Mary Castle

Mary Castle was an American actress, born on a ranch in Pampa, Texas, who grew up in Long Beach, California. She worked as a swimwear model before a Columbia Pictures talent scout signed her because she resembled Rita Hayworth, and the studio cast her in several 1950 films. She starred in the western When the Redskins Rode (1951), then made westerns at Universal Pictures, including the saloon singer Cora Dufrayne in Gunsmoke (1953) and a role in 3 Steps to the Gallows (1953). As a blonde she played the railroad detective Frankie Adams opposite Jim Davis in the television western Stories of the Century, which won a best western or adventure series Emmy even though Castle was replaced by Kristine Miller. Later credits included the comedy Crashing Las Vegas and many television shows. Her last screen appearance came in a 1962 episode of Gunsmoke.