Shelby Grant

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Shelby Grant
Born
Brenda Thompson

(1936-10-19)October 19, 1936
DiedJune 25, 2011(2011-06-25) (aged 74)
EducationWagoner High School
Alma materNortheastern State College
Occupations
  • Actress
  • teacher
  • philanthropist
Years active1963–74
Known forOur Man Flint
Batman
Medical Center
Spouse
(m. 1966)
Children2

Shelby Grant (born Brenda Thompson;

actress whose credits included Our Man Flint, Fantastic Voyage, and Medical Center.[2][3][4]

Early life

Grant was born on October 19, 1936,[3] in Orlando, Oklahoma, to parents Lawrence and Mae Thompson.[2][3][4] She was raised in Wagoner, Oklahoma, and completed high school at Wagoner High School.[2]

Grant enrolled at Northeastern State College in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where she studied drama and speech.[2] She became Northeastern State's football queen in 1959.[2] That year, she won the title of Northeastern Oklahoma Dairy Princess as well.[2]

Career

Grant appeared in local

entertainment industry.[2]

Thompson was discovered by a

talent scout, whereupon she changed her professional name to Shelby Grant. She "drew Shelby Grant out of a hat," according to an interview she gave to columnist Hedda Hopper.[4]

She debuted on television in a 1963 episode of

20th Century Fox. Her film roles under contract with Fox included The Pleasure Seekers in 1964, the 1966 science fiction film Fantastic Voyage, Our Man Flint in 1966, and The Witchmaker in 1969. Her television credits grew to include Batman (episodes 7 and 8), and Marcus Welby, M.D..[2]

Grant married her husband, actor

television series Medical Center, in which he portrayed Dr. Joe Gannon from 1969 to 1976.[2]

Personal life

Grant and Everett had two daughters, Katherine Thorp and Shannon Everett.[2][3]

She largely left acting to focus on philanthropy during her later life. Grant and her husband sponsored more than twenty heart surgeries for children.[2]

Grant died of a

brain aneurysm in Westlake Village, California, on June 25, 2011, at the age of 74.[2] Everett died from lung cancer on July 24, 2012, at the age of 75, a little over a year after Grant's death. Both Grant and Everett were cremated at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks–Griffin Mortuary; their ashes were taken by Katherine Thorp.[5]

Partial filmography

References

External links