| Birth Date: | 14 November 1928 |
| Birth Name: | Elizabeth Margaret von Gerkan |
| Birth Place: | Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Los Angeles City College University of California, Los Angeles |
| Education: | Fairfax High School |
| Occupation: | Film, stage, television actress |
| Years Active: | 1948–1998 |
| Spouse: | Stanley Rubin (1954–2014; his death) |
| Children: | 4 |
Kathleen Hughes (born Elizabeth Margaret von Gerkan; November 14, 1928)[1] is a retired American actress.
Hughes was born in Hollywood, California, on November 14, 1928. Her uncle, F. Hugh Herbert, was a playwright who authored Kiss and Tell and The Moon Is Blue.[2] [1] Her desire to act was inspired by a film she saw featuring Donald O'Connor, which gave her the idea that "acting looked like fun."[3] After graduating from Fairfax High School, Hughes attended Los Angeles City College and UCLA.[4]
Hughes was discovered in a Little Theater production in 1948. Signed to a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox, she made 14 films for the studio. She appeared in five motion pictures for Universal Studios, including the cult film It Came From Outer Space. Hughes co-starred with Edward G. Robinson in a 1953 crime drama, The Glass Web, and opposite Rock Hudson in an adventure film that year, The Golden Blade.
By 1956, Hughes was appearing in television series. She played in episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956–1957), Telephone Time (1956), The Bob Cummings Show (1958), The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, 77 Sunset Strip (1959), Hotel de Paree (1959), Tightrope! (1959), General Electric Theater (1960–1962), The Tall Man (1961), Bachelor Father (1962), Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1965), and I Dream of Jeannie (1967).
In 1962, Hughes played the role of murder victim Lita Krail in the sixth-season 1962 episode of Perry Mason, entitled "The Case of the Double-Entry Mind". She played the recurring role of Mrs. Coburn on the television series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir. She appeared on M*A*S*H as Lorraine Blake, wife of unit commander Henry Blake, in a home movie she sent to him. Hughes portrayed Mitch, a secretary, on the NBC drama Bracken's World (1969–1971).[5]
Hughes' favorite stage role was in the play The Seven Year Itch.[3]
On July 25, 1954, Hughes married Stanley Rubin, the producer of Bracken's World, at the home of her uncle.[6] The couple had one daughter and three sons. The marriage lasted 59 years, until Rubin died on March 2, 2014, at the age of 96.[7]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Mother Is a Freshman | Rhoda Adams | ||
| Mr. Belvedere Goes to College | Kay Nelson | |||
| It Happens Every Spring | Sarah | |||
| 1950 | Where the Sidewalk Ends | Secretary | ||
| Mister 880 | Secretary | |||
| I'll Get By | Secretary | |||
| 1951 | Take Care of My Little Girl | Jenny Barker | ||
| I'll See You in My Dreams | Nurse | |||
| 1952 | For Men Only | Tracy Norman | ||
| Sally and Saint Anne | Lois Foran | |||
| 1953 | It Came from Outer Space | Jane | ||
| The Golden Blade | Bakhamra | |||
| Thy Neighbor's Wife | Anushka | |||
| The Glass Web | Paula Ranier | |||
| 1954 | Dawn at Socorro | Clare | ||
| 1955 | Cult of the Cobra | Julia Thompson | ||
| 1956 | Three Bad Sisters | Valerie Craig | ||
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Marian Koster | Season 2 Episode 11: "The Better Bargain" | ||
| 1957 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Ann Nash | Season 2 Episode 29: "Vicious Circle" | |
| 1958 | Unwed Mother | Linda | ||
| 1966 | Promise Her Anything | Bit part | ||
| 1967 | The President's Analyst | White House Tourist | ||
| 1971 | The Late Liz | Elaine Rich | ||
| 1972 | Pete 'n' Tillie | Party Guest | ||
| 1974 | The Take | School Nurse | ||
| 1990 | Revenge | Mother Superior | ||
| 1998 | Welcome to Hollywood | Woman in curlers | ||
| 2017 | Swamp Women Kissing Booth | Matilda |