Kathleen Cody (actor)
Encyclopedia
Kathleen Cody, often credited as Kathy Cody (born October 30, 1954) is an American actress. She is known for her role as the characters Hallie Stokes and Carrie Stokes, on the cult
television series Dark Shadows
, appearing in 49 episodes. Her career in film and television encompassed a time period of over 30 years.
.
When she was 18 years old, Cody moved from New York to Los Angeles
to pursue her acting career in a greater capacity. She appeared in over ten television network series and seven major motion pictures.
and Francesco Scavullo
.
When Cody was seven years old, she was cast in the theatre production of Uncle Willie, with Menasha Skulnik
at the Coconut Grove Playhouse
in Miami, Florida
.
In 1963, at the age of nine, Cody was named one of the original cast members of the Broadway show Here's Love
, appearing in the role of Hendrika. The musical production was written by the playwright
, Meredith Willson
, who earlier wrote The Music Man
and The Unsinkable Molly Brown
. Here's Love was an adaptation of the film Miracle on 34th Street
and was introduced at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre on Broadway in NYC. Cody's costars included Janis Paige
, Craig Stevens
, Laurence Naismith
, Fred Gwynne
, and Dom DeLuise
. During the play, Cody had a duet on the song, "The Bugle", with Naismith, who played the role of Kris Kringle
. Cody remained with the production for the entire run, last appearing on July 25, 1964, when the play eventually closed after 334 shows and two previews.
s The Edge of Night
as Laurie Ann Karr, As the World Turns
as Sally Graham , and Secret Storm as Cecilia, before becoming a regular cast member of the ABC
gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows
. She also appeared in the first episode of the Peter Falk
TV Series, The Trials of O'Brien
, entitled "Over Defense Is Out". She made special appearances on the Jackie Gleason Show, Perry Como Show, Jan Murray Show
, and The Bell Telephone Hour Christmas Special with Florence Henderson
.
In 1967, Cody was cast as Betty Parris
, in David Susskind
's television production of Arthur Miller
's The Crucible, which starred George C. Scott
, Melvyn Douglas
, Colleen Dewhurst
, and Tuesday Weld
.
Upon completion of The Crucible
, Cody was cast in a PBS special, the novelist and playwright, Colette
's 1922 play, My Mother's House (originally entitled La Maison de Claudine), starring Dewhurst. The play was written as an homage to Colette's mother, Adèle Eugénie Sidonie "Sido" Colette. The story follows Colette as she reminisces about her childhood and her relationship with her mother. Cody portrayed the playwright, Colette, from adolescence up through the author's teenage years. In 1968, the show was nominated for three Emmy Awards.
Cody has guest-starred in various prime time television shows, including Gunsmoke
with actors James Arness
, James Whitmore
, Richard Jaeckel
, Buck Taylor
, Nicholas Hammond
and Louise Latham
; The Partridge Family
with David Cassidy
; Doc Elliot with James Farentino
; the Love, American Style
segment "Love and the Model Apartment" with Davy Jones
as her newlywed husband; Barbary Coast with William Shatner
and Doug McClure
; The Walton's with Richard Thomas
, Ralph Waite
, and Will Geer
; Cannon
, guest-starring in a dual role with William Conrad
, Mitch Ryan, and Ralph Meeker
; Three for the Road
with Vincent Van Patten
; and Barnaby Jones
with Buddy Ebsen
and Kristoffer Tabori
.
In 1976, Cody was cast in the starring role of "Snowy" in a pilot television series, entitled The Cheerleaders, which was directed by Richard Crenna
. The show was a situation comedy
about the "misadventures of Snowy, B.J., and Beverly, three fun-loving high school girls. The pilot episode focuses on the girls, members of the cheerleading team, as they perform embarrassing pledge week antics for a sorority house they hope to join." The story takes place in a small California town during the 1950s. Starring alongside Cody was Debbie Zipp, Theresa Medaris, and Mary Kay Place
. The show was broadcast on August 2, 1976.
and Michael Ontkean
, who was also making his American film debut. Cody's appearance in Hot Summer Week prompted Walt Disney Studios to invite her to screen test for work with their studios. The successful audition resulted in Disney Studios signing her to a three-picture contract. She was the last actress signed to a contract by Disney Studios, since Annette Funicello
.
Snowball Express
, directed by Norman Tokar
, was the first film Cody completed for Disney Studios and was followed by Charley and the Angel
, directed by Vincent McEveety
and starring Fred MacMurray
and Cloris Leachman
as her parents, as well as Harry Morgan
. Her love interest was portrayed by Kurt Russell
. In 1974, Leachman was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her portrayal of Nettie Appleby in the film. The film was released on March 23, 1973.
Cody completed her three-picture deal with Disney, appearing in the film, Superdad
, again directed by Vincent McEveety
. She starred in the film along with Bob Crane
and Barbara Rush
, as her parents. The film also starred Kurt Russell, portraying Cody's love interest for the second time, and Bruno Kirby
and Ed Begley Jr. The film was released on December 14, 1973.
In 1972, Cody relocated to Los Angeles
. She co-starred in three television Movies of the Week. She first appeared in a remake of the 1945 film Double Indemnity, which originally starred Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck
. Cody portrayed the character Lola Dietrickson, while in 1945, the role was played by Jean Heather
. The 1972 adaptation starred Richard Crenna
, Lee J. Cobb
, and Samantha Eggar
.
In 1975, Cody appeared in her second telemovie, Babe, the biographical film about Babe Didrikson
, who was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN
, and the ninth Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century by the Associated Press
. Written by Joanna Lee
, the film was an adaptation of Didrikson's autobiography, entitled, This Life I've Led. Directed by Buzz Kulik
, the film starred Susan Clark
in the title role, for which she won an Emmy for her performance. Alex Karras
appeared in the film as Babe's husband, while Cody appeared in the supporting role of Sue Ellen.
In 1975, Cody appeared in the Vincent McEveety
directed film, The Last Day, starring Richard Widmark
, Barbara Rush
, Tim Matheson
and Robert Conrad
. Cody appeared in the supporting role of Julia Johnson
as Matheson's love interest. The western-genre film was released on February 15, 1975.
While she had previously retired from acting, relocating from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida, Cody responded to a 1987 call for local actors to appear in the Peter Bogdanovich
directed film, Illegally Yours
. She was cast in a minor supporting role in the film, which starred Rob Lowe
, Colleen Camp
, and Kenneth Mars
. The film was released on May 13, 1988.
television series, The Rousters
, starring Chad Everett
, Jim Varney
, and Mimi Rogers
. When the series was cancelled after one season, Cody moved to Florida, settling in Jacksonville
.
In 2010, Cody appeared at the annual Dark Shadows
Festival convention in Burbank, California
, as one of the original cast members of the cult classic daytime drama. Alternating between Los Angeles and New York, the event is an annual, three-day fan festival that has been held every year since 1983. In August 2011, Cody is scheduled to appear at the 45th Anniversary of the Dark Shadows Festival, to be held in New York City.
, Cody resides in Jacksonville, Florida
, where she works for a large national corporation as Project Manager in charge of statewide technical systems design.
Film credits
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
television series Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
, appearing in 49 episodes. Her career in film and television encompassed a time period of over 30 years.
Early life
Kathleen Cody was born on October 30, 1954 in the Bronx, New York. She is the daughter of James and Mary Cody. She attended Manhattan's Professional Children's SchoolProfessional Children's School
Professional Children's School is a not for profit, college preparatory school that was founded in New York City in 1914 to provide an education to young people working on the New York stage, in Vaudeville, or "on the road."-History:...
.
When she was 18 years old, Cody moved from New York to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to pursue her acting career in a greater capacity. She appeared in over ten television network series and seven major motion pictures.
Modeling
Cody appeared in her first television commercial when she was six months old and continued to work steadily as a child fashion model. She appeared in television commercials, including one with Louis Armstrong. She also appeared in commercial advertisements and on magazine covers, modeling for New York photographers, including Richard AvedonRichard Avedon
Richard Avedon was an American photographer. An obituary published in The New York Times said that "his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century."-Photography career:Avedon was born in New York City to a Jewish Russian...
and Francesco Scavullo
Francesco Scavullo
Francesco Scavullo was an American fashion photographer best known for his work on the covers of Cosmopolitan and his celebrity portraits.-Biography:...
.
Theatre
Menasha Skulnik
Menasha Skulnik was a Jewish American actor, primarily known for his roles in Yiddish theater in New York City. Skulnik was also popular on radio, playing Uncle David on The Goldbergs for 19 years...
at the Coconut Grove Playhouse
Coconut Grove Playhouse
The Coconut Grove Playhouse was a legitimate theater in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States.The building was originally constructed as a movie theater called the Player's State Theater. It first opened on January 3, 1927 as a part of the Paramount chain. The movie house...
in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
In 1963, at the age of nine, Cody was named one of the original cast members of the Broadway show Here's Love
Here's Love
Here's Love is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson.Based on the classic film Miracle on 34th Street, it tells the tale of a skeptical little girl who doubts the existence of Santa Claus. When the real Kris Kringle inadvertently is hired to represent jolly St...
, appearing in the role of Hendrika. The musical production was written by the playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
, who earlier wrote The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
and The Unsinkable Molly Brown
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (musical)
The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a musical with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and book by Richard Morris. The plot is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and her wealthy miner-husband....
. Here's Love was an adaptation of the film Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 Christmas film written by George Seaton from a story by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn...
and was introduced at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre on Broadway in NYC. Cody's costars included Janis Paige
Janis Paige
Janis Paige is an American film, musical theatre and television actress. Born Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington, she began singing in public from the age of five in local amateur shows...
, Craig Stevens
Craig Stevens (actor)
Craig Stevens was an American motion picture and television actor.-Early and personal life:Born Gail Shikles, Jr., in Liberty, Missouri, his father was a high school teacher....
, Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
, Fred Gwynne
Fred Gwynne
Frederick Hubbard "Fred" Gwynne was an American actor. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles: Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny...
, and Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
. During the play, Cody had a duet on the song, "The Bugle", with Naismith, who played the role of Kris Kringle
Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 Christmas film written by George Seaton from a story by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn...
. Cody remained with the production for the entire run, last appearing on July 25, 1964, when the play eventually closed after 334 shows and two previews.
Television appearances
In 1965, Cody started her daytime television career with regular running parts on the CBS daytime soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
as Laurie Ann Karr, As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
as Sally Graham , and Secret Storm as Cecilia, before becoming a regular cast member of the ABC
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
. She also appeared in the first episode of the Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
TV Series, The Trials of O'Brien
The Trials of O'Brien
The Trials of O'Brien was a 1965 television series starring Peter Falk as a seedy Shakespeare-quoting lawyer and featuring Elaine Stritch as his secretary and Joanna Barnes as his ex-wife. Falk often said that he actually liked this financially unsuccessful series much better than his later...
, entitled "Over Defense Is Out". She made special appearances on the Jackie Gleason Show, Perry Como Show, Jan Murray Show
Jan Murray
Jan Murray was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host who made his name on the Borscht Belt.-Early life:Murray was born Murray Janofsky in The Bronx, New York City...
, and The Bell Telephone Hour Christmas Special with Florence Henderson
Florence Henderson
Florence Agnes Henderson is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974...
.
In 1967, Cody was cast as Betty Parris
Betty Parris
Elizabeth "Betty" Parris was one of the accusers during the Salem witch trials. In the winter of 1691–1692, Betty, the nine-year-old daughter of the Salem, Massachusetts' Reverend Samuel Parris and his wife Elizabeth, was the first to claim illness due to being "bewitched"...
, in David Susskind
David Susskind
David Susskind was a producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a pioneer TV talk show host.-Personal:...
's television production of Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's The Crucible, which starred George C. Scott
George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...
, Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.Coming to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man , Douglas later transitioned into more mature and fatherly roles as in his Academy Award-winning performances in Hud...
, Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress known for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." In her autobiography, Dewhurst wrote: "I had moved so quickly from one Off-Broadway production to the next that I was known, at one point, as the 'Queen of Off-Broadway'...
, and Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
.
Upon completion of The Crucible
The Crucible
The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
, Cody was cast in a PBS special, the novelist and playwright, Colette
Colette
Colette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
's 1922 play, My Mother's House (originally entitled La Maison de Claudine), starring Dewhurst. The play was written as an homage to Colette's mother, Adèle Eugénie Sidonie "Sido" Colette. The story follows Colette as she reminisces about her childhood and her relationship with her mother. Cody portrayed the playwright, Colette, from adolescence up through the author's teenage years. In 1968, the show was nominated for three Emmy Awards.
Cody has guest-starred in various prime time television shows, including 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....
with actors James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
, James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
, Richard Jaeckel
Richard Jaeckel
Richard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
, Buck Taylor
Buck Taylor
Walter Clarence "Buck" Taylor, III is an American actor and water color artist best known for his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O'Brien in 113 episodes during the last eight seasons of CBS's Gunsmoke television series . In recent years, he has painted the portrait of his friend and Gunsmoke...
, Nicholas Hammond
Nicholas Hammond
Nicholas Hammond is an American actor best known for his roles as Friedrich von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music, and as Peter Parker/Spider-Man on the CBS television series The Amazing Spider-Man...
and Louise Latham
Louise Latham
Louise Latham is an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's film Marnie...
; The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
with David Cassidy
David Cassidy
David Bruce Cassidy is an American actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his role as the character of Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical/sitcom The Partridge Family. He was one of pop culture's most celebrated teen idols, enjoying a successful pop career in the 1970s, and...
; Doc Elliot with James Farentino
James Farentino
James Farentino is an American actor. He has appeared in almost one hundred roles, among them in The Final Countdown, Jesus of Nazareth, and Dynasty.-Career:...
; the Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
segment "Love and the Model Apartment" with Davy Jones
Davy Jones (actor)
David Thomas "Davy" Jones is an English rock singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.-Early life:...
as her newlywed husband; Barbary Coast with William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
and Doug McClure
Doug McClure
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
; The Walton's with Richard Thomas
Richard Thomas (actor)
Richard Earl Thomas is an American actor, best known for his role as budding author John-Boy Walton in the CBS drama The Waltons.- Early life :Thomas was born Richard Earl Thomas in New York,...
, Ralph Waite
Ralph Waite
Ralph Waite is an American actor, whose most notable role was playing John Walton Sr. on the 1970s CBS TV series The Waltons, which he also occasionally directed...
, and Will Geer
Will Geer
Will Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
; Cannon
Cannon (TV series)
Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad....
, guest-starring in a dual role with William Conrad
William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
, Mitch Ryan, and Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic, and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.-Career:...
; Three for the Road
Three for the Road
Three For the Road is a 1987 road trip themed comedy starring Charlie Sheen, Alan Ruck, Kerri Green, Sally Kellerman and Blair Tefkin.-Plot:...
with Vincent Van Patten
Vincent Van Patten
Vincent Van Patten is an American actor and former tour professional tennis player.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in Bellerose, New York. He is the youngest son of actor Dick Van Patten and his wife, Pat, née Poole, a former June Taylor dancer. He is of Dutch and Italian descent...
; and Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. A spin-off from Cannon, the show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement...
with Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones, and played Barnaby Jones in the movie...
and Kristoffer Tabori
Kristoffer Tabori
Kristoffer Tabori is an American actor and television director.-Early life:Tabori was born in Malibu, California, the son of director Don Siegel and Swedish-American actress Viveca Lindfors. He appeared in one of his mother's films, Weddings and Babies, as a young boy...
.
In 1976, Cody was cast in the starring role of "Snowy" in a pilot television series, entitled The Cheerleaders, which was directed by Richard Crenna
Richard Crenna
Richard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
. The show was a situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
about the "misadventures of Snowy, B.J., and Beverly, three fun-loving high school girls. The pilot episode focuses on the girls, members of the cheerleading team, as they perform embarrassing pledge week antics for a sorority house they hope to join." The story takes place in a small California town during the 1950s. Starring alongside Cody was Debbie Zipp, Theresa Medaris, and Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place is an American actress, singer, director and screen writer. She is best known as portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series in 1977...
. The show was broadcast on August 2, 1976.
Film appearances
In 1973, Cody appeared in her first Hollywood film, Hot Summer Week (later entitled Girls on the Road), along with Ralph WaiteRalph Waite
Ralph Waite is an American actor, whose most notable role was playing John Walton Sr. on the 1970s CBS TV series The Waltons, which he also occasionally directed...
and Michael Ontkean
Michael Ontkean
Michael Leonard Ontkean is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the 1970s crime drama The Rookies, the film Slap Shot , and the cult-favorite TV series Twin Peaks .-Life and career:...
, who was also making his American film debut. Cody's appearance in Hot Summer Week prompted Walt Disney Studios to invite her to screen test for work with their studios. The successful audition resulted in Disney Studios signing her to a three-picture contract. She was the last actress signed to a contract by Disney Studios, since Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
.
Snowball Express
Snowball Express
Snowball Express is a 1972 screwball comedy film made by Walt Disney Productions about a man who leaves his desk job to run a hotel left to him by his uncle.-Plot:...
, directed by Norman Tokar
Norman Tokar
Norman Tokar was a prolific director of serial television and feature films, who directed many of the early episodes of Leave it to Beaver, and found his greatest success directing over a dozen films for Walt Disney Productions, spanning the 1950s to the...
, was the first film Cody completed for Disney Studios and was followed by Charley and the Angel
Charley and the Angel
Charley and the Angel is a 1973 Disney family/comedy film set in an unidentified small city in the 1930s Depression-era Midwestern United States and starring Fred MacMurray in one of his final film appearances...
, directed by Vincent McEveety
Vincent McEveety
Vincent Michael McEveety is an American director and producer.- Career :TelevisionVince McEveety has directed numerous Emmy Award winning television series, including The Untouchables, Gunsmoke, six Star Trek , Magnum, P.I., How the...
and starring Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
and Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
as her parents, as well as Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
. Her love interest was portrayed by Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
. In 1974, Leachman was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her portrayal of Nettie Appleby in the film. The film was released on March 23, 1973.
Cody completed her three-picture deal with Disney, appearing in the film, Superdad
Superdad
Superdad is a 1973 American comedy film by Walt Disney Productions and starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, and Kathleen Cody...
, again directed by Vincent McEveety
Vincent McEveety
Vincent Michael McEveety is an American director and producer.- Career :TelevisionVince McEveety has directed numerous Emmy Award winning television series, including The Untouchables, Gunsmoke, six Star Trek , Magnum, P.I., How the...
. She starred in the film along with Bob Crane
Bob Crane
Robert Edward "Bob" Crane was an American actor and disc jockey, best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E...
and Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
, as her parents. The film also starred Kurt Russell, portraying Cody's love interest for the second time, and Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II and Donnie Brasco.-Early life:Kirby was born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City,...
and Ed Begley Jr. The film was released on December 14, 1973.
In 1972, Cody relocated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. She co-starred in three television Movies of the Week. She first appeared in a remake of the 1945 film Double Indemnity, which originally starred Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
. Cody portrayed the character Lola Dietrickson, while in 1945, the role was played by Jean Heather
Jean Heather
Jean Heather was an American actress who featured in eight feature films during the 1940s.Heather attended Oregon State University, 1940-41...
. The 1972 adaptation starred Richard Crenna
Richard Crenna
Richard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
, Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men his Academy Award-nominated performance in On the Waterfront and one of his last films, The Exorcist...
, and Samantha Eggar
Samantha Eggar
Samantha Eggar is an English film, television and voice actress.-Early life:She was born Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar in Hampstead, London to an Anglo-Irish father and a mother of Dutch and Portuguese descent...
.
In 1975, Cody appeared in her second telemovie, Babe, the biographical film about Babe Didrikson
Babe Zaharias
Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias was an American athlete who achieved outstanding success in golf, basketball, and track and field...
, who was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, and the ninth Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. Written by Joanna Lee
Joanna Lee
Joanna Lee was a Korean woman who was killed in December 2000 during a prolonged and violent exorcism carried out by Pastor Luke Lee of the Lord of All cult, in Auckland, New Zealand.-Early life:...
, the film was an adaptation of Didrikson's autobiography, entitled, This Life I've Led. Directed by Buzz Kulik
Buzz Kulik
Buzz Kulik was an American film director and producer. He directed 72 films and television shows, including several episodes of The Twilight Zone.-Selected filmography:* The Explosive Generation...
, the film starred Susan Clark
Susan Clark
Susan Clark is a Canadian actress, possibly best-known for her role as Katherine on the American television sitcom Webster, on which she appeared with her husband, Alex Karras.-Personal life:...
in the title role, for which she won an Emmy for her performance. Alex Karras
Alex Karras
Alexander George "Alex" Karras , nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a former football player, professional wrestler, and actor, best known for his stint with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964-1970 and for his role as Mongo in the film Blazing Saddles...
appeared in the film as Babe's husband, while Cody appeared in the supporting role of Sue Ellen.
In 1975, Cody appeared in the Vincent McEveety
Vincent McEveety
Vincent Michael McEveety is an American director and producer.- Career :TelevisionVince McEveety has directed numerous Emmy Award winning television series, including The Untouchables, Gunsmoke, six Star Trek , Magnum, P.I., How the...
directed film, The Last Day, starring Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
, Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
, Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson is an American actor, director and producer. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the smooth-talking Eric 'Otter' Stratton in the 1978 comedy National Lampoon's Animal House and has had a variety of other well-known roles, including providing the voice of the lead character...
and Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...
. Cody appeared in the supporting role of Julia Johnson
Julia Johnson
Julia Johnson is a London-born singer-songwriter and a founder-member of Post Trip-Hop band Second Person. Her first solo album, I Am Not The Night, recorded at Livingston Recording Studios and produced by Tristan Ivemy , was released in May 2011 through the independent label Blue January.- Trivia...
as Matheson's love interest. The western-genre film was released on February 15, 1975.
While she had previously retired from acting, relocating from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida, Cody responded to a 1987 call for local actors to appear in the Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
directed film, Illegally Yours
Illegally Yours
Illegally Yours is a 1988 comedy film set in St. Augustine, Florida where a series of comic mishaps take place involving a blackmailer, a corpse, an incriminating audiotape, an innocent woman who accidentally picks up the tape, and a pair of teenage blackmail victims...
. She was cast in a minor supporting role in the film, which starred Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
, Colleen Camp
Colleen Camp
Colleen Celeste Camp is an American actress and film producer, known for her performances in two installments of the Police Academy series and as Yvette the Maid in the 1985 black comedy Clue. She was also the first actress to play Kristin Shepard in U.S. prime time soap opera Dallas in 1979.Camp...
, and Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars was an American television, movie, and voice actor. He may be best-remembered for his roles in several Mel Brooks films: the insane Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in 1968's The Producers, and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp in 1974's Young Frankenstein...
. The film was released on May 13, 1988.
Personal life
In 1975, Cody returned to the east coast, settling in Connecticut. She married Robert Rakauskas in 1979 and in 1981, their daughter, Megan Anne was born. In 1983, she returned to Los Angeles, when she was cast in the Stephen J. CannellStephen J. Cannell
Stephen Joseph Cannell was an American television producer, writer, novelist and occasional actor, and the founder of Stephen J. Cannell Productions.-Early life:...
television series, The Rousters
The Rousters
The Rousters is a 1983 NBC television series about a group of modern-day bounty hunters who are descendants of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp. Despite advertising claims that this series would "sink The Love Boat" in the ratings, it ran for only one season of 13 episodes.-Premise:Wyatt Earp III works...
, starring Chad Everett
Chad Everett
Chad Everett is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and television series but is probably best known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon in the 1970s television drama Medical Center.-Early life:...
, Jim Varney
Jim Varney
James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P...
, and Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers is an American movie actress and competitive poker player.-Early life:Rogers was born Miriam Spickler in Coral Gables, Florida, the daughter of Philip C...
. When the series was cancelled after one season, Cody moved to Florida, settling in Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
.
In 2010, Cody appeared at the annual Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
Festival convention in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, as one of the original cast members of the cult classic daytime drama. Alternating between Los Angeles and New York, the event is an annual, three-day fan festival that has been held every year since 1983. In August 2011, Cody is scheduled to appear at the 45th Anniversary of the Dark Shadows Festival, to be held in New York City.
, Cody resides in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, where she works for a large national corporation as Project Manager in charge of statewide technical systems design.
Filmography
Television credits- 1965: The Edge of NightThe Edge of NightThe Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
as Laurie Ann Karr - 1965: The Trials of O'BrienThe Trials of O'BrienThe Trials of O'Brien was a 1965 television series starring Peter Falk as a seedy Shakespeare-quoting lawyer and featuring Elaine Stritch as his secretary and Joanna Barnes as his ex-wife. Falk often said that he actually liked this financially unsuccessful series much better than his later...
as Dinah - 1966: As the World TurnsAs the World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
as Sally Graham - 1966: Secret Storm as Cecilia
- 1967: The Crucible
- 1968: My Mother's House
- 1970: Dark ShadowsDark ShadowsDark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
as Hallie Stokes/Carrie Stokes - 1973: The Partridge FamilyThe Partridge FamilyThe Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
as Dina - 1973: Love, American StyleLove, American StyleLove, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
- 1974: Doc Elliot
- 1974: Dirty SallyDirty SallyDirty Sally is a short-lived comedy-drama Western series which ran on CBS from January 11 until April 5, 1974. The program was a spin-off of a two-part 1971 episode of Gunsmoke in which Sally nursed a young gunfighter back to health.-Synopsis:...
as Samantha - 1974: The WaltonsThe WaltonsThe Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
as Audrey Butler - 1974: GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke 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....
as Cynthia/Anna May/Melissa - 1975: CannonCannon (TV series)Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad....
as Daphne Simmons/Gail Dexter - 1975: Barbary Coast as Leslie Budwing
- 1975: Three for the RoadThree for the RoadThree For the Road is a 1987 road trip themed comedy starring Charlie Sheen, Alan Ruck, Kerri Green, Sally Kellerman and Blair Tefkin.-Plot:...
as Shelley - 1975: Barnaby JonesBarnaby JonesBarnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. A spin-off from Cannon, the show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement...
as Sherry - 1976: The Cheerleaders as Snowy
Film credits
- 1973: Hot Summer Week as Debbie
- 1973: Snowball ExpressSnowball ExpressSnowball Express is a 1972 screwball comedy film made by Walt Disney Productions about a man who leaves his desk job to run a hotel left to him by his uncle.-Plot:...
as Chris Baxter - 1973: Charley and the AngelCharley and the AngelCharley and the Angel is a 1973 Disney family/comedy film set in an unidentified small city in the 1930s Depression-era Midwestern United States and starring Fred MacMurray in one of his final film appearances...
as Leonora Appleby - 1973: SuperdadSuperdadSuperdad is a 1973 American comedy film by Walt Disney Productions and starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, and Kathleen Cody...
as Wendy McCready - 1973: Double Indemnity as Lola Dietrickson
- 1975: Babe (The Babe Didrikson Zaharias Story) as Sue Ellen
- 1975: The Last Day as Julia Johnson
- 1988: Illegally YoursIllegally YoursIllegally Yours is a 1988 comedy film set in St. Augustine, Florida where a series of comic mishaps take place involving a blackmailer, a corpse, an incriminating audiotape, an innocent woman who accidentally picks up the tape, and a pair of teenage blackmail victims...
as Cable-TV Housewife