Olive Deering

Olive Deering (née Corn; October 11, 1918 – March 22, 1986) was an American actress of film, television, and stage, active from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. She was a life member of The Actors Studio,^[1] as was her elder brother, Alfred Ryder.

Olive Deering
Deering in 1943
Born	Olive Corn (1918-10-11)October 11, 1918 New York City, U.S.
Died	March 22, 1986(1986-03-22) (aged 67) New York City, U.S.
Burial place	Kensico Cemetery
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1936–1973
Spouse	Leo Penn ​ ​ (m. 1947; div. 1952)​
Relatives	Alfred Ryder (brother)

Early life

Deering was the daughter of Zelda "Sadie" (née Baruchin)^[2] and Max Corn,^[3][2] a dentist. ^[4] Her brother was actor Alfred Ryder. She began attending the Professional Children's School when she was age 11.^[5]

Career

Stage

Her first stage role was a walk-on bit in Girls in Uniform (1933). She appeared onstage in Moss Hart's Winged Victory, Richard II (starring Maurice Evans) and Counsellor-at-Law (starring Paul Muni). She received kudos for her performance in the Los Angeles production of Tennessee Williams's Suddenly Last Summer. Other stage appearances included No for an Answer, Ceremony of Innocence, Marathon '33, The Young Elizabeth, They Walk Alone, and Garden District.^[6]

In 1940, siblings Deering and Ryder co-starred in Medicine Show on Broadway.^[7] In 1980, Deering and Ryder appeared in revival of Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play at the studio theater of The Harold Clurman Theater. Deering received good notices for the play.^{[citation needed]}

Film

as Miriam, with Edward G. Robinson and Charlton Heston, in The Ten Commandments (1956)

The films she appeared in included Shock Treatment and Caged. In 1948, director Cecil B. DeMille cast her as Miriam, the Danite girl who loves Samson, in his film Samson and Delilah. In his autobiography, DeMille wrote that Deering was "one whose talent and dedication to her art should carry her very far in the theater, whether on screen or stage."^[8] DeMille cast her again as the biblical Miriam, sister of Moses, in The Ten Commandments (1956).^[9]

Radio

Deering also appeared on many radio programs, which included Lone Journey,^[10] True Story and Against the Storm, playing in more than 200 television programs, including Desdemona on the Philco Summer Playhouse production of Othello.

Television

Deering's early television appearances included co-starring in "The Unconquered", an episode of Somerset Maugham TV Theatre, on November 19, 1950,^[11] and appearing in an episode of Suspense on June 12, 1951.^[12] Others included the role of murderess Rebecca Gentrie in the 1958 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Empty Tin". On June 6, 1962, she starred in "Journey to Oblivion", an episode of Armstrong Circle Theatre.^[13]

She had a supporting role in the Sci Fi series Outer Limits in the episode "The Zanti Misfits", which aired on December 30, 1963. One of her later television appearances was in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, titled "One of the Family" (original air date February 8, 1965).^[14]

Personal life and death

Deering married film director Leo Penn on February 19, 1947 in Los Angeles, California;^[15] they later divorced.^{[citation needed]}

A Democrat, she supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.^[16]

She died of cancer at the age of 67, and was interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. She had no children and was survived by her brother Alfred Ryder.^{[citation needed]}

Film appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1948	Gentleman's Agreement	First Woman	uncredited
1949	Air Hostess	Helen Field
1949	Samson and Delilah	Miriam
1950	Caged	June Roberts, Inmate
1956	The Ten Commandments	Miriam
1964	Shock Treatment	Mrs. Mellon
1973	Howzer	Mary Carver

Radio appearances

Year	Program	Episode
1951	Grand Central Station	God's Own Mountain[17]
1953	Marcia Akers	Marcia Akers[18]
1956	City Hospital	[19]

Television appearances

Year	Program	Episode	Role
1950	Television Theater	Portrait in Smoke[20]
1951	Kraft Television Theatre	Kelly	Odette
1951	Danger	Lady on the Rock	Loreli
1951	Tales of Tomorrow	The Search for the Flying Saucer[21]
1955	Studio One Summer Theater	The Pit[22]
1956	Markham with Ray Milland	"The Searing Flame" episode[citation needed]
1958	Shirley Temple's Storybook	The Wild Swant[23]
1958	Climax!	Deadly Tattoo[24]
1959	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Season 4 Episode 25: "The Kind Waitress"[25]	Thelma Tompkins
1959	Johnny Staccato	The Wild Reed[26]
1959	One Step Beyond	The Burning Girl
1960	Armstrong Circle Theatre	The Numbers Racket[27]
1963	The Outer Limits	The Zanti Misfits[28]
1965	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Season 3 Episode 16: "One of the Family"	Christine Callendar