Ellen Weston obit

Ellen Weston, ‘Get Smart’ Actress and ‘Guiding Light’ Writer, Dies at 87

She also appeared three times on Broadway and on several soaps and wrote lyrics for dozens of Lesley Gore songs. 

She was not on the list.

Ellen Weston, the actress, writer and producer who appeared on Broadway, Get Smart, S.W.A.T. and soap operas and penned songs for a pair of Lesley Gore comeback albums, has died. She was 87.

Weston died May 28 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, her friend, producer and manager Susan Zachary, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The New York native portrayed Robin Fletcher on CBS’ The Guiding Light in 1963-64, Carol Pearson and Karen Gregory on NBC’s Another World in 1964-65 and Suzanne Thurston on CBS’ The Young and the Restless in 1978-80.

She wrote for the CBS soap Capitol in 1986, then was hired by Guiding Light executive producer John Conboy in 2003 to serve as co-head writer on that daytime drama. “I like to think of every day as a mini-movie,” she said in an interview with Soap Opera Digest.

Weston shared a WGA Award for her work and remained on the job for about two years before she was replaced by David Kreizman.

A daughter of educators, Ellen Rachel Weinstein was born in New York on April 19, 1939. She said that when she was a kid, she used to dream that she was a twin.

“One was always the adorable, well-loved star. The other was the poor soul, the nebbish,” she explained in a 1968 interview. “Show business always seemed so untouchable, like Cinderella. But I also always felt instinctively that there was something destructive about it and sensed some imminent danger in wanting it so badly.”

She attended the Performing Arts High School, Hofstra University, NYU and Hunter College and in 1960 made it to Broadway as an understudy in the drama Toys in the Attic, starring Jason Robards Jr. and Maureen Stapleton and directed by Arthur Penn.

The next year, the doe-eyed Weston was the sister of Sigmund Freud (portrayed by Steven Hill) in A Far Country and in 1962 replaced Betsy von Furstenberg in the cast of the long-running Jean Kerr comedy Mary, Mary, starring Barbara Bel Geddes. 

Weston showed up as Dr. Steele, a sexy CONTROL chemist who doubles as a showgirl, on the third season (1967-68) of NBC’s Get Smart and recurred as Betty Harrelson, the wife of Steve Forrest’s Lt. “Hondo” Harrelson, on the first season of ABC’s S.W.A.T. in 1975.

Her TV résumé also included stops on Run for Your Life, N.Y.P.D., Bonanza, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Mannix, Bewitched (as the Countess Piranha), Hawkins, Harry O, Barnaby Jones, The Bob Newhart Show, Cannon, Baretta and Wonder Woman.

As a lyricist, Weston wrote seven songs with Gore on the “It’s My Party” singer’s 1972 album, Someplace Else Now — her first LP in five years — and all the tunes for her follow-up 1975 album, Love Me by Name, produced by Quincy Jones.

“Together they would write a stellar 60 original songs,” Trevor Tolliver wrote in his 2015 book, You Don’t Own Me: The Life and Times of Lesley Gore. “The meshing of Lesley’s musical know-how with Ellen’s genius as a wordsmith was genius.”

Weston went to law school a bit later in life and worked at CBS in business affairs. Her first spec TV movie sold and got made, and her credits as a writer and/or producer in that realm included 1999’s And the Beat Goes On: The Sonny and Cher Story for ABC.

She was married to music engineer Ami Hadani (co-founder of the Los Angeles recording studio TTG) and composer Marvin Laird; both marriages ended in divorce. She is survived by her son, Jon Weston, a sound designer.

In a statement, friends called her “a rare person who had both right and left-brain proficiency … she was as skilled at a legal brief as she was with a knitting needle.

“She was our consigliere dispensing advice, wisdom, compassion and care in equal measure — especially when we most needed an ear, a shoulder and a true confidante. She was beyond a loyal friend — she was a fierce advocate for every single one of us.

“She took excellent care of herself, always tastefully put together with gorgeous outfits, the perfect makeup and more. Up until the very end, she was still dancing and taking new classes; the latest was a pottery class taught by a dear friend that ended a month before her passing.”

 

Actress

Eileen Davidson, Bryton James, Joshua Morrow, Gina Tognoni, Justin Hartley, Melissa Claire Egan, and Peter Bergman in The Young and the Restless (1973)

The Young and the Restless

5.4

TV Series

Suzanne Thurston

1979–1981

8 episodes

 

Revenge of the Stepford Wives (1980)

Revenge of the Stepford Wives

5.0

TV Movie

Kitten

1980

 

Wonder Woman (1975)

Wonder Woman

7.0

TV Series

Angelique

1978

1 episode

 

Kevin Brophy in Lucan (1977)

Lucan

7.2

TV Series

Annie Braddock

1978

1 episode

 

Gregory Harrison and Heather Menzies in Logan's Run (1977)

Logan's Run

7.1

TV Series

Rachel Greenhill

1977

1 episode

 

Mobile Medics

TV Movie

Doctor

1977

 

Roddy McDowall, Carl Franklin, Ike Eisenmann, Jared Martin, and Katie Saylor in The Fantastic Journey (1977)

The Fantastic Journey

6.8

TV Series

Maera

1977

1 episode

 

Jo Ann Harris, Shelly Novack, and Robert Stack in Most Wanted (1976)

Most Wanted

6.8

TV Series

Dr. Toni Cline

1977

1 episode

 

Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)

Baretta

6.7

TV Series

Helen Abbott

1976

1 episode

 

William Conrad in Cannon (1971)

Cannon

6.8

TV Series

Inge GoldenMargaret HarderLab technician

1974–1976

3 episodes

 

Jim Hutton in Ellery Queen (1975)

Ellery Queen

8.4

TV Series

Mary Parks

1975

1 episode

 

The Bob Newhart Show (1972)

The Bob Newhart Show

8.1

TV Series

Sarah Harris

1975

1 episode

 

S.W.A.T. (1975)

S.W.A.T.

6.8

TV Series

Betty Harrelson

1975

5 episodes

 

Carl Franklin and Stacy Keach in Caribe (1975)

Caribe

6.6

TV Series

Geri Adgate

1975

1 episode

 

Adventures of the Queen (1975)

Adventures of the Queen

4.7

TV Movie

Ann Trevor

1975

 

Buddy Ebsen in Barnaby Jones (1973)

Barnaby Jones

7.0

TV Series

Claire Lassiter

1974

1 episode

 

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

8.4

TV Series

Lorraine Palmer

1974

1 episode

 

David Janssen in Harry O (1973)

Harry O

7.6

TV Series

Mrs. Lucas

1974

1 episode

 

The Healers (1974)

The Healers

5.9

TV Movie

Barbara, Secretary to Dr. Kier

1974

 

Bette Davis in Hello Mother, Goodbye! (1974)

Hello Mother, Goodbye!

7.5

TV Movie

1974

 

The Little People (1972)

The Little People

7.8

TV Series

Linda Garrett

1974

1 episode

 

Another April

TV Movie

Brenda Sanders

1974

 

Smile Jenny, You're Dead (1974)

Smile Jenny, You're Dead

6.9

TV Movie

Julia

1974

 

Hawkins (1973)

Hawkins

7.5

TV Series

Ellen Vincent

1974

1 episode

 

Mike Farrell and Robert Foxworth in The Questor Tapes (1974)

The Questor Tapes

6.8

TV Movie

Allison Sample

1974

 

Ellen Weston and Sam Bell in Dangerous Relations (1973)

Dangerous Relations

1973

 

Sebastian Cabot in Miracle on 34th Street (1973)

Miracle on 34th Street

5.9

TV Movie

Celeste

1973

 

Martin Sheen in Letters from Three Lovers (1973)

Letters from Three Lovers

6.8

TV Movie

Donna (segment "Dear Maggie")

1973

 

George Segal and Shirley Knight in The Lie (1973)

The Lie

6.2

TV Movie

Eva Anderson

1973

 

Polly Bergen, Donna Mills, Paul Burke, Judy Carne, and Barbara Feldon in The Wide World of Mystery (1973)

The Wide World of Mystery

6.9

TV Series

Leslie Woodruff

1973

1 episode

 

The Sixth Sense (1972)

The Sixth Sense

7.1

TV Series

Joanna

1972

1 episode

 

Elizabeth Montgomery, Agnes Moorehead, and Dick York in Bewitched (1964)

Bewitched

7.6

TV Series

Pirhana

1972

1 episode

 

Rod Serling in Night Gallery (1969)

Night Gallery

7.9

TV Series

Dr. Peterson (segment "The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes")

1971

1 episode

 

Mannix (1967)

Mannix

7.4

TV Series

Nora Coverly

1971

1 episode

 

The Young Lawyers (1969)

The Young Lawyers

7.1

TV Series

Miss Emerson

1970

1 episode

 

Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare in The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968)

The Ghost & Mrs. Muir

7.7

TV Series

Betty Freeman

1970

1 episode

 

Bonanza (1959)

Bonanza

7.3

TV Series

Louise

1969

1 episode

 

The F.B.I. (1965)

The F.B.I.

7.4

TV Series

Barbara MercerRuth Miles

1969

2 episodes

 

Don Adams in Get Smart (1965)

Get Smart

8.2

TV Series

Dr. Steele

1967–1968

3 episodes

 

N.Y.P.D. (1967)

N.Y.P.D.

7.4

TV Series

Felice Halsop

1967

1 episode

 

Ben Gazzara in Run for Your Life (1965)

Run for Your Life

7.6

TV Series

Rose

1967

2 episodes

 

Another World (1964)

Another World

7.1

TV Series

Karen GregoryCarol PearsonMiss Parson

1964–1965

29 episodes

 

Guiding Light (1952)

Guiding Light

6.6

TV Series

Robin Lang Bauer Bowden Fletcher #5 (1963-1964)

1952–2009

 

Writer

Guiding Light (1952)

Guiding Light

6.6

TV Series

co-head writerhead writerwriter

2003–2004

8 episodes

 

Famous Families (1998)

And the Beat Goes On: The Sonny and Cher Story

6.5

TV Movie

teleplay

1999

 

Rob Lowe in Outrage (1998)

Outrage

5.9

TV Movie

written by

1998

 

Holiday in Your Heart (1997)

Holiday in Your Heart

5.7

TV Movie

teleplay

1997

 

Vincent Spano, Lori Loughlin, and Gail O'Grady in Medusa's Child (1997)

Medusa's Child

5.8

TV Movie

teleplay

1997

 

Sleeping with the Devil (1997)

Sleeping with the Devil

5.7

TV Movie

teleplay

1997

 

Laura Innes, Joanna Kerns, and John Shea in See Jane Run (1995)

See Jane Run

6.0

TV Movie

teleplay

1995

 

The Disappearance of Vonnie (1994)

The Disappearance of Vonnie

6.3

TV Movie

written by

1994

 

Veronica Hamel and Jack Scalia in Shadow of Obsession (1994)

Shadow of Obsession

6.5

TV Movie

teleplay

1994

 

Cynthia Gibb in Sin & Redemption (1994)

Sin & Redemption

5.9

TV Movie

written by

1994

 

Unwanted Attentions

TV Movie

teleplay

1993

 

Jaclyn Smith, Ben Gazzara, Lisa Rinna, Greg Evigan, and Nick Mancuso in Lies Before Kisses (1991)

Lies Before Kisses

5.5

TV Movie

written by

1991

 

Fear Stalk (1989)

Fear Stalk

5.1

TV Movie

written by

1989

 

Capitol (1982)

Capitol

6.9

TV Series

written byWriter

1986

2 episodes

 

Producer

Famous Families (1998)

And the Beat Goes On: The Sonny and Cher Story

6.5

TV Movie

co-producer

1999

 

Rob Lowe in Outrage (1998)

Outrage

5.9

TV Movie

co-executive producer

1998

 

Vincent Spano, Lori Loughlin, and Gail O'Grady in Medusa's Child (1997)

Medusa's Child

5.8

TV Movie

co-producer

1997

 

Sleeping with the Devil (1997)

Sleeping with the Devil

5.7

TV Movie

co-producer

1997

 

Laura Innes, Joanna Kerns, and John Shea in See Jane Run (1995)

See Jane Run

6.0

TV Movie

co-producer

1995

 

Jaclyn Smith, Ben Gazzara, Lisa Rinna, Greg Evigan, and Nick Mancuso in Lies Before Kisses (1991)

Lies Before Kisses

5.5

TV Movie

co-producer

1991

 

Production Management

Capitol (1982)

Capitol

6.9

TV Series

executive vice president: John Conboy Productions

1986

1 episode

 

Additional Crew

Capitol (1982)

Capitol

6.9

TV Series

executive vice president: John Conboy Productions

1984–1987

3 episodes

 

Soundtrack

Johnny Carson in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

8.5

TV Series

writer: "Other Lady"

1982

1 episode

 

Self

You Don't Own Me: Lesley Gore and the Song That Said It All

Self

Post-production

 

ABC's Wide World of Entertainment (1973)

ABC's Wide World of Entertainment

8.1

TV Series

Self

1974

1 episode