biography Born in Glendale, California, on February 7, 1931, lovely Gloria Talbott began her acting career while still a child. She can be seen in small roles in Sweet and Low-Down (1944) and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) and later was named 'Miss Glendale.' After completing high school, Talbott married in 1949 and had a son, but when her marriage tanked in 1953, she went back to acting. Talbott built her acting career on the stage, working her way up to a trio of western films released by Allied Artists: Desert Pursuit (1952; with Virginia Grey), Northern Patrol (1953; with Kirby Grant), and Border City Rustlers (1953; with Guy Madison). Talbott appeared in numerous westerns throughout her career, most notably The Oklahoman (1957; with Joel McCrea and Barbara Hale), Cattle Empire (1958; with Joel McCrea), and the western comedy Alias Jesse James (1959; with Bob Hope, Rhonda Fleming, and Wendell Corey). Gloria Talbott married character actor and stuntman Sandy Sanders in 1956. In western circles, Sanders was a respected rope and horse trainer, a riding stable owner, and even a riding teacher both during and in-between film gigs. Talbott learned a lot from Sanders about horses and became an accomplished equestrian in her own right. However, the couple suffered a bitter divorce in 1965.  Despite her profilic output of westerns, Talbott is today best remembered as a scream queen in several 1950s cult classic horror films, including The Cyclops (1957; with James Craig), Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957; with John Agar), I Married a Monster From Outer Space (1958; with Tom Tryon), and The Leech Woman (1960; with Coleen Gray and Grant Williams). Her television appearances were prolific in the 1950s and 1960s; she appeared on many popular television series in guest roles, including The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and Perry Mason. |
the films of gloria talbottAll That Heaven Allows (1955)  
From the Douglas Sirk melodrama All That Heaven Allows. LEFT and CENTER: Kay Scott (Talbott) is comforted by her mother, Cary (Jane Wyman). RIGHT: Kay and her brother Ned confront Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson) about his affair with their motherDaughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957) 
LEFT: Gloria Talbott is the Daughter of Dr. Jekyll, directed by low budget auteur Edgar G. Ulmer in a week-long production schedule. RIGHT: With costar John AgarThe Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm (1957)    
From The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm, the final film in Universal's Ma and Pa Kettle series. LEFT, CENTER A and B: With Marjorie Main, John Smith, and Parker Fennelly. CENTER C and RIGHT: Talbott romances lumberjack Brad Johnson (John Smith)The Cyclops (1957) 
From the Allied Artists horror flick The Cyclops. RIGHT: Lobby card featuring Gloria Talbott. RIGHT: With James CraigI Married a Monster From Outer Space (1958) 
A good movie with a great explotation title, I Married a Monster From Outer Space was produced by Paramount for about $170,000. The right photo includes Tom TryonGirls Town (1959)
From the campy MGM drama Girls Town with Mamie Van DorenThe Leech Woman (1960)  
Stills from the campy 1960 Universal horror flick The Leech Woman. LEFT: With Phillip Terry. CENTER: With Coleen Gray and Grant Williams. RIGHT: Coleen Gray and Talbott duke it out over the affections of Grant WilliamsOklahoma Territory (1960)
With Bill Williams in the low-budget western Oklahoma TerritoryArizona Raiders (1965)
As Martina in the Columbia western Arizona RaidersAn Eye for an Eye (1966)
With Paul Fix in the western An Eye for an Eye, which was Talbott's final filmlater yearsFollowing The Leech Woman (1960), Talbott acted in just two more films: Arizona Raiders (1965; with Audie Murphy) and An Eye for an Eye (1966; with Robert Lansing and Patrick Wayne). She was very active in television and acted on many popular TV programs of the day, including Death Valley Days, Gunsmoke, and Surfside 6. After her third marriage in 1966, she gave birth to a daughter, which is when she threw in the towel on her acting career; however, her third marriage was short-lived and ended in 1969. She remarried in 1970 and remained retired from the screen. Sadly, Gloria Talbott passed away in September 19, 2000, at the age of 69 from kidney failure. She was survived by her fourth husband, her son, and her daughter. |
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