Elinor Donahue

Elinor Donahue (born Mary Eleanor Donahue pn 2 April 19, 1937) is a retired American actress best known for playing Betty Anderson, the eldest daughter of Jim and Margaret Anderson, on the 1950s American sitcom Father Knows Best. Donahue was born in Tacoma, Washington, on April 19, 1937, to Doris Genevieve (née Gelbaugh) and Thomas William Donahue.

From the age of five, Donahue performed in films with dance choruses and was a ballet partner of Barrie Chase, future partner of Fred Astaire. She was a child actress in vaudeville and had several supporting roles in teen films, including Love Is Better Than Ever (1952), starring Elizabeth Taylor, and Tea for Two (1950), starring Doris Day. She played one of the daughters in Three Daring Daughters in 1948 and appeared as Mamie Van Doren's sister in Girls Town (1959).

Donahue rose to stardom for her role as the eldest daughter, Betty, in the family television series Father Knows Best, which aired from 1954 to 1960. Her co-stars were Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Billy Gray as her younger brother, James "Bud" Anderson Jr., and Lauren Chapin as her younger sister, Kathy. Donahue was a musical judge on ABC's Jukebox Jury (1953–54), and during the first season of Father Knows Best, she also appeared on The Ray Bolger Show, starring Ray Bolger as a singer-dancer. She later starred alongside James Best, Ann Doran, and J. Carrol Naish in the 1956 episode "The White Carnation" of the religious anthology series Crossroads. She guest-starred in an episode of U.S. Marshal. She also appeared as a newlywed in the episode of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show titled "The Newlyweds" which aired on April 2, 1956. She starred in the feature film Girls Town (1959 film), which she later described as "a horrible movie."

Donahue played Georgiana Balanger, the niece of George and Martha Wilson, in the 1960 Dennis the Menace episode "Dennis and the Wedding." Donahue also appeared alongside Marion Ross in a 1960 episode ("Duet") of The Brothers Brannagan. She played Miriam Welby on ABC's The Odd Couple, Jane Mulligan on Mulligan's Stew, and the evil Nurse Hunnicut on Days of Our Lives.

She was part of the main cast of the first season of CBS's The Andy Griffith Show as Ellie Walker, Andy's pharmacist in love with her. She was even mentioned in the opening credits before Don Knotts. After one season (1960–1961), Donahue asked for a release from her three-year contract.

In 1963, Donahue appeared in an episode of the short-lived NBC modern western series Redigo, opposite Richard Egan as rancher Jim Redigo. She then starred in another western series, Have Gun Will Travel, as Letty May in the episode "The Burning Tree."

In 1964, she appeared in the NBC series The Eleventh Hour, a medical drama about psychiatry starring Jack Ging and Ralph Bellamy, where she played the role of Melanie in the episode "The Secret in the Stone."

In 1966, she guest-starred on the television series A Man Called Shenandoah, episode 8, "Town on Fire."

In 1967, she made a guest appearance on Star Trek in the second-season episode "Metamorphosis," playing Commissioner Nancy Hedford.

Donahue played Sister Bertrille's (Sally Field) sister in three episodes of the ABC series The Flying Nun (1968–70).

She played Miriam Welby in 17 episodes of The Odd Couple (1972–75).
In 1977, she appeared in an episode of the ABC police series The Feather and Father Gang.
In 1978, Donahue starred in the NBC sitcom Please Stand By.
In 1979, she appeared on Diff'rent Strokes as Mr. Drummond's fiancée in the first season.
In 1981, Donahue appeared in an episode of One Day at a Time as Felicia, Alex's mother.
In 1984, she made an appearance as Mrs. Broderick, the mother of a drug-addicted teenager, in the final season of Happy Days.
In 1987, she played the mother of the title character in the short-lived Fox series The New Adventures of Beans Baxter.
In 1988, she appeared in an episode of Newhart ("Courtin' Disaster").
In 1989, she appeared in an episode of The Golden Girls as the new wife of Dorothy Zbornak's ex-husband, Stan.
In 1990, she played Bridget, a Beverly Hills clothing store manager, in the film Pretty Woman. Donahue played Gladys, the mother of Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott), in all 35 episodes of the sitcom Get a Life (1990–92), and had a recurring role as Rebecca Quinn on the CBS drama series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
In 1991, she played the "orphanage woman" in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.
In 1992, she voiced the mother in the Fox Kids animated series Eek! the Cat. In 1994, she made an appearance as Aunt Lillian in "The One Where Nana Dies Twice," an episode of Friends. She played Lorraine, Luther Van Dam's girlfriend, in the fifth season of Coach in the early 1990s.

In 1998, Donahue published a memoir titled "In the Kitchen with Elinor Donahue," in which she relived some of her Hollywood memories and provided over 150 of her recipes. 

In September 2010, Donahue appeared on The Young and the Restless as Judge Anderson, one of Nikki Newman's old friends and also the minister who will officiate at the wedding of Billy Abbott and Nikki's daughter, Victoria Newman. The wedding took place in front of the Abbotts' new house, which happened to be a replica of the Andersons' house from "Father Knows Best."

In 2015, Donahue played the role of Mrs. Chumley in the Judson Theatre Company's production of Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Harvey." Donahue called the role her "swan song."

Donahue was married three times. Her first husband was sound producer Richard Smith, whom she married in 1955. They had one son with him. They divorced in 1961. Her second marriage, to producer Harry Ackerman, who was 25 years her senior, took place in 1962 at the Court of Liberty. Ackerman was the adoptive father of her son from her first marriage, and he and Donahue had three children together. Ackerman died in 1991. As a tribute and resource for American television history, Donahue donated Ackerman's personal papers to the Rauner Library at Dartmouth College, her alma mater. In 1992, she married actor Lou Genevrino.