Cara Williams

Cara Williams was an American film and television actress who began her screen career with a credited part in the Western Wide Open Town in 1941. Born in Brooklyn, she followed that with dramas Girls Town and Happy Land before taking supporting roles in Boomerang! (1947), directed by Elia Kazan, and Knock on Any Door. She also had a supporting part in The Helen Morgan Story (1957). Williams played Billy's mother in The Defiant Ones (1958), a performance that earned nominations for the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. On television she starred as Gladys Porter in the CBS comedy Pete and Gladys from 1960 to 1962, earning an Emmy nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy, and headlined The Cara Williams Show in 1964. Her later work included Doctors' Wives in 1971, three episodes of Rhoda in 1975, and a final film role in The One Man Jury in 1978.