Gretchen Corbett
| Gretchen Corbett | |
|---|---|
 Publicity photo of Corbett in The Rockford Files | |
| Born |
August 13, 1947 Camp Sherman, Oregon, U.S. |
| Residence | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Carnegie Mellon University |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1967-present |
| Known for |
The Rockford Files Let's Scare Jessica to Death |
| Partner(s) | Robin Gammell |
| Children | Winslow Corbett |
Gretchen Corbett (born August 13, 1947) is an American actress most noted for the role of Beth Davenport on the television series The Rockford Files from 1974 to 1978.[1] Though Corbett has predominantly worked in television, she also gained notoriety for her role in the cult horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971). She has also appeared as a recurring character on the IFC series Portlandia, beginning in 2013.
Early life
Corbett was born in 1947 in Camp Sherman, Oregon to Henry Ladd Corbett, Jr. and Katherine Minahen (née Coney) "Kay" Corbett. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Oregon pioneer and Senator Henry W. Corbett.[2] She studied drama at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Tech before its merger with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research to form Carnegie Mellon University in 1967.
Career
Film and television
One of Corbett's first television roles was on ABC's short-lived police detective show, N.Y.P.D., in 1968. In an episode called The Case of the Shady Lady, Corbett played a dancer who tries to make her husband's suicide into a murder for the insurance money. She had supporting roles in Out of It with Jon Voight (1969), and as a mute in Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971).[3]
In 1973, Corbett moved to Los Angeles under contract to Universal Studios, as one of the last "contract players" of the studio contract system. Her first role under contract was an episode of the detective series Kojak: Conspiracy of Fear in 1973. She had recurring roles on Marcus Welby, M.D., Otherworld, Ellery Queen, and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, and guest roles on such series as Wonder Woman, Emergency!, Barnaby Jones, Hawaii Five-O, Columbo: An Exercise in Fatality, Gunsmoke, McMillan & Wife, Barbary Coast, Banacek, One Day at a Time, Family, Otherworld, Murder, She Wrote, Cheers, and Magnum, P.I.[4]
The Rockford Files: 1974-1978
In 1974 Corbett joined the cast NBC's The Rockford Files where she played Beth Davenport,[1] the beleaguered lawyer and sometimes lover of series lead Jim Rockford, a private investigator portrayed by James Garner. Corbett left the series at the end of the fourth season over a salary dispute, though Corbett herself was not looking for more money. The dispute was between the show's producers and Universal, who owned Corbett's contract as a contract player. Corbett went on to do more TV work, eventually returning to play Davenport again in the Rockford Files TV movies of the 1990s.[4]
Stage work
Some of her stage appearances include After the Rain with Alec McCowen (Broadway), Forty Carats with Julie Harris (Broadway), Shakespeare's Henry VI (New York Shakespeare Festival), Shaw's Arms and the Man (The Sheridan Square), Iphigeneia at Aulis with Irene Papas (Circle in the Square), The Government Inspector with David Dukes and John Glover (The Phoenix Theatre), and The Survival of St. Joan (The Anderson Theatre).
She worked in many regional theatres, including the Long Wharf Theatre, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, the Eugene O'Neill Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and the Repertory Theatre of New Orleans.[5] In 2014, she directed the production "Bo-Nita" at Portland Center Stage.[6]
Personal Life
Her daughter Winslow Corbett is a stage actress.
The Haven Project
In the 2000s, Corbett served as Artistic Director of the Haven Project, a theatre project for underprivileged children in Portland, Oregon, a replication of New York's 52nd St. Project.[4]
Filmography
- Film
| Film | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |||
| 1969 | Out of It | Barbara | ||||
| 1971 | Let's Scare Jessica to Death | The Girl | ||||
| 1974 | The Cay | The Mother | Television film | |||
| 1975 | Knuckle | Jenny | Television film | |||
| 1976 | Farewell to Manzanar | Lois | Television film | |||
| 1976 | The Fatal Weakness | Television film | ||||
| 1976 | The Savage Bees | Jeannie Deveraux | Television film | |||
| 1978 | The Other Side of the Mountain: Part II | Linda Mae Meyers | ||||
| 1978 | Secrets of Three Hungry Wives | Karen McClure | Television film | |||
| 1979 | Mandrake | Jennifer Lindsay | Television film | |||
| 1979 | She's Dressed to Kill | Jennifer Gooch | Television film | |||
| 1980 | High Ice | Liz | Television film | |||
| 1980 | PSI Factor | Lt. Sheila Foster | ||||
| 1981 | Jaws of Satan | Dr. Maggie Sheridan | ||||
| 1981 | Time Warp | Ellen Devore | Television film | |||
| 1982 | Million Dollar Infield | Carole Frische | Television film | |||
| 1984 | Things Are Looking Up | Joanne Braithwaite | Television film | |||
| 1985 | North Beach and Rawhide | Rita Aaron | Television film | |||
| 1991 | Final Verdict | Aunt Blanche | Television film | |||
| 1993 | Moment of Truth: Why My Daughter? | Mrs. Hill | Television film | |||
| 1995 | Without Evidence | Mary | ||||
| 1996 | If the Frame Fits... | Beth (Davenport) Van Zandt | Television film | |||
| 1996 | The Rockford Files: Friends and Foul Play | Beth (Davenport) Van Zandt | Television film | |||
| 1998 | A Change of Heart | Gail Stern | Also known as: "A Father for Brittany" | |||
| 1999 | The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds... It Leads | Beth Davenport | Television film | |||
| 2011 | Motor Away | Paisley | Short film | |||
| 2011 | Bucksville | Kathleen French | ||||
| 2012 | Evelyn | Evelyn | Short film | |||
- Television
| Television | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |||
| 1968 | N.Y.P.D. | Darlene Welby | Episode: "Case of the Shady Lady" | |||
| 1973 | Kojak | Jeri | Episode: "Conspiracy of Fear" | |||
| 1974 | Ironside | Gail Portman | Episode: "The Taste of Ashes" | |||
| 1974 | Banacek | Vicki Merrick | Episode: "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" | |||
| 1974 | Columbo | Jessica Conroy | Episode: "An Exercise in Fatality" | |||
| 1974 | Gunsmoke | Arlene | Episode: "Town in Chains" | |||
| 1974 | Sierra | Theodora Burke | Episode: "The Trek" | |||
| 1974-1976 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Hedy Moran/Leah Blakely/Jan Allister | Four episodes | |||
| 1975 | Hawaii Five-0 | Glynis | Episode: "Study in Rage" | |||
| 1975 | McMillan & Wife | Megan McMillan | Episode: "Love, Honor, and Swindle" | |||
| 1975 | Ellery Queen | Jenny O'Brien | Episode: "The Adventure of Colonel Nivin's Memoirs" | |||
| 1975 | Barbary Coast | Lily Colt | Episode: "Arson and Old Lace" | |||
| 1975 | Matt Helm | Nancy Taylor | Episode: "Murder on the Run" | |||
| 1975-1976 | Emergency! | Mara Lynn Smith/Sue Hickman | Two episodes | |||
| 1976 | Switch | Beryl | Episode: "Come Die with Me" | |||
| 1976 | Wonder Woman | Erica Belgard | Episode: "Wonder Woman vs Gargantua" | |||
| 1976 | Kingston Confidential | Helen Drew | Episode: "Welcome to Paradise" | |||
| 1974-1978 | The Rockford Files | Beth Davenport | Thirty-three episodes | |||
| 1977-1978 | Family | Ellen | Three episodes | |||
| 1978 | Barnaby Jones | Jenny Hastings | Episode: "Blind Jeopardy" | |||
| 1978 | W.E.B. | Episode: "The Great Clowns" | ||||
| 1978 | Lucan | Bonnie | Episode: "Thunder God Gold" | |||
| 1981 | The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo | Kathleen Dixon, Esq. | Episode: "Bang, Bang... You're Dead!" | |||
| 1981 | One Day at a Time | Sophie | Episode: "Plain Favorite" | |||
| 1982 | Trapper John, M.D. | Vivian Langtry | Episode: "Victims" | |||
| 1983 | Cheers | Gretchen Darrow | Episode: "Diane's Perfect Date" | |||
| 1983 | Tales of the Unexpected | Martha Parker | Episode: "Turn of the Tide" | |||
| 1983 | The Mississippi | Episode: "Peace With Honor" | ||||
| 1981-1983 | Magnum, P.I. | Holly Hudson/Holly Fox/Christine Richards | Two episodes | |||
| 1985 | Otherworld | June Sterling | Eight episodes | |||
| 1985 | Simon & Simon | Lisa Cambio | Episode: "Burden of the Beast" | |||
| 1986 | Murder, She Wrote | Lt. A Caruso | Episode: "Deadline for Murder" | |||
| 1987 | 21 Jump Street | Jan Prentiss | Episode: "Higher Education" | |||
| 1989 | A Peaceable Kingdom | Dr. Amelia Altman | Episode: "Jaguar" | |||
| 1990 | Hunter | Mary Reynolds | Episode: "Brotherly Love" | |||
| 1991 | The Trials of Rosie O'Neill | Madeleine | Episode: "The Reunion" | |||
| 1995 | Dead by Sunset | Barbara Welch | One episode | |||
| 2013-2015 | Portlandia | Mary Eunice Oliver | Two episodes | |||
References
- 1 2 "Gretchen Corbett". The New York Times.
- ↑ The Oregonian, Friday, February 2, 2001 (Katherine C. Corbett obituary).
- ↑ Greenspun, Roger (August 28, 1971). "Let s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) Screen: Hippie Vampire:' Let's Scare Jessica to Death' Arrives". The New York Times.
- 1 2 3 Gretchen Corbett at the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ "Gretchen Corbett Biography" Retrieved 20 May 2015
- ↑ Hodde, RJ (2014-01-14). "Spotlight: “Bo-Nita” Director Gretchen Corbett". Portland Center Stage. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
External links
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