Amzie Strickland
Encyclopedia
Amzie Strickland was an American character actor
who began in radio, made some 650 television appearances, had roles in two dozen films, appeared in numerous television movie
s and also worked in TV commercials. In a six-decade career, from the 1940s to 2001, she amassed well over 100 credits.
), in Dashiell Hammett
's The Fat Man
(1947–1951). She appeared (sometimes on a recurring basis) on such TV shows as Gunsmoke
, The Dick Van Dyke Show
, The Andy Griffith Show
, I Love Lucy
, The Twilight Zone
, Mission: Impossible
, Happy Days
, Carter Country
, Bonanza
, The Golden Girls
, The Jeffersons
, ER
, 7th Heaven
, Ellen
, Wings, Alf
, Dragnet
, Father Dowling Mysteries
, Ned and Stacey, Perry Mason
and Knight Rider. Her TV movies include Tower of Terror
, and Inherit the Wind
.
, Kotch
, Harper Valley PTA
, Pretty Woman
, Doc Hollywood
and Krippendorf's Tribe
.
She was married to radio and television actor Frank Behrens, and they had a son, Tim Behrens. She died in Spokane, Washington
from Alzheimer's disease
in 2006, aged 87.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
who began in radio, made some 650 television appearances, had roles in two dozen films, appeared in numerous television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
s and also worked in TV commercials. In a six-decade career, from the 1940s to 2001, she amassed well over 100 credits.
Radio and television
Strickland began as a radio actress during the old time radio era and her various radio roles included Cathy Evans, girlfriend of private eye Brad Runyon (J. Scott SmartJ. Scott Smart
J. Scott Smart, also known as Jack Smart , was an American radio, film and stage actor during the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s....
), in Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
's The Fat Man
The Fat Man (radio)
The Fat Man, a popular radio show during the 1940s and early 1950s was a detective drama based on characters by Dashiell Hammett. It starred J...
(1947–1951). She appeared (sometimes on a recurring basis) on such TV shows as Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
, The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
, Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
, Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, Carter Country
Carter Country
Carter Country is an American television sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC.-Synopsis:Carter Country was set in the fictional small town of Clinton Corners in Georgia Carter Country is an American television sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC.-Synopsis:Carter Country was set in the...
, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
, The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
, ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
, Ellen
Ellen (TV series)
Ellen is a U.S. television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from March 29, 1994 to July 22, 1998, producing 109 episodes.The theme song, "So Called Friend" is by Scottish band Texas...
, Wings, Alf
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
, Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
, Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries is an American television mystery series that appeared between November 30, 1987 and May 2, 1991. For its first season, the show was on NBC; it moved to ABC network for its last two seasons...
, Ned and Stacey, Perry Mason
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...
and Knight Rider. Her TV movies include Tower of Terror
Tower of Terror (film)
Tower of Terror is a 1997 made-for-TV supernatural thriller directed by D. J. MacHale. It is based on the theme park attraction, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and was originally a presentation of The...
, and Inherit the Wind
Inherit the Wind (1999 film)
Inherit the Wind is a 1999 television film adaptation of the play of the same name. The original 1955 play was written as a parable which fictionalized the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means of discussing the 1950s McCarthy trials....
.
Films
Her film credits include roles in Captain Newman, M.D.Captain Newman, M.D.
Captain Newman, M.D. is a 1963 film starring Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall, Eddie Albert and Bobby Darin. It was directed by David Miller and filmed on location at Fort Huachuca, Arizona....
, Kotch
Kotch
Kotch is a 1971 American comedy film which tells the story of an elderly man who runs away so as not to be put into a nursing home, and strikes up a friendship with a pregnant teenage girl. It stars Walter Matthau, Deborah Winters, Felicia Farr, Charles Aidman and Ellen Geer.The film was adapted...
, Harper Valley PTA
Harper Valley PTA (film)
Harper Valley PTA is a 1978 comedy movie starring Barbara Eden. The movie was inspired by the country music song of the same title written by Tom T. Hall...
, Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
, Doc Hollywood
Doc Hollywood
Doc Hollywood is a 1991 American romantic comedy film based on the book, What? Dead...Again?, by Neil B. Shulman, M.D. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Woody Harrelson and Bridget Fonda. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones. The filming took place in Micanopy, Florida.-Plot:Dr....
and Krippendorf's Tribe
Krippendorf's Tribe
Krippendorf's Tribe is a 1998 film adaptation of Frank Parkin's novel of the same name, directed by Todd Holland. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss as the eponymous professor, along with Jenna Elfman, Natasha Lyonne, and Lily Tomlin.-Plot:...
.
She was married to radio and television actor Frank Behrens, and they had a son, Tim Behrens. She died in Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
in 2006, aged 87.