Catherine McLeod

Catherine McLeod was an American actress who made over 60 television and movie appearances between 1944 and 1976. Born on July 2, 1921, in Santa Monica, California, she received her schooling in an Alhambra convent before pursuing acting. McLeod honed her craft in a Los Angeles little theater and studied at the Bliss-Hayden drama workshop, gaining early experience that would serve her well in Hollywood. Before her film career took off, she worked in a movie theater in Reno and later performed as a chorus girl in musicals, building the foundation for her future in entertainment. Her film career began to flourish when she landed the leading role as a concert pianist in Frank Borzage's I've Always Loved You (1946), followed by notable appearances in Courage of Lassie (1946) with Elizabeth Taylor, and The Fabulous Texan (1947). She continued to work steadily throughout the late 1940s and into the 1950s with films like That's My Man (1947), Old Los Angeles (1948), and A Blueprint for Murder (1953). In the 1960s and beyond, McLeod appeared in Ride the Wild Surf (1964) and Lipstick (1976), demonstrating her remarkable longevity in the industry. On television, McLeod was a familiar face, making her debut on October 10, 1950, in 'Criminal's Mark' on the TV version of Suspense. She became particularly memorable for her role in the 1957 ABC/Warner Brothers television series Maverick, where she portrayed the one woman whom James Garner's character Bret Maverick wanted to marry in the episode 'Rage for Vengeance.' Her television career spanned dozens of series, including two guest appearances on Perry Mason, where she played the wife of murder victims in 'The Case of the Vagabond Vixen' (1957) and 'The Case of the Glittering Goldfish' (1959). She also appeared in numerous westerns and crime dramas such as 77 Sunset Strip, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Bronco, Colt .45, Lawman, Bonanza, Hazel, Hawaiian Eye, Have Gun – Will Travel, The Outer Limits, The Virginian, and Gunsmoke. In Gunsmoke, she played 'Letty Rickers,' an abused wife in the episode 'Wrong Man' (S2E29), opposite her real-life husband Don Keefer. Perhaps her most enduring contribution to American pop culture came from a 1963 Anacin television commercial, where her catchphrase 'Mother, please! I'd rather do it myself!' became one of the most ubiquitous of its era. McLeod's personal life included two marriages: first to San Francisco dental student Bill Gerds (1947-1949), and then to actor Don Keefer from May 7, 1950, until her death. Together, Keefer and McLeod had three children, and she passed away on May 11, 1997, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 75.