Leora Dana (April 1, 1923 – December 13, 1983) was an American film, stage and television actress from New York City. Dana appeared in numerous productions across film television and theatre including The Madwoman of Chaillot, Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot and The Asphalt Jungle (TV series). She won several awards across her career including the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising female. Dana died in 1983.
Leora Dana | |
|---|---|
 Dana in the trailer for Some Came Running (1958) | |
| Born | April 1, 1923 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 13, 1983 (aged 60) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations | American film, TV and stage actress |
| Years active | 1956–1983 |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play |
Early life
editDana was born on April 1, 1923,[1] in New York City; her elder sister was Doris Dana.[2] When Dana was 5 years old, her father abandoned the family.[3] Her mother, who was a nurse,[4] discouraged her plans to be an actress.[3] Dana graduated from Barnard College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[2][5] In the summer of 1945, while she was a student at Barnard, she was a theatrical apprentice at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine. She was the female lead opposite Neil Hamilton in the playhouse's production of Dear Brutus.[4]
Career
editStage
editIn 1947, Dana made her stage debut in London.[5] In 1948, she debuted on Broadway in The Madwoman of Chaillot.[2] Her other Broadway credits included The Happy Time (1950), Point of No Return (1951), Sabrina Fair (1953), The Best Man (1960), Beekman Place (1964), The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (1972), The Women (1973), and Mourning Pictures (1974).[1]
Film
editAfter appearing in the 1957 western 3:10 to Yuma with Van Heflin and Glenn Ford, Dana had supporting roles in two 1958 Frank Sinatra films; Kings Go Forth and Some Came Running. Her other film credits included Pollyanna (1960), A Gathering of Eagles (1963), The Group (1966), The Boston Strangler (1968), Change of Habit (1969), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Wild Rovers (1971), Shoot the Moon (1982), Baby It's You (1983), and Amityville 3-D (1983).[citation needed] Dana also played Anne Fry, the wife of the patriot John Fry, played by Jack Lord in the 1957 Paramount Pictures orientation film for Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot. The film has the distinction of being the longest-running motion picture in history, having been shown continually in the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center for over five decades.[6]
Television
editDana guest-starred in three episodes of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1960, she appeared in the Hitchcock-directed Startime episode "Incident at a Corner," which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In 1961, Dana appeared in an episode ("The Scott Machine") of the television series The Asphalt Jungle, and later appeared in the 1977 miniseries Seventh Avenue. In 1978–1979, Dana played the role of alcoholic clothing designer Sylvie Kosloff, the biological mother of villainess Iris Cory (Beverlee McKinsey) on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World.[citation needed]
Awards
editIn 1949, Dana won the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Female, for The Madwoman of Chaillot on Broadway.[7] She won the 1973 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, for The Last of Mrs. Lincoln.[2]
Personal life and death
editDana was married to actor Kurt Kasznar.[8] They were divorced in 1958.[9] She died of cancer, aged 60, December 13, 1983 in New York City.[2]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Valley of the Kings | Lovely Girl | Uncredited |
| 1957 | 3:10 to Yuma | Alice Evans | |
| 1957 | Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot | Anne Fry | |
| 1958 | Kings Go Forth | Mrs. Blair | |
| 1958 | Some Came Running | Agnes Hirsh | |
| 1960 | Pollyanna | Mrs. Paul Ford | |
| 1963 | A Gathering of Eagles | Evelyn Fowler | |
| 1966 | The Group | Mrs. Renfrew | |
| 1968 | The Boston Strangler | Mary Bottomly | |
| 1969 | Change of Habit | Mother Joseph | |
| 1970 | Tora! Tora! Tora! | Mrs. Kramer | |
| 1971 | Wild Rovers | Nell Buckman | |
| 1982 | Shoot the Moon | Charlotte DeVoe | |
| 1983 | Baby It's You | Miss Vernon | |
| 1983 | Amityville 3-D | Emma Caswell | |
| 1984 | Nothing Lasts Forever | Joyce | released posthumously |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Emmy Blanchard | Episode: "Nocturne" |
| 1951 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Clarice | Episode: "Mr. Arcularis" |
| 1954 | The Motorola Television Hour | Thea | Episode: "Black Chiffon" |
| 1955 | Studio One | Laura Ford | Episode: "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" |
| 1956 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Ruth | Episode: "Man in Shadow" |
| 1956 | Studio One | Margaret Norton | Episode: "The Arena" |
| 1956 | Star Tonight | Mrs. Teeling | Episode: "The Chevigny Man" |
| 1956 | Telephone Time | Elizabeth Barrett Browning | Episode: "Mr. and Mrs. Browning" |
| 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Irene Cole | Season 1 Episode 35: "The Legacy" |
| 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Vera Brown | Season 2 Episode 14: "John Brown's Body" |
| 1956 | Kraft Television Theatre | Louise | Episode: "The Sears Girl" |
| 1957 | Kraft Television Theatre | Marion Hunter | Episode: "The Medallion" |
| 1957 | Climax! | Rose Skinner | Episode: "Tunnel of Fear" |
| 1957 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Mrs. Ditwiter | Episode: "The Traveling Corpse" |
| 1958 | Suspicion | Sue Carey | Episode: "The Eye of Truth" |
| 1958 | Shirley Temple's Storybook | Dame Van Winkle | Episode: "Rip Van Winkle" |
| 1958 | The United States Steel Hour | Abby Hill | Episode: "The Bromley Touch" |
| 1959 | Alcoa Theatre | Janet Kennedy | Episode: "High Class Type of Mongrel" |
| 1959 | The Third Man | Gwen Easterday | Episode: "Death of an Overlord" |
| 1959 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Naomi Shawn | Season 4 Episode 31: "Your Witness" |
| 1959 | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | Anne Coleman | Episode: "King of the Valley" |
| 1960 | Playhouse 90 | Eleanor Lambert | Episode: "A Dream of Treason" |
| 1960 | Startime | Mrs. Tawley | Episode: "Incident at a Corner" |
| 1961 | The Aquanauts | Viviam | Episode: "The Margot Adventure" |
| 1961 | The Asphalt Jungle | Doris Scott | Episode: "The Scott Machine" |
| 1961 | The Working Mother | Laura Tyler | TV movie |
| 1961 | The Defenders | Carol Clark | Episode: "The Treadmill" |
| 1962 | Bus Stop | Katherine Benson | Episode: "The Opposite Virtues" |
| 1962 | Ben Casey | Mrs. Duncan | Episode: "And Even Death Shall Die" |
| 1963 | Stoney Burke | Ellen Mundorf | Episode: "The King of the Hill" |
| 1964 | Channing | Fran | Episode: "A Claim to Immortality" |
| 1964 | The Lieutenant | Edith Kaine | Episode: "Operation – Actress" |
| 1964 | Slattery's People | Mary Sanborn | Episode: "Question: What Is Truth?" |
| 1965 | The Nurses | Betty Bauer | Episodes: "Act of Violence" (parts 1 & 2) |
| 1967 | Judd, for the Defense | Elizabeth Rossiter | Episode: "Conspiracy" |
| 1969 | N.Y.P.D. | Frieda Elliot | Episode: "Everybody Loved Him" |
| 1974 | The American Parade | Susan B. Anthony | Episode: "We the Women" |
| 1974 | The Dain Curse | Mrs. Huntoon | Miniseries |
| 1976 | The Adams Chronicles | Abigail Smith Adams (age 44–74) | Miniseries |
| 1977 | Seventh Avenue | Mrs. Gold | Miniseries |
| 1979–80 | Another World | Sylvie Kosloff | Recurring role |
| 1980 | Nurse | Celia O'Brien | TV movie |
Radio appearances
edit| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Grand Central Station | Seed of Doubt[10] |
References
edit- 1 2 "Leora Dana". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Leora Dana, 60, Stage Actress". The New York Times. December 14, 1983. p. B5. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
- 1 2 Funk, Nancy (March 19, 1978). "Leora Dana's glad to be 'home'". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. E 5. Retrieved March 30, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Cail, Harold L. (July 1, 1948). "Two on the Aisle". Portland Evening Express. p. 20. Retrieved March 30, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. New York: Perigee Books. p. 301. ISBN 0-399-50601-2. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
- ↑ McCluney Jr., Richard L. (Summer 2004). "Remastering a Masterwork: Restoration of "The Patriot"". Colonial Williamsburg Journal. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
The longest-running motion picture ever, for forty-seven years The Patriot has introduced guests…
- ↑ "The Clarence Derwent Award | Past Recipients: 1945-Present". Actors' Equity Association. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
- ↑ "Actress Leora Dana Dies in New York". Los Angeles Times. December 17, 1983. p. Part II, page 8. Retrieved March 30, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Character Actor Kurt Kasznar Dies; Played Amiable Rogues". Lancaster New Era. August 8, 1979. p. 7. Retrieved March 30, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Kirby, Walter (February 17, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". Decatur Daily Review. p. 40. Retrieved June 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- Leora Dana at the Internet Broadway Database
- Leora Dana at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
- Leora Dana at IMDb
