Mariette Hartley

Mary Loretta Hartley (born June 21, 1940) is an American film and television actress. She is possibly best known for her roles in film as Elsa Knudsen in Sam Peckinpah's Ride the High Country (1962), Susan Clabon in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964), and Betty Lloyd in John Sturges' Marooned (1969). She has appeared extensively on television, with notable roles as Claire Morton in the ABC soap opera Peyton Place (1965), various roles in the CBS television Western drama series Gunsmoke, and a series of commercials with James Garner in the 1970s and 1980s.

Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut, on June 21, 1940, the daughter of Mary "Polly" Ickes (née Watson) (1905–1990), a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley (1893–1963), an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was John B. Watson, an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism. She grew up in Weston, an affluent Fairfield County suburb within commuting distance to Manhattan.

She graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1965.

Hartley began her career as a 13-year-old in the White Barn Theatre in Norwalk, Connecticut. In her teens as a stage actress, she was coached and mentored by Eva Le Gallienne. She graduated in 1957 from Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, where she was an active member of the school's theater group, Staples Players. While a student at Staples, she boldly telephoned screenwriter Rod Serling to ask him to speak in her class. Serling answered the call himself, chose to visit and speak in her classroom, and years later remembering their previous interaction, cast Hartley in an episode ("The Long Morrow") of The Twilight Zone. Hartley also worked at the American Shakespeare Festival.

Her film career began with an uncredited cameo appearance in From Hell to Texas (1958), a Western with Dennis Hopper. In the early 1960s, she moved to Los Angeles and joined the UCLA Theater Group.

Hartley's first credited film appearance was alongside Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea in the 1962 Sam Peckinpah Western Ride the High Country; the role earned her a BAFTA award nomination. She continued to appear in film during the 1960s, including the lead role in the adventure Drums of Africa (1963), and prominent supporting roles in Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller Marnie (1964) — alongside Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery — and the John Sturges drama Marooned (1969).

Hartley also guest-starred in numerous TV series during the decade, with appearances in Gunsmoke (five times including the title character in "Cotter's Girl" in 1962); The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters; Death Valley Days; Judd, for the Defense; Bonanza; and Star Trek (as Zarabeth, Spock's love interest in S3 E23 "All Our Yesterdays", which aired on March 13, 1969) among others. In 1965, she had a significant role as Dr. Claire Morton in 32 episodes of Peyton Place.

Hartley continued to perform in film and TV during the 1970s, including two Westerns alongside Lee Van Cleef, Barquero (1970) and The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972); and TV series including The Love Boat; The Streets of San Francisco; Emergency!; McCloud; Little House on the Prairie; Love, American Style; Police Woman; Star Trek and Columbo (1974's Publish or Perish co-starring Jack Cassidy and 1977's Try and Catch Me with Ruth Gordon). Hartley portrays similar characters as a publisher's assistant in both episodes.