Midge Ware
Midge Ware Colton (born Muriel Florence Bendelson; October 20, 1927 – June 3, 2020) was an American model and stage, screen and television actress. She had a over 30 years career in show business.[1]
Midge Ware | |
---|---|
Born | Muriel Florence Bendelson October 20, 1927 The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
Died | June 3, 2020 92) | (aged
Nationality | American |
Other names | Midge Ware Colton |
Occupation | Actress, model |
Spouse(s) | Art Batanides (1954-?) David Moessinger (1965-?) |
Born in The Bronx, New York, Ware was the daughter of taxi driver Samuel Bendelson and Mitzi Restenbaum Bendelson. She had twin brothers. Her schoolmates nicknamed her Midge, and she eventually had that made her legal name.[2] She graduated from George Washington High School in Manhattan.[3]
Before she became an actress, Ware was a model whose picture was used on the magazine covers more than 100 times. Universal signed her to a film contract in 1950.[2] She debuted on film in Bedtime for Bonzo (1951).[4]
Ware performed on Broadway in The Fifth Season (1953) and Maybe Tuesday (1958).[5]
On television, Ware was guest hostess on Truth or Consequences,[2] and she portrayed Louise Scruggs on The Beverly Hillbillies.[6] She also appeared on, among other shows, The Donna Reed Show, Gunslinger, The Phil Silvers Show, The Rifleman, Police Woman, and Quincy, M.E.
On August 7, 1954, Ware married actor Art Batanides in Las Vegas. It was her second marriage.[7] They divorced in the early 1960s, and she married David Moessinger, a director and writer, in 1965.[4]
She died on June 3, 2020, aged 92, in Westlake Village, California.[4]
References
- Aaker, Everett. Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 430. ISBN 978-1-4766-6250-3. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- "Kirsch Beverages Selects Midge Ware As 'NO-CAL Girl' for Her Trim Torso". The Williamsburg News. New York, Brooklyn. October 16, 1953. p. 4. Retrieved September 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Midge Ware, 92". Classic Images (542): 48. August 2020.
- "Midge Ware". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- "Midge Ware Married". The San Francisco Examiner. Associated Press. August 9, 1956. p. 48. Retrieved September 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.