Elena Verdugo

Acting

Elena Verdugo

Born April 20, 1925 · Paso Robles, California, USA

Died May 30, 2017 · aged 92

Elena Angela Verdugo was an American actress who began in films at the age of five in Cavalier of the West. Her career in radio, television and film spanned six decades. In her film career she was often typecast in roles as gypsies, harem dancers, peasant girls, Indian maidens and senoritas over the years before TV instigated the second stretch of her career.

Known For

Belle StarrBelle Starr · 1941
Belle Starr
5.91941
MovieWestern
After her family's mansion is burned down by Yankee soldiers for hiding the rebel leader Captain Sam Starr Belle Shirley vows to take revenge. Breaking Starr out of prison, she joins his small guerrilla group for a series of raids on banks and railroads, carpetbaggers and enemy troops. Belle's bravado during the attacks earns her a reputation among the locals as well as the love of Starr himself. The pair get married, but their relationship starts to break down when Sam Starr lets a couple of psychotic rebels into the gang, leaving Belle to wonder if he really cares about the Southern cause.
Blood and SandBlood and Sand · 1941
Blood and Sand
6.51941
MovieDramaRomance
Bullfighter Juan Gallardo falls for socialite Dona Sol, turning from the faithful Carmen who nevertheless stands by her man as he continues to face real danger in the bullring.
House of FrankensteinHouse of Frankenstein · 1944
House of Frankenstein
6.11944
MovieHorrorScience Fiction
Deranged scientist, Gustav Niemann, escapes from prison and overtakes the director of a traveling chamber of horrors, soon reviving the infamous Count Dracula, the frozen Frankenstein Monster, and the Wolf Man.
Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de Bergerac · 1950
Cyrano de Bergerac
6.91950
MovieRomanceDrama
France, 1640. Cyrano, the charismatic swordsman-poet with the absurd nose, hopelessly loves the beauteous Roxane; she, in turn, confesses to Cyrano her love for the handsome but tongue-tied Christian. The chivalrous Cyrano sets up with Christian an innocent deception, with tragic results.
The MarksmanThe Marksman · 1953
The Marksman
7.01953
MovieWestern
Mike Martin becomes a deputy marshal and takes on a gang of cattle rustlers.
Little GiantLittle Giant · 1946
Little Giant
5.31946
MovieComedy
Lou Costello plays a country bumpkin vacuum-cleaner salesman, working for the company run by the crooked Bud Abbott. To try to keep him under his thumb, Abbott convinces Costello that he's a crackerjack salesman. This comedy is somewhat like "The Time of Their Lives," in that Abbott and Costello don't have much screen time together and there are very few vaudeville bits woven into the plot.
Shed No TearsShed No Tears · 1948
Shed No Tears
5.11948
MovieCrimeDrama
A man listens to his wife and fakes his own death so that she can get her hands on his insurance policy.
Angel in My PocketAngel in My Pocket · 1969
Angel in My Pocket
6.21969
MovieComedyFamily
The new minister in a small town faces the challenge of winning over its eccentric citizens.

Filmography

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Daniel BooneDaniel Boone · 1964
Daniel Boone
7.01964
SeriesAction & AdventureWestern
Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Cherokee friend, for the first four seasons of the series. Albert Salmi portrayed Boone's companion Yadkin in season one only. Dallas McKennon portrayed innkeeper Cincinnatus. Country Western singer-actor Jimmy Dean was a featured actor as Josh Clements during the 1968–1970 seasons. Actor and former NFL football player Rosey Grier made regular appearances as Gabe Cooper in the 1969 to 1970 season. The show was broadcast "in living color" beginning in fall 1965, the second season, and was shot entirely in California and Kanab, Utah.

Violet Morton

Cavalcade of AmericaCavalcade of America · 1952
Cavalcade of America
4.61952
SeriesDrama
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.
Law of the PlainsmanLaw of the Plainsman · 1959
Law of the Plainsman
7.31959
SeriesWestern
Law of the Plainsman is a Western television series starring Michael Ansara that aired on the NBC television network from October 1, 1959, until May 5, 1960. The character of Native American U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart was introduced in two episodes of the popular ABC Western television series The Rifleman starring Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain. Law of the Plainsman is distinctive and unique in that it was one of the few television programs that featured a Native American as the lead character, a bold move for U.S.network television at that time. Ansara had earlier appeared in the series Broken Arrow, having portrayed the Apache chief, Cochise. Ansara, however, was not Native American but of Syrian descent. Ansara played Sam Buckhart, an Apache Indian who saved the life of a U.S. Cavalry officer after an Indian ambush. When the officer died, he left Sam money that was used for an education at private schools and Harvard University. After school, he returned to New Mexico where he became a Deputy Marshal working for Marshal Andy Morrison. He lived in a boarding house run by Martha Commager. The only other continuing character was 8-year old Tess Logan, an orphan who had been rescued by Buckhart. Robert Harland, later of Target: The Corruptors! starred in seven episodes as Deputy Billy Lordan. Wayne Rogers, who went on to star in another Four Star western, Stagecoach West, and later, M*A*S*H, also played deputy Lordan in several episodes.

Connie Drake

RedigoRedigo · 1963
Redigo
6.31963
SeriesWesternDrama
Redigo is a 15-week Western dramatic series, set on a New Mexico ranch during the early 1960s, which aired over NBC from September 24 to December 31, 1963. The series features Richard Egan as ranch owner Jim Redigo, Roger Davis as Mike the ranch hand, and Elena Verdugo as Gerry. Don Diamond appeared in four episodes, three as the character Arturo. Redigo was the truncated second half-hour season of the previous one-hour series, Empire, which aired from September 25, 1962, to May 13, 1963. Both programs were placed on the Tuesday evening schedule against CBS's The Red Skelton Show. Redigo also lost out in the ratings to the ABC military sitcom, McHale's Navy, starring Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway. In Redigo, Egan's character Jim Redigo was no longer the manager of the large Garrett Ranch but the owner of his own smaller spread nearby. The half-hour format made it hard for the program to develop complex characters as had been done in the initial one-hour version of the show.

Gerry