Fay Spain
Spain in 1959
Born
Lona Fay Spain

(1932-10-06)October 6, 1932
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.[1]
DiedMay 8, 1983(1983-05-08) (aged 50)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesLona May Spain
OccupationActress
Years active1955–1977
Spouses
John Falvo
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1954)​
    John Altoon
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1959; div. 1962)​
      Imo Ughini
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1965; div. 1966)​
        Philip Fulmer
        ​
        ​
        (m. 1968)​
        Children1

        Lona Fay Spain[2] (October 6, 1932 – May 8, 1983) was an American actress in motion pictures and television.

        Early years

        Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Fay Spain was the younger of two daughters born to Robert C. Spain and Arminta Frances "Mickie" Cochran.[2] When she was 17 years old, Spain worked as a dealer in a casino in Reno, Nevada. Years later, she said, "I lied about my age and got a job as a dealer – and made big money, much more than my husband, who was a shill."[3]

        Theater apprentice

        Within two months, she found work with a stock company in the Catskill Mountains. She obtained an Equity card, which enabled her to continue working as an actress. Spain eschewed a college scholarship after attending high school in White Salmon, Washington. She chose instead to pursue a stock company apprenticeship.

        Film actress

        Spain pursued acting, unimpeded by rejection. She accepted any parts that came along, learning the techniques of the acting trade.

        In 1955, Spain was one of 15 actresses who were named WAMPAS Baby Stars.[4] She first came to prominence with movie audiences in the late 1950s. In 1957, she appeared as Carol Smith with John Smith as Tommy Kelly in the dramatic film The Crooked Circle in which a young boxer is pressured to throw a fight. In 1958, she was cast as Darlin' Jill in the film version of God's Little Acre, based on Erskine Caldwell's novel. The film marked the screen debut of Tina Louise and also starred Robert Ryan, Jack Lord, Buddy Hackett, Aldo Ray, and Vic Morrow.

        Spain followed this success by playing Maureen Flannery in the film Al Capone (1959), and appeared in such films as The Beat Generation (1959), The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960), Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis (1961), Black Gold (1962), Thunder Island (1963), Flight to Fury (1964), The Gentle Rain (1966), Welcome to Hard Times (1967), and The Todd Killings (1971).

        Her final appearance as a film actress came in 1974, when she portrayed the wife of mobster Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg) in The Godfather Part II (1974).

        Marriages

        When she was 16, Spain married John Falvo, a screenwriter and actor. They had one son, Jock Falvo (born 1954), and divorced in 1954.[2] In 1959, the actress married West Coast abstract painter John Altoon.[5] From 1965 to 1966, she was married to Imo Ughini, a hairdresser.[2]

        Television

        Spain starred in 11 episodes of NBC Matinee Theater.[6]

        She appeared as a contestant in an episode of the Groucho Marx game show You Bet Your Life (episode #56-02, October 4, 1956, Secret Word 'Hand'). By the middle and late 1950s and 1960s, Spain appeared in Bonanza (Sue Ellen Terry in "The Sisters" in the first season chapter 14), Gunsmoke (in 1957 as the title character "Mavis McCloud" (S3E7) & in 1961 as "Bessie" a gang member and killer in "A Man A Day" (S7E14), Cheyenne, Rawhide, Whirlybirds, Hogan's Heroes, Perry Mason (Charlotte Lynch in "The Case of the Fiery Fingers"), Tombstone Territory (episode "Pick up the Gun"), The Millionaire, M Squad, Adventures in Paradise, The Texan, Riverboat, The Rat Patrol, Gomer Pyle, USMC, Gunsmoke (episode "Mavis McCloud" (1957) and episode "A Man a Day" (1961)), Playhouse 90, 77 Sunset Strip, Have Gun - Will Travel (episode "High Wire," 1957), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (episode "The Last Dark Step" (1959) and "The Cuckoo Clock" (1960)), Maverick (episodes "The Naked Gallows" with Jack Kelly (1957), "The Goose-Drownder" (1959), and "The Cactus Switch" with Roger Moore (1961)), Pony Express, The Restless Gun, The Fugitive, Bat Masterson and as Angela in Steve McQueen's Wanted: Dead or Alive (Season 2, Episode 18 (1959), as well as the "gold-digging" Amy Williams opposite Royal Dano in Season 2, Episode 3 which aired on 9/18/1959).... starred in 1961 on tales of Wells Fargo in an episode called 'The angry sky' season 6 of tales of Wells Fargo

        Spain also appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood. In the 1950s and 1960s she continued to be seen frequently on television series such as Rawhide episodes, "Incident of the Valley in Shadow" (1959) and "Incident in the Middle of Nowhere" (1961) and "Incident of the Lost Woman" (1962), as well as Stoney Burke, Hogan's Heroes and The Fugitive.

        In 1966, she played Calamity Jane in the episode "A Calamity Called Jane" of the syndicated series, Death Valley Days.

        Death

        Spain died of lymphatic cancer in Los Angeles in 1983 at age 50.

        Filmography

        Film

        Year Title Role
        1957Dragstrip GirlLouise Blake
        The Abductors
        Teenage DollHelen
        The Crooked CircleCarol Smith
        1958God's Little AcreDarlin' Jill
        1959Al CaponeMaureen Flannery
        The Beat GenerationFrancee Culloran
        1960The Private Lives of Adam and EveLil Lewis / Lilith
        1961Hercules and the Conquest of AtlantisQueen Antinea of Atlantis
        1962Black GoldJulie
        1963Thunder IslandHelen Dodge
        The Great Space Adventure
        1964Flight to FuryDestiny Cooper
        Cordillera
        1965Choque de Sentimentos
        1966The Gentle RainNancy Masters
        1967Welcome to Hard TimesJessie
        1970The Naked ZooPauline
        1971The Todd KillingsMrs. Mack
        1974The Godfather Part IIMrs. Marcia Roth

        Television

        Year Title Role Notes
        1955 Big Town Episode: "Mental Health"
        1956 The NBC Comedy Hour Episode: Season 1, Episode 17
        Matinee Theatre Episode: "Backfire"
        Cheyenne Susan Doonevan Episode: "The Long Winter"
        Conflict Nancy Meadows Episode: "The Magic Brew"
        Dragnet Episode: "The Big Beer"
        Playhouse 90 Crystal Vail Episode: "The Big Slide"
        1957 Wire Service Peggy Episode: "Chicago Exclusive"
        Matinee Theatre Episode: "On the Trail of the Klingsfeld"
        The Brothers Tracey Episode: "The Crush"
        The Web Sadie Episode: "Dead Silence"
        Gunsmoke Mavis McCloud Episode: "Mavis McCloud"
        Have Gun – Will Travel Rena Episode: "High Wire"
        Sugarfoot Susie Tatum Episode: "Quicksilver"
        Maverick Ruth Overton Episode: "The Naked Gallows"
        1958 The Restless Gun Helen Rockwood Episode: "A Pressing Engagement"
        The Court of Last Resort Episode: "The Court of Last Resort"
        Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Trina Greco Episode: "A Grave Undertaking"
        The Millionaire Aileen Evans Episode: "The Tony Drummond Story"
        Perry Mason Charlotte Lynch Episode: "The Case of the Fiery Fingers"
        Tombstone Territory Lisa Carew Episode: "Pick up the Gun"
        Whirlybirds Episode: "Blind Victory"
        M Squad Ruth Reardon Episode: "Accusation"
        Playhouse 90 Annamay Paul Episode: "A Town Has Turned to Dust"
        Whirlybirds Episode: "The Midnight Show"
        The Texan Ann Dowd Episode: "The Easterner"
        Pursuit Andrea Episode: "The Dark Cloud"
        1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Leslie Lenox Season 4 Episode 18: "The Last Dark Step"
        The Ten Commandments Television film
        Bat Masterson Julie Poe Episode: "The Tumbleweed Wagon"
        77 Sunset Strip Audrey Franklin Episode: "Abra-Cadaver"
        The Restless Gun Serena Episode: "A Very Special Investigator"
        Schlitz Playhouse Anna Carrick Episode: "Ballad to Die For"
        Wanted Dead or Alive Amy Williams Episode: "The Matchmaker"
        Adventures in Paradise Amy Episode: "Paradise Lost"
        Rawhide Winoka Episode: "Incident of the Valley in Shadow"
        Bonanza Sue Ellen Terry Episode: "The Sisters"
        Maverick Stella Legendre Episode: "The Goose-Drownder"
        1960 Wanted Dead or Alive Angela Episode: "Angela"
        The Detectives Marcy Collins Episode: "House Call"
        Markham Lucille Barrett Episode: "Deadly Promise"
        Laramie Gloria Patterson Episode: "Duel at Alta Mesa"
        The Alaskans Janice Collier Episode: "Peril at Caribou Crossing"
        Hawaiian Eye Honey Shaw Episode: "Birthday Boy"
        The Alaskans Ellen Hawley Episode: "The Bride Wore Black"
        Alfred Hitchcock Presents Madeleine Hall Season 5 Episode 27: "The Cuckoo Clock"
        Moment of Fear Episode: "Fire by Night"
        Naked City Felice Reynolds Episode: "A Succession of Heartbeats"
        Michael Shayne Marge Jerome Episode: "Call for Michael Shayne"
        Maverick Angelica Garland Episode: "Bolt from the Blue"
        The Deputy Sally Tornado Episode: "Sally Tornado"
        Laramie Fran Ericson Episode: "No Second Chance"
        Riverboat Laurie Rawlings Episode: "Duel on the River"
        Route 66 Paula Shay Episode: "A Fury Slinging Flame"
        1961 Maverick Lana Cane Episode: "The Cactus Switch"
        Gunslinger Martha Episode: "The Buried People"
        Adventures in Paradise Julie Episode: "Captain Butcher"
        The Untouchables Julie Duvall Episode: "Testimony of Evil"
        Rawhide Barbara Fraser S3:E22, "Incident in the Middle of Nowhere"
        Gunsmoke Bessie Episode: "A Man a Day"
        1962 Cain's Hundred Enid Lazzo Episode: "Murder by Proxy: Earl Klegg"
        Ben Casey Lisa Delman Episode: "Odyssey of a Proud Suitcase"
        Dr. Kildare Sally Winters Episode: "The Roaring Boy-O"
        Hawaiian Eye Barbara Mason Episode: "Payoff"
        Tales of Wells Fargo Marie Jarnier Episode: "The Angry Sky"
        Rawhide Lissa Hobson Episode: "Incident of the Lost Woman"
        1963 Laramie Gladys Episode: "Vengeance"
        Going My Way Helen Bancroft Episode: "The Slasher"
        Stoney Burke Libby Ferris Episode: "Cat's Eyes"
        The Greatest Show on Earth Alicia Episode: "The Hanging Man"
        1964 Channing Phyllis Episode: "Swing for the Moon"
        Daniel Boone Kathleen O'Hannrahan Episode: "The Sisters O'Hannrahan"
        Dr. Kildare Emily Buchanan Episode: "Catch a Crooked Mouse"
        1965 The Fugitive Nora Keel Episode: "Three Cheers for Little Boy Blue"
        1966 A Man Called Shenandoah Millie Turner Episode: "The Accused"
        I Spy Vanessa Episode: "It's All Done with Mirrors"
        The Rat Patrol Fay Morgan Episode: "The Gun Runner Raid"
        Death Valley Days Calamity Jane Episode: "A Calamity Called Jane"
        1967 Iron Horse Marian Elwood Episode: "Six Hours to Sky High"
        Mannix Gladys Episode: "A Catalogue of Sins"
        Gunsmoke Willy Episode: "Wonder"
        1968 Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Lila St. Clair Episode: "Gomer and the Queen of Burlesque"
        Hogan's Heroes Myra Episode: "How to Catch a Papa Bear"
        1969 My Friend Tony Episode: "Kidnap"
        Hogan's Heroes Carla Episode: "At Last - Schultz Knows Something"
        1971 The Man and the City Lois Niles Episode: "I Should Have Let Him Die"
        Medical Center Linda Episode: "The Nowhere Child"
        1972 Mannix Mrs. Welch Episode: "Cry Silence"
        Night Gallery Molly Mitchell Episode: "Rare Objects"
        1974 Ironside Alice Schmidt Episode: "Class of '40"
        Police Woman Mame Dorn Episode: "Flowers of Evil"
        1975 Caribe Connie James Episode: "Assault on the Calavera"
        Police Woman Nadine Hummel Episode: "The Hit"

        References

        1. ↑ "Fay Spain". Glamour Girls. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
        2. 1 2 3 4 Wagner, Laura (Spring 2019). "Fay Spain". Films of the Golden Age (96): 56–57.
        3. ↑ "Fay Spain Really Veteran Gambler". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Texas, Lubbock. Associated Press. November 16, 1958. p. 64. Retrieved June 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
        4. ↑ "15 Wampas Baby Stars Appointed". Long Beach Independent. California, Long Beach. Associated Press. October 31, 1955. p. 13. Retrieved June 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
        5. ↑ "Actress Fay Spain, Painter To Marry". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Texas, Corpus Christi. Associated Press. January 29, 1959. p. 18. Retrieved June 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
        6. ↑ Johnson, Erskine (March 6, 1959). "Hollywood Today". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Texas, Corpus Christi. p. 40. Retrieved June 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

        Sources

        • The Fremont Argus, "Fay Spain", May 17, 1975, Page 40.
        • Reno Evening Gazette, "Fay Spain Comes Back To Reno", Friday, February 6, 1959, Page 22.
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