Amanda Blake has five spouses. Amanda Blake’s spouses’ names are given below:
| Spouse’ Names | Married Year | Divorced Year |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Shea | 1952 | 1953 |
| Don Whitman | 1954 | 1956 |
| Jason Day | 1964 | 1967 |
| Frank Gilbert | 1967 | 1982 |
| Mark Spaeth | 1984 | 1985 |
Who is Amanda Blake?
Beverly Louise Neill, an actress, best remembered for her portrayal of Miss Kitty Russell, the bar proprietress in the western television series “Gunsmoke,” was born on February 20, 1929, in Buffalo, New York State, USA. She was renowned for operating one of the first programs to successfully breed cheetahs in captivity and was also an animal welfare campaigner. In 1989, she died away.
Amanda Blake Early Life
When Amanda was a small girl, her family relocated to California, where her father worked as a banker, and she grew up as the only kid. She graduated from Claremont High School and then left Pomona College to pursue an acting career while working as a telephone operator in the meantime.
She had one of her first Hollywood performances in the 1952 western movie “Cattle Town,” when she reportedly adopted her stage name because it was reputedly appealing and snappy. She then featured in “Miss Robin Crusoe,” a movie version of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe book.
She landed one of her most famous parts in the 1955 television series “Gunsmoke,” which is set in and around Dodge City, Kansas, around the time of the American West’s settlement.
James Arness starred in it, and it ran from 1955 to 1975 for a total of 20 seasons, indicating that it was a top-rated show that was among the most watched at the time.
Due to the nature of the program, she hardly had any time for other parts throughout her portrayal of the character. Before deciding to join the show, she was working on a few film projects, including “High Society” and “The Boost.”
Summary:
Amanda Blake was born Beverly Louise Neill. She played Miss Kitty Russell on ‘Gunsmoke’ She also appeared in ‘Tattletales,’ ‘The Red Skelton Show,’ and ‘The Edge of Night’ She appeared in scores of films, including ‘Stars In My Crown,’ ‘Cattle Town,’ ‘Miss Robin Crusoe,’‘Duchess of Idaho,’ ‘About Mrs Leslie,’ ‘High Society,’ and ‘The Boost’ Blake, ‘The Adventures of Hajji Baba,’ a former phone operator, loved animals. She and her husband Frank Gilbert bred cheetahs in captivity. She co-founded the Arizona Animal Welfare League (AAWL). She was an HSUS board member. Blake was honoured in the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Hall of Great Western Performers. She received the American Cancer Society’s “Courage Award.”
Amanda Blake Personal Life
The parents of Amanda Blake, Jesse and Louise, gave birth to Beverly Louise Neill on February 20, 1929, in Buffalo, New York, in the United States. She earned her diplomas from Pomona College and Claremont High School. The actress married Don Whitman in 1954.
The following year, the couple were divorced, and Blake later wed Jason Day. The American beauty also divorced him, and they were married in 1967. Unfortunately, she only had a brief connection with her third spouse. She then wed Mark Spaeth in 1984; a year later, he passed away.
Amanda Blake, a heavy chain smoker, received an ■■■■ cancer diagnosis in 1977 and underwent treatment for the condition. At age 60, she passed away on August 16, 1989, at the Mercy General Hospital of California.
Amanda Blake Husband
Blake’s personal life is known to have included four marriages. Her first marriage, which lasted from 1954 to 1956, was to Don Whitman. Her second, three years ago, was to Jason Seymour Day Jr. in 1964.
She married Frank Gilbert two days after their divorce, and they were married for the duration of her longest marriage, which she used to fund most of her animal welfare initiatives, including the cheetah breeding program.
In 1984, she married for the last time, but Mark Edward Spaeth went away a year later.
What Did Amanda Blake Die Of?
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She was a chronic cigarette smoker throughout her life; consequently, she was diagnosed with ■■■■ cancer in 1977, which required her to have surgery. As a result, she lost her mouth to cancer.
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After that, she started volunteering for the American Cancer Society, and now she is one of the people who receive the organization’s annual Courage Award.
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She went away in 1989, and according to her doctor, she had AIDS, which was the actual cause of her death.
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This led to many allegations about drugs and sexual promiscuity. Still, it was later found out that her previous spouse passed away from AIDS-related pneumonia, which implies that she got the illness from him. This dispelled the rumours.
How Much Was Amanda Blake Worth?
As of the end of 2018, a successful acting career is estimated to have resulted in a net worth equal to or more than $500,000. Throughout her career, she participated in a wide range of television and film productions, which helped her preserve her status as a wealthy person up to the time of her death.
How Old Was Amanda Blake When She Started on Gunsmoke?
Many people believed that Gunsmoke was more than just another TV western; it was an epic adventure that hundreds, if not millions, of people, had followed for over 20 years. There was no denying the impact Glenn Strange, the real-life cowboy-turned-actor, had on his co-stars.
Sadly, he died at 74 due to lung cancer two years before the program concluded. The passing of Glen was the reason Kitty departed Gunsmoke.
His passing had such a profound effect that Blake, who portrayed Miss Kitty, could not manage it and was fired from the show a year later.
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Blake performed a repeat routine on the live “The Red Skelton Program” when she was working on the television series “Gunsmoke,” and she often appeared on the long-running TV panel show “Hollywood Squares.”
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Additionally, she appeared in the “Dean Martin Celebrity Roast,” took part in the revivals of “Match Game” and “Tattletales,” and had a supporting role in the drama “State Trooper.”
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She appeared as a guest performer in several television programs after “Gunsmoke” ended, including “Hart to Hart” and “The Love Boat.” Still, she gradually played fewer parts until 1987, when she took part in the “Gunsmoke” reunion movie “Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge.”
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She only got a few more acting roles after the movie in the 1980s before quitting the business.
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In 1988, she contributed to the drama “The Boost,” which starred James Woods and Sean Young.
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She also appeared in a guest role in the “Dragnet” series episode “The New Dragnet.” She spent most of her time at her Phoenix, Arizona, home in semi-retirement.
Amanda Blake Animal Welfare
Amanda began spending more time with animals in the latter years of her employment, leading up to her retirement. After seeing the lion Kemo in “Gunsmoke,” which resided in an animal complex near her house, she became a well-known animal welfare champion.
She also established a fruitful cheetah experimental breeding program, making her one of the pioneers in breeding cheetahs in captivity and raising seven generations. She was also a founding member of the Arizona Animal Welfare League, the state’s first and biggest no-kill animal shelter.
She also contributed financially and volunteered much of her time to the Performance Animal Welfare Society. She often visited Africa and had previously served on the Humane Society of the United States board.
The Amanda Blake Memorial Species Refuge, a haven for free-ranging African hoofed wildlife that has either been saved from hunting ranches or animal auctions, was established in 1997 near Herald, California, in the Rancho Seco Park.
Additionally, she joined Tom Mix and Gary Cooper as the third artist to be admitted into Oklahoma City’s National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Summary:
Blake went into semi-retirement after Gunsmoke and accepted few film or TV roles. She focused on her pets. She brought her pet lion, Kemo, to Gunsmoke. Kemo and her husband maintained an experimental cheetah breeding operation at their house. They bred seven generations of cheetahs in captivity. Blake co-founded the Arizona Animal Welfare League in 1971, the state’s oldest and most significant “no-kill” shelter. In 1985, she helped fund the Performing Animal Welfare Society and supported its operations, including trips to Africa. Blake was a Humane Society board member. Rancho Seco Park near Herald, California, opened the Amanda Blake Wildlife Refuge in 1997. The refuge protects free-ranging African hoofed animals intended for auctions or hunting ranches.
FAQs
1. How much did Amanda Blake have when she passed away?
Amanda Blake had a net worth of $500k at the time of her death in 1989. Amanda Blake was an American actress.
2. On Gunsmoke, did Matt and Kitty get together?
During the program’s life from 1955 to 1975, Matt Dillon (James Arness) and Kitty (Amanda Blake) never wed, despite close viewers of the show being persuaded they had gotten together at some point. In contrast, Matt had a short relationship with Mike Gardner (Michael Learned) in a 1973 episode when he was amnesic.
3. On Gunsmoke, how many Miss Kittys were there?
The apparent love tension between U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon and saloon owner Kitty Russell is evident in every episode of Gunsmoke. They engaged in a will-they-won’t-they romance for almost the entire 19-season duration of the program. Miss Kitty’s actor, Amanda Blake, appears in 569 of the program’s 635 episodes.
4. How did Miss Kitty leave the Gunsmoke series?
After the program finished, she retired and settled in Phoenix, Arizona, where she raised cheetahs. Yes, experimental cheetah breeding was started on Blake’s farm with the help of her third husband, Frank Gilbert, who eventually grew seven different generations.
Conclusion
She was a married lady who played a vital and gorgeous American actress. She joined the list of people who broke the record, having been married many times. Blake married Don Whitman on August 22, 1954. 1956 saw the end of their 2-year marriage. They never explained their split. Fans of her films commemorate Amanda Blake’s life. Louise’s commitment brought her Hollywood renown. Acting took up one-third of her life. Her personal life was unremarkable. Blake has been ■■■■ for 30 years, yet her legacy as Miss Kitty continues.