Mary Linn Beller Explained

Mary Linn Beller
Birth Date:1 March 1933
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York, US
Death Place:Greenwich Connecticut, US
Occupation:Actress
Alma Mater:Bennington College
Columbia University School of General Studies

Mary Linn Beller (March 1, 1933 – April 13, 2000) was an American child actress.

Early years

Beller was born in Brooklyn on March 1, 1933, the daughter of Samuel and Helen Beller.[1] She began taking acting lessons by age 9, studying at the Heckscher Foundation and the Neighborhood Playhouse in Manhattan. She began auditioning for parts on radio when she was 12. She attended Midwood High School, Bennington College and Columbia University School of General Studies.[2]

Career

Beller's first professional acting role consisted of a giggle[3] on the radio version of Our Miss Brooks when she was 12 years old.[4] She portrayed Babby on The Brighter Day[5] and appeared on other radio programs, including Let's Pretend and School of the Air.

On stage, Beller performed in summer stock at age 16 in the ingenue lead role in You Can't Take It With You. Other summer stock roles were followed by a six-week tour in Leaf and Bough, which had three performances on Broadway. She also appeared in the Broadway production Have I Got a Girl for You!.[6]

Beller continued her role of Babby on the television version of The Brighter DayI. She also portrayed Judy Foster, the title character on the television version of A Date with Judy and "little sister"[7] Connie Thayer on The First Hundred Years. Other TV programs on which she appeared included Escape, Silver Theatre, and Starlight Theatre.

Personal life and death

Beller married business executive Robert L. Pitofsky in September 1954. She died on April 13, 2000, at Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut.[8]

Notes and References

  1. News: Gross . Ben . Second Hearing--Second Sight . November 17, 2022 . Daily News . March 3, 1951 . New York, New York City . 26 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: Irwin . Virginia . Judy, Creator of Chaos: Mary Linn Beller Started Her Career With a Giggle . November 17, 2022 . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . September 13, 1952 . 5 - J . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: A Giggle Opened TV Door to Her . November 18, 2022 . Chicago Daily Tribune . January 7, 1956 . 7 . Newspapers.com.
  4. Helman . Marion . September 1956 . 58–59, 96 . In Praise of Parents . TV Radio Mirror . November 20, 2022.
  5. Book: Dunning . John . On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio . May 7, 1998 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-977078-6 . 120 . November 18, 2022 . en.
  6. Web site: Mary Linn Beller . Internet Broadway Database . The Broadway League . November 18, 2022 .
  7. News: The Turning Poing: Acting was a complete surprise for Mary Linn . November 17, 2022 . The Akron Beacon Journal . Parade . May 6, 1951 . 111 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Paid Notice: Deaths Pitofsky, Lynne (Nee Mary Linn Beller) . November 18, 2022 . The New York Times . April 16, 2000 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090526223346/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/classified/paid-notice-deaths-pitofsky-lynne-nee-mary-linn-beller.html . May 26, 2009.