Rebecca Welles
Welles in 1957
Born
Reba Tassel

(1928-02-05)February 5, 1928
DiedFebruary 13, 2017(2017-02-13) (aged 89)
OccupationActress
Years active19511964
Spouses
Barton Goldberg
(m. 1946; div. 1961)
    (m. 1961; died 2000)
    Children2, including Gwen Welles
    RelativesGustave Tassell (brother)

    Rebecca Welles (born Reba Tassell; February 5, 1928 February 13, 2017) was an American television and film actress.

    Early years

    Welles was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Lena (née Schiller) and Samuel Tassell.[1] Her only sibling was fashion designer Gustave Tassell.[2] In 1944, she was the recipient of a $500 tuition award from the Theatre Guild to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[3] She spent two years at the academy and to act in stock theater in Philadelphia.[4]

    As a youngster, she was a member of the Bessie V. Hicks Players in Philadelphia.[5]

    Career

    Welles' first TV appearance was in the episode "A Chill on the Wind" on Studio One in 1951, where she was credited under her birth name, but subsequently worked under the surname Welles. (A newspaper source in February 1951 says of Welles, "Last November she had a walk-on in the Studio One drama of A Letter to Cairo.)[4]

    Active from 1951 to 1964, Welles made appearances on about 50 TV shows, including 77 Sunset Strip, Gunsmoke (S2E33 “Moon”), Boots and Saddles, Bat Masterson, Alcoa Theatre, and four episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She made five appearances on Perry Mason, including three roles as defendants: in 1959 she played Carol Delaney in "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop", and Carol Taylor in "The Case of the Frantic Flyer." She played Rita Norge in the 1957 episode "The Case of the Runaway Corpse." In her other two appearances, she played the role of murderer Edith Bristol in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Waylaid Wolf" and murderer Leslie Eden in the 1964 episode "The Case of the Illicit Illusion." In addition, Welles appeared in four feature films, including Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955) and Desire Under the Elms (1958). She made her last onscreen appearance in a 1964 episode of Arrest and Trial.

    In a reversal of sorts, Welles was the inspiration for an episode of Big Town on CBS. A newspaper article in The Bridgeport Telegram on February 21, 1951, reported "Susan Douglas stars as Miss Cinderella ... which was inspired by the experience of Reba Tassell, the TV Cinderella girl who made such a hit on Studio One last month."[6]

    Personal life

    Welles married Barton Goldberg in 1946. They had two daughters together, Elizabeth and actress Gwen Welles, before they divorced in 1961.[1] Welles married television director Don Weis on August 25, 1961, in Los Angeles.[7]

    Death

    Welles died on February 13, 2017, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, eight days after her 89th birthday.

    Filmography

    Welles in The Brass Legend, 1956
    Welles in The Brass Legend (1956)
    Film
    Year Film Role Notes
    1955 Good Morning, Miss Dove Polly Burnham Uncredited
    1956 The Brass Legend Millie Street Credited as Reba Tassell
    1958 Desire Under the Elms Lucinda Cabot
    Juvenile Jungle Glory
    Television
    Year Title Role Notes
    1951 Studio One 1 episode
    Lights Out 1 episode
    The Web 1 episode
    1953 Danger 1 episode
    Harvest Arlene Television movie
    Credited as Reba Tassell
    Robert Montgomery Presents Arlene 1 episode
    1956–1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Various roles Season 1 Episode 32 "The Baby Sitter" (1956) as Jane 'Janie' Slocum (credited as Reba Tassel)

    Season 2 Episode 33 "A Man Greatly Beloved" (1957) as Mrs. Fell

    Season 2 Episode 37 "The Indestructible Mr. Weems" (1957) as Laura Weems

    Season 5 Episode 18 "Backward, Turn Backward" (1960) as Betty Murray

    1957 Wire Service Julia Thomas 1 episode
    Gunsmoke Nan Mellors 1 episode
    The Web 1 episode
    Boots and Saddles Laurie 2 episodes
    The Millionaire Amy 1 episode
    1957–1964 Perry Mason Various roles 5 episodes
    1958 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Sandra Mantell 1 episode
    State Trooper Betty Dolan 1 episode
    Trackdown Julie Corbin 1 episode
    M Squad Mrs. Kenneth Darrell 1 episode
    Northwest Passage Maureen Carver 1 episode
    Frontier Doctor Maria Belotti, Circus Owner 1 episode
    26 Men Ruth 1 episode
    Rescue 8 Madge 1 episode
    The Lineup Jane Abbott 1 episode
    1959 The Thin Man Maria 1 episode
    Wagon Train Jean Yates 1 episode
    Zorro Moneta 1 episode
    Bat Masterson Isabel Fowler 1 episode
    The Californians Cora Sue Sommers
    Clara Keel
    2 episodes
    Bronco Lynne Henderson 1 episode
    The Lawless Years Jane Cooper
    Mary Drew
    2 episodes
    1960 Philip Marlowe Julie French 1 episode
    Alcoa Theatre Phoebe Hanes 1 episode
    Tightrope Margo 1 episode
    The Dennis O'Keefe Show Paula Hamilton 1 episode
    The Man from Blackhawk Janet 1 episode
    Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond Adelle Bernheim 1 episode
    The Brothers Brannagan Sally Ross 1 episode
    General Electric Theater 1 episode
    1961 Checkmate Fay Razon 1 episode
    The Case of the Dangerous Robin 1 episode
    The Untouchables Rose Raineri 1 episode
    The DuPont Show with June Allyson Polly 1 episode
    Hawaiian Eye Vera Ormsby 1 episode
    77 Sunset Strip Ellen Martone 1 episode
    1962 The New Breed 1 episode
    Follow the Sun Beverly Willis 1 episode
    1963 Burke's Law Susan Rivers 1 episode
    1964 Arrest and Trial Reba Thayer 1 episode

    References

    1. 1 2 Panitt, Merrill (January 26, 1951). "Jimmy Durante Hailed As Greatest Comedian". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. p. 36. Retrieved August 1, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    2. Sheppard, Eugenia (July 5, 1964). "Verve in Latest No-Dress Dress". The Kansas City Times. Missouri, Kansas City. Publishers Newspaper Syndicate. p. 19. Retrieved June 14, 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    3. Gaver, Jack (October 11, 1944). "Broadway". Dunkirk Evening Observer. New York, Dunkirk. United Press. p. 7. Retrieved June 13, 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    4. 1 2 Butterfield, C.E. (February 8, 1951). "Television Is Developer Of Own Talent". The Bee. Virginia, Danville. Associated Press. p. 25. Retrieved June 13, 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    5. "Playlet Aids S.P.C.A." The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. April 20, 1939. p. 15. Retrieved July 31, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    6. "Television Topics". The Bridgeport Telegram. Connecticut, Bridgeport. February 21, 1951. p. 58. Retrieved June 13, 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    7. California, Marriage Index 1960-1985
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