biography
Born in Flint, Michigan, on March 11, 1935, Nancy Kovack is a rare example of an actress with the gifts of talent, beauty, comedic timing,
and brains. As a teenager racking up beauty contest titles in her native Michigan, the stunning glamour girl also proved to be brilliant
as well. With a reported IQ of 158, she graduated from the University of Michigan before age 20. By the mid 1950s, Kovack found
herself in New York working in television as an assistant on the CBS/later ABC game show Beat the Clock (1950-1961) and as a 'glee girl'
on the CBS TV series The Jackie Gleason Show (1952–1957). She was spotted by a talent scout in the Broadway production The
Disenchanted, and Columbia Studios offered the gorgeous actress a contract, which she signed in 1959.
Her first film was the Kirk Douglas vehicle Strangers When We Meet (1960; with Kim Novak, Ernie Kovacs, and Barbara Rush). The following year, she landed a regular slot as a prize girl on the Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions game show Number Please, hosted by Bud Collyer. A few more supporting roles in films followed until her big break came in the Columbia western The Wild Westerners (1962; with Duane Eddy and Guy Mitchell). While she often acted in westerns and excelled at playing the femme fatale, Kovack also displayed a keen talent for comedy which can be seen in The Outlaws Is Coming (1965; with the Three Stooges and Adam West), The Silencers (1966; with Dean Martin, Daliah Lavi, and Stella Stevens), and Enter Laughing (1967; with Jose Ferrer, Shelley Winters, and Elaine May). Kovack stuck with Columbia through to her last film Marooned (1969; with Gregory Peck and Lee Grant).  In between film roles, Kovack made guest appearances on a number of popular television programs, including Perry Mason, Batman, and Star Trek. Fans remember her 1964-1969 appearances on the ABC TV series Bewitched, often in the role of Darrin's snooty former girlfriend Shelia. Following her 1969 marriage, her television appearances were sporadic, with the last one coming in a 1976 episode of the CBS series Cannon. |
the films of nancy kovackThe Wild Westerners (1962)   From Columbia's The Wild Westerners. LEFT: Kovack as Rose Sharon. CENTER and RIGHT: Lobby cardsJason and the Argonauts (1963) As Medea in Jason and the ArgonautsThe Outlaws Is Coming (1965)  Nancy Kovack stars as Annie Oakley in The Outlaws Is Coming. The photos above feature Curly Joe DeRita, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Adam WestFrankie and Johnny (1966)Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966) Tarzan (Mike Henry) tends to Sophia Renault (Nancy Kovack) in a scene from Tarzan and the Valley of GoldMarooned (1969)
With Lee Grant and Mariette Hartley in Marooned. This film was once aired on Mystery Science Theater 3000It Takes a Thief (1968-1970 ABC TV Series) With Robert Wagner in an episode of Wagner's series It Takes a Thief, titled 38-23-36nancy kovack todayNancy Kovack married famed orchestra conductor Zubin Mehta on July 19, 1969. Sadly, she soon afterward gave up her successful career, during which she netted a 1964 Golden Laurel nomination for 'Top New Face.' And she was nominated for an Emmy award for 'Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Single Performance' for her role as Bret Nicols on the Mannix episode The Girl Who Came in with the Tide, which originally aired on February 1, 1969. Retired from acting since 1976, today Kovack is well respected in music and social circles on both east and west coasts. |
filmographyFILM
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This page premiered August 22, 2003.
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