Actress Linda Lawson Passes On

Linda Lawson, an actress who had roles on the TV shows Adventures in Paradise, Don't Call Me Charlie, Ben Casey, and That's Life, died on May 18 2022 at the age of 86.

Linda Lawson was born Linda Spaziani on January 14 1936 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was three years old when her family moved to Fontana, California. She began singing when she was still a child. After graduating from high school, she and her sister Diana moved to Las Vegas where she performed as a singer and dancer at the Sands Hotel. She later moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a studio messenger for MGM. It was while she was a studio messenger at MGM that she was discovered while in an elevator and given a screen test.

Linda Lawson made her television debut in an episode of Mike Hammer in 1958. She had a recurring role on Adventures in Paradise. In the late Fifties she also guest starred on Tales of Texas Rangers, Peter Gunn, Man with a Camera, Maverick, Five Fingers, Border Patrol, The Millionaire, Lock-Up, 77 Sunset Strip, Colt .45, Tombstone Territory, Mr. Lucky, Overland Trail, M Squad, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Richard Diamond Private Detective, The Tall Man, One Step Beyond, Wagon Train, Hawaiian Eye, Tales of Wells Fargo, and Sea Hunt. She made her feature film debut in The Threat in 1960. In 1960 she released a record album, Introducing Linda Lawson.

In the Sixties Linda Lawson was a regular on the short-lived sitcom Don't Call Me Charlie. She had a recurring role as social worker Laura Fremont during the fifth season of Ben  Casey. She guest starred on the shows Sea Hunt, Stagecoach West, The Aquanauts, The Rifleman, The New Bob Cummings Show, Perry Mason, Target: The Corruptors, The Real McCoys, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bonanza, The Virginian, and It Takes a Thief. She appeared in the movies Night Tide (1961), Apache Rifles (1964), Let's Kill Uncle (1966), and Mrs. Stone's Thing (1970). In the Seventies she appeared in the movie Sometimes a Great Nation (1971).

It was in 1968 that Miss Lawson married producer John Foreman. She retired from acting resumed acting following his death in 1992. In the Nineties she guest starred on Saved By the Bell: The New Class and Arli$$. She played the recurring role of Mrs. Paganini on the drama That's Life. She appeared in the movie Sunset Strip (2000). In the Naughts she guest starred on the shows Without a Trace, Dr. Vegas, and ER.

Linda Lawson was a very talented actress. In the Bonanza episode "To Own the World" she played Maria Hackett, the wife of a millionaire intent on destroying the Cartwrights, and convincingly stood up to Telly Savalas as the aforementioned millionaire. In the Rifleman episode, "Assault," she played Vashti Croxton, a headstrong woman who falsely accuses a travelling salesman of assaulting her. In the Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "The Oldest Motive," she played a woman involved with an older, married man who is trying to break off their relationship. In her various appearances on television and in movies Linda Lawson played a wide variety of roles and she did all of them well.