Amanda Blake

Amanda Blake was born as Beverly Louise Neill on February 20, 1929 in Buffalo, New York, USA, to parents Jesse and Louise. She completed her education from Claremont High School and Pomona College. In 1954, the actress got married to Don Whitman. After the couple’s divorce the following year, Blake moved on to marry Jason Day in 1964. After separating from him as well, the American beauty married Frank Gilbert in 1967. Unfortunately, her relationship with her third husband was also for a short duration. Then in 1984, she married Mark Spaeth and a year later, he died. A heavy chain-smoker, Amanda Blake was diagnosed with oral cancer in 1977 and had surgery for the same. She died on August 16, 1989 at the Mercy General Hospital of California, at the age of 60.

Amanda Blake first appeared onscreen in the 1950 movie ‘Stars In My Crown’. The same year, she did the movies ‘Duchess of Idaho’ and ‘Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard’. After this, she got featured in the drama ‘Schlitz Playhouse of Stars’. In 1953, the American actress got the opportunity to act in the films ‘Lili’ and ‘Sabre Jet’. The following year she did a few movies, namely ‘Miss Robin Crusoe’, ‘About Mrs. Leslie’, ‘A Star Is Born’ and ‘The Adventures of Hajji Baba’.

Soon after this, Blake was cast as Kitty Russell in the drama series ‘Gunsmoke’. Then from 1957 to 1963, she played the role of Ruby in ‘The Red Skelton Show’. After this, she did the TV film ‘Clown Alley’. Then she hosted the game show ‘Tattletales’. In the year 1982, the actress appeared in the TV Movie Documentary ‘The Best Little Special in Texas’. Two years later, she played Dr. Juliana Stanhower in the drama ‘The Edge of Night’. Then in 1988, she did the film ‘The Boost’.

Amanda Blake, along with her husband Frank Gilbert worked on an experimental breeding program for cheetahs and successfully bred the animals in captivity. The couple eventually raised seven generations of cheetahs! In 1971, Blake co-founded Arizona Animal Welfare League (AAWL), a ‘no-kill’ animal shelter in Arizona. She also helped the Performing Animal Welfare Society financially.

During that time, she also became a one-time board member of the Humane Society of the United States. In 1997—several years after the death of the actress—a wildlife refuge was opened in her memory in California. The Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge offers sanctuary for the free-ranging African hoofed wildlife originally meant for exotic animal auctions or hunting ranches.