CAMERON MITCHELL three original press photos OHMS The High Chapparal western

Description

CAMERON MITCHELL three original press photos OHMS The High Chapparal western. With original gray caption sheet. With original NBC caption sheet featuring the color NBC peacock logo. Dec. 18, 1970. Alviene school director Claude Alviene said of Mitchell "Your son, not only has exceptional dramatic ability, but the quality of his singing voice is so musical. (it) leaves little doubt of an ultimate successful career.". These are three original press photos of Cameron Mitchell. 1. NBC press photo of Cameron on The High Chaparral. 7x9 inches. With original gray caption sheet. 2. Cameron as Buck Cannon, a fugitive on the run, in "The Badge" episode of "The High Chaparral." With original NBC caption sheet featuring the color NBC peacock logo. Dec. 18, 1970. 3. Cameron and Dixie Carter in the CBS Wednesday Night Movie Ohms, about a community of farmers struggling against a power company. BACKGROUND Cameron Mitchell (born Cameron McDowell Mitzell ; November 4, 1918 – July 6, 1994) was an American actor whose career spanned 55 years across film, stage, and television. Mitchell began his career on Broadway before entering films in the 1950s, appearing in several major features. Later in his career, he became known for his roles in numerous exploitation films in the 1970s and 1980s. Mitchell began acting on Broadway in the late 1930s before signing a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appearing in such films as Cass Timberlane (1945) and Homecoming (1948). He subsequently originated the role of Happy Loman in the Broadway production of Arthur Miller 's Death of a Salesman (1949), a role he reprised in the 1951 film adaptation . With 20th Century Fox , he appeared in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Throughout the 1960s, he appeared in spaghetti Westerns and Italian films ―including several collaborations with director Mario Bava ―then on U.S. television. Once he made the transition, he was starring as Uncle Buck Cannon on the Western series, The High Chaparral (1967-1971). From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, he appeared in numerous exploitation and horror films and television shows. Early life Mitchell was born Cameron McDowell Mitzell on November 4, 1918,[ 2] in Dallastown, Pennsylvania , of Scottish and German descent, one of Rev. Charles Michael Mitzell and Kathryn Isabella (née Ehrhart) Mitzell's seven children.[ 3] Mitchell moved to Chicora, Pennsylvania , in 1921 when his father was accepted as pastor of the St. John's Reformed Church, Butler, Pennsylvania ,[ 4] and grew up in Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania . The family was poor, and Mitchell wore both shoes and coats handed down from his sisters to school.[ 5] Education Mitchell attended Shrewsbury Elementary School in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania. He won first place in a 700-student spelling bee contest in 1933 and was awarded a "large Webster's dictionary".[ 6] He was a 1936 graduate of New Freedom High School in New Freedom, Pennsylvania .[ 7] Active in boxing[ 8] and other sports in high school, Mitchell was a star baseball pitcher on his school's team. Mitchell turned away from sports, instead choosing to pursue an acting career. He explained his decision, saying "I decided against playing baseball because I thought there wasn't enough security in it. Isn't that silly? I now know there is nothing less secure than acting".[ 9] In 1937, Helena Hartenstein, Mitchell's high-school French teacher, lent him the money to travel to New York City, where he auditioned at three acting schools - the Theatre School of Dramatic Arts, the Alviene Master School of the Theatre, and the Academy of Cultural Arts.[ 10] [ 5] Although offered a scholarship to attend Alviene, Mitchell chose the Theatre School. Its director, Norman C. Brace, wrote Mitchell's father, saying "... your son should succeed in becoming a very fine artist for the stage, screen or radio." Alviene school director Claude Alviene said of Mitchell "Your son, not only has exceptional dramatic ability, but the quality of his singing voice is so musical... (it) leaves little doubt of an ultimate successful career..."[ 11] Military service From 1943 - 1945, Mitchell served as a bombardier with the United States Army Air Forces MOS 1035-Bombardier group during World War II .[ 12] Mitchell recalled, "I was a lousy bombardier -- I never hit anything".[ 5] Mitchell's final rank was second lieutenant.[ 13] Acting career Early years Mitchell recalled his first days in New York City attending acting school, saying, "When I got to New York I had never ridden in an elevator or used a telephone". To make ends meet, he held many jobs, including theatre ushering, mail clerking, and washing dishes in restaurants. He was an NBC page at NBC Radio City with then-unknown fellow actor Gregory Peck .[ 14] After two years of trying and still hoping to break into acting, Mitchell wrote dozens of letters to actors, agents, and producers in 1939. He received no response from the effort. He said, "I was bitter, mad at everyone. I sat down and wrote a letter to Alfred Lunt . It was the world's worst letter. I hate to think about it. I said I was a better actor than he was, but I was never going to get a chance to prove it".[ 9] The highly critical letter pointed out what Mitchell thought was Lunt's poor performance in the movie The Guardsman . Mitchell ended the letter saying, "If you think you can act, you should see me".[ 15] Lunt answered Mitchell and offered him an audition. Mitchell, realizing his impudence, apologized for having written the letter. Lunt's wife, actress Lynn Fontanne , told him, "Don't worry about what you've done. Acting is your life's work, and you're not only going to be a good actor, but you're [also] going to be a great actor".[ 5] Fontanne also advised Mitchell to change his surname from "Mitzell" to "Mitchell", saying she thought his last name would hinder his career due to the then rising anti-German sentiment in America. He took her advice and changed his name. Cameron Mitchell studio portrait circa 1940s In 1952, Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper said of Mitchell, "He isn't handsome. He isn't one of the lucky-break boys or the overnight flashes. Cam has gotten there the hard way over an uphill, obstacle-ridden course".[ 16] His agent, Ronald Leif, described Mitchell's ability, saying, "A true actor isn't tagged. He isn't a heavy, a comic or a juvenile – he can assume any personality the role demands and play it convincingly. Such a man is Cameron Mitchell".[ 16] Stage work In 1939, Mitchell made his Broadway debut in a minor role in Jeremiah .[ 17] He also appeared in the 1939 production of The Taming of the Shrew as a member of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne 's National Theater Company.[ 18] In 1941, he appeared again on Broadway in The Trojan Women .[ 17] Radio career Mitchell also worked in radio throughout his career, both acting and announcing. In 1942, Mitchell was both station chief announcer and sports announcer at WSRR AM in Stamford, Connecticut.[ 19] He was reported to have joined the Army Air Forces in July, 1943, and would be stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, where he was scheduled to host a weekly radio show on KFEQ AM in St. Joseph, Missouri.[ 20] He became an Army Air Corps bombardier, instead. After World War II, Mitchell continued to act in radio dramas. He starred in the CBS daytime radio show Grand Central Station on January 21, 1950, in the episode "Lost and Found". Each week, the show featured an actor who was then currently appearing on Broadway in New York City.[ 21] Transition to film Mitchell's film career began in 1945 as a contract actor at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for three years, with minor roles in films, including brief appearances in What Next, Corporal Hargrove? and They Were Expendable (1945), starring John Wayne and Robert Montgomery . He was featured with Lana Turner and Spencer Tracy in Cass Timberlane , and with Wallace Beery in The Mighty McGurk (both 1947). He concluded his MGM period acting in two Clark Gable films, Homecoming and Command Decision (both 1948).[ 22] Mitchell moved to Columbia Pictures and had his first movie-star role as a prizefighter in the film noir Leather Gloves (1948). He appeared as a deep-sea diver in Smuggler's Gold (1951). He also starred in Monogram Pictures' Flight To Mars (1951) .[ 23] Mitchell originated the role of Happy Loman in Arthur Miller 's Death of a Salesman (1949) on Broadway.[ 24] His performance earned him a 1949 Theatre World Award .[ 25] After its closing, he appeared again in the Broadway production of Southern Exposure (1950).[ 17] Mitchell reprised the role of Happy Loman in the 1951 film adaptation released by Columbia Pictures .[ 24] Mitchell was contracted with 20th Century-Fox, where he had a prolific career in such films as Les Misérables (1952) as Marius, and in the comedy How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), in which he portrayed a wealthy man attempting to romance a single woman (played by Lauren Bacall ).[ 26] Mitchell and Bella Darvi on the set of Hell and High Water (1954) He then appeared alongside Gary Cooper , Susan Hayward , and Richard Widmark in the drama Garden of Evil (1954), followed by a supporting role in Samuel Fuller 's Cold War drama Hell and High Water (1954).[ 27] He subsequently co-starred with Marlon Brando in Désirée (1954);[ 28] with Gable and Jane Russell in the Western The Tall Men (1955); and the film version of the stage musical Carousel (1956).[ 28] Mitchell was lent back to MGM to co-star with Doris Day and James Cagney in the musical drama Love Me or Leave Me (1955).[ 28] Mitchell co-starred with Joanne Woodward and Sheree North in the drama No Down Payment (1957).[ 28] Television career Mitchell moved from movies to television in the 1950s, saying he no longer cared for then current film work. "Thank God I worked with the great ones: Gable, Cooper, Power. The respect, mystique, and imagination are gone from the movies. The old movies were better. Today they're junk".[ 16] Mitchell starred in an unsold 1959 television pilot called I Am a Lawyer .[ 29] He had the lead as John Lackland in the 1961 syndicated adventure series The Beachcomber .[ 30] Mitchell with Patricia Barry in The High Chaparral The High Chaparral Mitchell, who did not drink,[citation needed ] achieved success on television starring as the former Confederate soldier, drunkard cowhand Buck Cannon in the NBC Western series, The High Chaparral which aired from 1967 to 1971.[ 31] Mitchell praised the series, saying, "I firmly believe that our show is the best of all the Westerns. There is nothing like it. It's not hip. I'm sick of hip – it's old style. The realism is wonderful. It's like it was. On location, where we do most of our shooting, I've walked where Cochise actually walked the land. I've talked to the people, some of the real pioneers of the West. For me, this series is not just a series, it's one long story".[ 16] During the show's production, Mitchell was reportedly "an outspoken, hard-headed guy who has fought with all his High Chaparral colleagues and who manages to alienate just about everybody who runs into him, from fans to producers". Mitchell agreed, saying, "Everybody on the show hates me, except (producer) David Dortort . Maybe hate is too strong a word. But I think they all respect the truth of what I say".[ 5] Exploitation film career Throughout the 1960s, Mitchell starred in numerous exploitation films , including Italian sword and sandal , horror , fantasy , and thriller films, several of which were directed by Mario Bava . Among his collaborations with Bava were the action film Erik the Conqueror (1961), playing a Viking; Blood and Black Lace (1964), in which he portrayed the owner of a fashion house plagued by a series of brutal murders; and as a knife-throwing Viking warrior in Knives of the Avenger (1966).[ 3] He also appeared in Westerns , such as Minnesota Clay (1964) and Ride in the Whirlwind (1966). In later years, Mitchell appeared in villainous roles as a sheriff-turned-outlaw in Hombre (1967), a bandit in Buck and the Preacher (1972), and a Ku Klux Klan racist in The Klansman (1974). Beginning in 1970, he intermittently filmed The Other Side of the Wind with director Orson Welles , a project that was unreleased until 2018, 24 years after his death.[ 32] In 1975–1976, he portrayed Jeremiah Worth in the Swiss Family Robinson TV series,[ 33] and had a supporting role opposite Leo Fong in the Filipino film Enforcer from Death Row (1976).[ 34] Mitchell was subsequently featured on an episode of Bonanza and ABC 's S.W.A.T. . He guest-starred on the "Landslide" episode of Movin' On in 1975. He appeared on Gene Evans 's short-lived Spencer's Pilots on CBS in 1976. Mitchell also had roles in horror films and in many exploitation films, such as The Toolbox Murders (1978), the creature feature The Swarm (1978), the slasher film The Demon (1979), and the slasher film Silent Scream (1980). He appeared again on Broadway in the 1978 production of The November People ,[ 17] and the same year starred as Henry Gordon in the television miniseries adaptation of Black Beauty .[ 35] Later work Late in his career, Mitchell played a gangster for laughs in My Favorite Year (1982), a drunken ship captain in the Filipino martial-arts horror-comedy Raw Force (1982), and a police detective in the 1983 pornographic film Dixie Ray, Hollywood Star .[ 36] He had a supporting role in the anthology horror films Night Train to Terror (1985) and From a Whisper to a Scream (1987), as well as roles portraying right-wing General Edwin A. Walker in Prince Jack (1985), and as Captain Alex Jansen in Space Mutiny , a 1988 South African science-fiction film that appeared as an "Experiment" in episode 820 of Mystery Science Theater 3000. In 1984, he had the role of Duke Kovak in Partners in Crime .[ 37] He also appeared in an episode of Knight Rider , playing the role of criminal Bernie Mitchell. Through the end of the decade, Mitchell appeared in many low-budget, direct-to-video films, often in roles only lasting a few minutes. His role in these productions led him to be a recurring subject, and later a running gag, on the internet film review show Best of the Worst .[ 38] [ 39] Aborted sports career Mitchell pitched for the Culver City-Palms semiprofessional baseball team when his acting schedule allowed. In 1947, a scout for the Detroit Tigers said Mitchell had "definite major-league possibilities" and offered him a contract to sign on as a pitcher for the Tigers. Mitchell told the scout, "Gee, I certainly appreciate the offer, but I'm already under contract". When asked to whom, Mitchell answered "To MGM. I'm getting $ 20,000 a year as an actor." (equivalent to $288,376 in 2025).[ 40] Mitchell said he kept the unsigned contract throughout his life.[ 41] On August 18, 1947, he pitched four hitless innings as a member of the Pacific Coast League Hollywood Stars against the Los Angeles Angels during the 1947 Damon Runyon Cancer Fund game held in Hollywood, Los Angeles . The Stars won 4-3. Mitchell was dismayed that newspaper articles about the game referred to him as a "bit player". He said, "If they had only referred to me as an actor. That one remark took away all of the enjoyment I had in the game".[ 42] Mitchell did sign with the Las Vegas Wranglers as a pitcher on August 31, 1947.[citation needed ] Mitchell pitched one game throwing curveballs. Unfortunately, in one inning, his pitching allowed the opposing Ontario Orioles 13 runs, 11 hits, and five walks.[citation needed ] The Wranglers cancelled Mitchell's next scheduled appearance, quickly ending his semiprofessional career.[citation needed ] Personal life On August 17, 1940, Mitchell married Johanna Mendel in Lancaster, New Hampshire .[ 43] Mendel's father, Fred Mendel, had founded Intercontinental Packers in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan . The Mitchells' four children held dual US/Canadian citizenship. Daughter Camille Mitchell and son Charles (later known as Cameron Mitchell Jr.) are both actors. Son Michael Fredrick "Fred" Mitchell, became president of Intercontinental Packers. Now known as Mitchell's Gourmet Foods,[ 44] the company is owned by Maple Leaf Foods . His first wife, Johanna filed a lawsuit alleging cruelty, and sought over $2,000 a month in financial support.[ 43] Mitchell married Lissa Jacobs Gertz in June 1957.[ 45] Mitchell and Gertz had three children: Kate, Jake, and Jono.[citation needed ] In February 1974, Mitchell entered his second bankruptcy, with $2.4 million in debts contrasted against $26 in two bank accounts. He told Associated Press writer Bob Thomas: "The reasons are the same as have happened to other actors over the years. Stupid, bad investments. Parasites who live off you. Too much trust in people who handle your money".[ 46] On May 9, 1973, Mitchell married Margaret Brock Johnson Mozingo, whom he met when he was in Clemson, South Carolina , making The Midnight Man ; their marriage took place in Puerto Rico .[ 45] In November 1976, his wife applied to a civil court to annul the marriage on the grounds of bigamy. Arguing she was the victim of deception, she said she married her husband before his divorce from Gertz was finalized on February 23, 1974.[ 45] Mitchell's marriage to Mozingo was formally annulled.[ 46] In March 1976, Gertz had sued Mozingo for $53,000, a sum she claimed Mitchell and Mozingo agreed to pay her as a divorce settlement.[ 45] Death Mitchell died of lung cancer on July 6, 1994, in Pacific Palisades, California , at age 75.[ 1] He is buried in Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California .[ 47] Accolades 1949: Theatre World Award – Actor – Death Of A Salesman 1956: Golden Laurel Award - Top Male Character Performance - Love Me or Leave Me 1957: BAMBI Award - Best Actor International - Monkey on My Back 1970: BAMBI Award - Best TV Series International - The High Chaparral (Shared with: Linda Cristal · Henry Darrow · Leif Erickson · Mark Slade) The High Chaparral is an American Western action-adventure drama television series that aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971, starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell . The series was made by Xanadu Productions in association with NBC Productions, and was created by David Dortort , who had previously created Bonanza for the network. The theme song was written and conducted by Bonanza scorer David Rose , who also scored the two-hour pilot. Episodes Main article: List of The High Chaparral episodes SeasonEpisodesOriginally releasedFirst releasedLast released 1 28 September 10, 1967 March 31, 1968 2 26 September 20, 1968 April 4, 1969 3 26 September 19, 1969 May 5, 1970 4 18 September 18, 1970 March 12, 1971 Cast and characters The show is set in the 1870s, and revolves around "Big John" Cannon (Erickson), a rancher living in the dry desert of the southern Arizona Territory , near the Mexican border, in Apache Indian country. John runs a ranch, called "The High Chaparral" (named by his first wife Anna-Lee, for a local plant/brush), with his brother Buck (Mitchell) and his own son Billy Blue (usually referred to as "Blue" or "Blue Boy") (Mark Slade ). Blue Boy's mother, Anna-Lee Cannon (Joan Caulfield ), is killed in the first episode by an attacking Apache Indian arrow. John then marries a beautiful Mexican woman named Victoria (Linda Cristal ), 30 years his junior, the daughter of powerful neighboring Mexican rancher Don Sebastián Montoya (Frank Silvera ), in what is initially a marriage of convenience. She soon comes to appreciate his strength and character, falls in love with him and becomes very supportive. John's marriage to Victoria also brings her brother Manolito (Henry Darrow ) to live with the American "gringo" family on the extensive ranch. Among the many frequent guest stars were Rico Alaniz , Richard Bradford , Scott Brady , Rory Calhoun . Anthony Caruso , Chief Dan George , Dennis Cross , Jim Davis , John Dehner , Bruce Dern , Charles Durning , Paul Fix , Steve Forrest , Ron Foster , Ted Gehring , Frank Gorshin , Ron Hagerthy , Ron Hayes , Myron Healey , Barbara Hershey , Don Keefer , Dan Kemp, Robert Loggia , Jack Lord , Tyler McVey , Ricardo Montalbán , Joanna Moore , Robert Pine , Nehemiah Persoff , Denver Pyle , Stuart Randall , Gilbert Roland , Ned Romero , Kurt Russell , Frank Silvera , Barry Sullivan , William Sylvester , William Tannen , Dub Taylor , Paul Winfield , and Morgan Woodward . Series format The two-hour opening episode establishes the background to the action, bringing "Big John" Cannon and his family and brother Buck to the frontier high desert scrubland in the southern Arizona Territory near the border with Mexico, where they buy a run-down hacienda and establish a cattle ranch on it. The Apaches, under the leadership of Cochise , are hostile; John's wife Anna-Lee is killed in an early attack, and to survive, the Cannons are compelled to enter into an alliance with a rich and powerful neighboring rancher, Don Sebastian Montoya, who owns a huge estate on the Mexican side of the border adjoining the "High Chaparral". Part of the price for the alliance is the sealing of the pact by the marriage of John Cannon to Montoya's beautiful, dark-haired, sophisticated daughter, Victoria, 30 years younger. Montoya's reckless son, Manolito, whose relationship with his father is strained, accompanies his sister to get away from Don Sebastian. John's son, Blue, is vehemently opposed to the strange "mixed marriage", coming so soon after Anna-Lee's death. Reinforced by Montoya's men, the Cannons are able to fight off the Indian attacks, and with the services of Manolito as interpreter, manage to negotiate a truce, albeit a fragile one, with the Apache leader. The main reason for its fragility is that the U.S. Cavalry refuses to recognize Cannon's right to negotiate a private peace with the Apaches, and continued Army interference constantly threatens the unofficial treaty. Problems also frequently occur between the Cannons and the arrogant, resentful Don Sebastian, usually concerning the terms of their alliance. Big John's brother, Buck, notionally the ranch's head cowhand, was a hard-bitten former soldier, who fought in the American Civil War , 10 years previously, on the side of the Confederacy . From time to time, Buck's past comes back to haunt him, usually in the person of other Confederate soldiers drifting through the territory, forever unable to return to their homes in the defeated South . Occasionally, friction occurred because foreman Buck's brother Big John had also fought in the war, but on the other side, as a captain in the Union Army . The series gradually evolved to make Manolito and Buck the most prominent characters, as they were the ones who tended to get into trouble; both were somewhat irresponsible, particularly under the influence of drink. For what was generally regarded as a serious Western television series , their scenes provided "comic relief " for the show. The other characters were gradually marginalized. Cattle ranching almost never featured in the storylines, which, whenever Mexican bandit or Indian troubles were not imminent, were much more likely to revolve around personal issues of drama with Manolito or Buck and some form of hell-raising – gambling, fighting, women, or whiskey (or a combination of them). Mark Slade (Blue Boy) did not appear in the final season, and Frank Silvera (Don Sebastian Montoya) had died while the series was still in production (but he did appear in a few episodes). Blue Boy was replaced by Wind (played by Rudy Ramos ), a passing, mysterious cowhand who was half-Pawnee and of a similar age to Blue, and who sometimes acted as a go-between for the ranchers and the Indians. Gilbert Roland guest starred as Don Sebastian's younger brother, Don Domingo, who inherits Rancho Montoya near the end of the series. This final season had new opening titles and a rearranged version of the popular theme music. Name of the ranch The name was explained by the following dialog in episode one: Anna-Lee Cannon: Isn't it beautiful, John? It should have a name.Big John Cannon: You name it.Anna-Lee: What is that bush called — that green one?Big John: Chaparral .Anna-Lee: That's it — Chaparral. I christen thee "The High Chaparral" — the greatest cattle ranch in the whole territory ... the whole world! In the true sense of the word, "chaparral" is not a single species of shrub, but a bionomic community of desert flora located near a coast, especially that in coastal southern California . The name comes from the Spanish word for scrub oak , chaparro , which is seldom found further east in Arizona as native flora. Some colloquial use of the term in Arizona describes the low-growing sage , mesquite , and palo verde , which are native to the area, especially in the higher desert, but the high Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona plant community is more properly called a "xeric " shrublands biome. Production The High Chaparral was producer Dortort's new brainchild, and he left the day-to-day running of his earlier success Bonanza (1959–1973) in the spring of 1967 so he could focus all of his energies on The High Chaparral . Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom Designing Women (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series Family Law (1999–2002). She was nominated for the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Gloria Hodge on Desperate Housewives (2006–2007). Carter made her professional stage debut in a Memphis production of the musical Carousel in 1960 and made her Broadway debut in the 1974 musical Sextet . After appearing for two years as District Attorney Brandy Henderson on the CBS soap The Edge of Night (1974–1976), she starred in the 1976 Broadway revival of the musical Pal Joey . Her other television roles included the sitcoms On Our Own (1977–1978), Filthy Rich (1982–1983) and Diff'rent Strokes (1984–1985). She returned to Broadway to play Maria Callas in the play Master Class in 1997 and to play Mrs. Meers in the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2004. Early life Dixie Virginia Carter was born May 25, 1939, to Esther Virginia (née Hillsman) and Halbert Leroy Carter in McLemoresville, Tennessee . Carter spent many of her early years in Memphis . She attended the University of Memphis and Rhodes College . In college, she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. In 1959, Carter competed in the Miss Tennessee pageant, where she placed first runner-up to Mickie Weyland. Carter won the Miss Volunteer beauty pageant at the University of Tennessee the same year.[ 1] Career In 1960, Carter made her professional stage debut in a Memphis production of Carousel , co-starring George Hearn , whom she would go on to marry 17 years later. She moved to New York City in 1963 and got a part in a production of Shakespeare 's The Winter's Tale .[ 2] In 1967, she began an eight-year hiatus from acting, to focus on raising her two daughters;[ 2] she returned to acting in 1974, when she filled in for actress Nancy Pinkerton as Dorian Cramer on One Life to Live while Pinkerton was on maternity leave . She subsequently was cast in the role of Assistant D.A. Olivia Brandeis "Brandy" Henderson on the soap opera The Edge of Night from 1974 to 1976. Carter took the role though some advised her that doing a daytime soap might negatively affect her career. However, she was first noticed in this role, and after leaving Edge of Night in 1977, she appeared in several episodes of another soap opera, The Doctors as socialite Linda Elliott. She relocated from New York to Los Angeles and pursued prime-time television roles. In 1976, she won the Theater World Award for Jesse and the Bandit Queen . In 1981 Carter starred in the title role of Mame at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in a production staged by Susan H. Schulman and led by conductor Tom Helm .[ 3] She appeared in series such as Out of the Blue (as Aunt Marion), On Our Own (as April Baxter), Diff'rent Strokes (as the first Maggie McKinney Drummond, Phillip Drummond's second wife), The Greatest American Hero (playing a KGB spy) and as the stuck up and conniving Carlotta Beck on Filthy Rich (1982). Carter's appearance in Filthy Rich paved the way for her most notable role, that of sharp tongued liberal interior decorator Julia Sugarbaker in the 1986–1993 television program Designing Women , set in Atlanta. Filthy Rich was created by Linda Bloodworth Thomason , who also created Designing Women . (In the beginning, without knowing the content of the show, Bloodworth-Thomason's only idea was to create a show starring Carter and fellow castmates Delta Burke , Annie Potts and Jean Smart . Filthy Rich also featured fellow Designing Women cast member Delta Burke in its cast.) After much persuasion from creators Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and her husband Harry Thomason , Hal Holbrook , Carter's real-life husband, had a recurring role as attorney Reese Watson. Carter's daughters Ginna and Mary Dixie Carter also had guest star roles as Julia Sugarbaker's nieces Jennifer and Camilla in the episode "The Naked Truth" in 1989. In 1997, Carter starred as Maria Callas in Terrence McNally 's play Master Class . She played the role from January to June. The role previously had been played by Zoe Caldwell and Patti LuPone . Noted for portraying strong-minded Southern women, Carter provided the voice of Necile in Mike Young Productions' cartoon feature The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus . She was also in the voice cast of My Neighbors the Yamadas , the English language dub of Studio Ghibli's 1999 anime movie of the same .[ 4] From 1999 to 2002, she portrayed Randi King on the legal drama Family Law . From 1999 to 2000, she was a cast member on the short-lived sitcom Ladies Man , appearing as a regular on both Ladies Man and Family Law . In 2004, she made a guest appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , playing a defense attorney named Denise Brockmorton in the episode called "Home", in which she defended the paranoid mother of two children (Diane Venora ) who had manipulated her older son to kill the younger son after breaking her home rules. In 2006–2007, Carter found a resurgence of fame with a new generation of fans portraying Gloria Hodge , Bree Van de Kamp's disturbed (and scheming) mother-in-law on Desperate Housewives . Creator Marc Cherry started in Hollywood as Carter's assistant on the set of Designing Women . Her first and only Emmy Awards nomination was for the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards under the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Gloria Hodge. Carter gave an interview in 2006 for the feature-length documentary That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor , which received support from Taylor's family and many of Dub's previous coworkers, including Bill Cosby , Peter Fonda , Don Collier , Cheryl Rogers-Barnett and many others. The project was scheduled to have its world premiere at Taylor's childhood hometown of Augusta, Georgia on April 14, 2007. Her final film was That Evening Sun , which she filmed with her husband Hal Holbrook in East Tennessee in summer 2008. The film, produced by Dogwood Entertainment (a subsidiary of DoubleJay Creative), is based on a short story by William Gay . That Evening Sun premiered at South By Southwest , where it competed for the narrative feature grand jury prize.[ 5] Personal life Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter at the 41st Emmy Awards, Sunday September 17, 1989 In 1967, Carter married Arthur Carter (no relation), businessman and publisher of the New York Observer . Following the birth of their daughters –Mary Dixie (1968) and Ginna (1970)– Carter left acting for eight years to raise the girls with Arthur's three children, Jon, Whendy and Ellen Carter.[ 6] [citation needed ] She divorced Arthur Carter in 1977 and married theater and TV actor George Hearn the same year. Two years later, she and Hearn divorced.[citation needed ] She married Hal Holbrook in 1984.[ 7] In 1996, Carter published a memoir titled Trying to Get to Heaven , in which she talked frankly about her life with Holbrook, Designing Women and her plastic surgery during the show's run. She acknowledged, along with other celebrities, having used human growth hormone for its antiaging properties.[ 8] Carter was a lifelong Methodist and a member of the McLemoresville United Methodist Church.[ 9] Political views Carter in 2000 Carter was a registered Republican who described her political views as libertarian .[ 10] She was interviewed by Bill O'Reilly along with Pat Boone at the 2000 Republican National Convention , and once jokingly described herself as "the only Republican in show business".[ 11] However, Carter's Designing Women character, Julia Sugarbaker, was known for her liberal political views and related speeches, for which she was nicknamed "The Terminator." Carter disagreed with some of her character's beliefs, and made a deal with the show's producers that if Julia delivered a "Terminator" monologue, she would get to sing a song in a future episode. In later years she was also a libertarian Republican who supported civil rights and same-sex marriage.[ 12] Death and legacy On April 10, 2010, Carter died in Houston , at the age of 70, from complications of endometrial cancer .[ 7] [ 13] She was interred in McLemoresville, Tennessee.[ 14] The Dixie Carter Performing Arts and Academic Enrichment Center (informally called "The Dixie") in Huntingdon, Tennessee , is named in honor of Carter.[ 15] A public service announcement made by Carter in 2003 describing and offering outreach to people with spasmodic torticollis/cervical dystonia began appearing in New York and New Jersey and then across the United States in 2010.[ 16] OHMS is a 1980 American made-for-television drama film directed by Dick Lowry .[ 1] [ 2] It stars Ralph Waite , David Birney , Talia Balsam , Dixie Carter and also features Leslie Nielsen [ 3] as the Governor. It was broadcast on CBS on January 2, 1980. The film is about a conservative farmer in the Midwest who leads a group of local residents lobbying against a power company invading their land. It was shot on location in New Philadelphia, Ohio .[ 4] Plot summary Faced with a large corporation's attempt to erect large electric towers on private owners' land against their wishes, a conservative farmer organizes community resistance.[ 5] Cast Ralph Waite as Floyd Wing David Birney as Jack Coker Talia Balsam as Noranne Wing Dixie Carter as Nora Wing Charley Lang as Bo Wing Cameron Mitchell as Wilbur Leslie Nielsen as Governor Paul Hecht as Thomas Eichen Roy Poole as Joe Szabo John Ramsey as Smiley Nicholas Hormann as David Nash Tom Toner as Judge Donald Itta Keith Cosgrove as Dee Wing John C. Becher as Henry Lucker Bob Wells as TV reporter David S. Cass Sr. as Dump Truck Driver[ 6] All the exterior filming was done at the Old Tucson Studios near Tucson, Arizona (site of frequent movie-making for several decades), and in the nearby Saguaro National Park , although in a few later episodes some filming was done in California , and (in season three) in the Coronado National Forest south of Tucson. The interiors were generally filmed at the NBC television studios in Burbank .[ 1]