are weak and fists do the talking...
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Dear Cathy ... Love, Mary
Catherine Conlon & Mary Phelan'Poignant, funny and highly readable. Would make a wonderful present.' Sue Leonard, Examiner'A real snapshot in time ... a celebration of female friendship ... fantastic such a g...
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Payday
Celia WaldenTHE RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK FOR AUTUMN 2022 Can YOU guess who killed Jamie Lawrence? Don't miss the new spectacularly entertaining thriller from Celia Walden THE SQUARE i...
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Stained Light
Naomi FoyleAstra Ordott tried and failed to deny her destiny. The final installment in the criticallyacclaimed SF quartet 'for Hunger Games fans of all ages' (Library Journal). Perfect for ...
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We Are All Constellations
Amy BeashelA heartbreaking and hopefilled tale about the stories we tell ourselves to survive for fans of Kathleen Glasgow and Jennifer Niven. From the author of the Carnegie Medal nominated ...