Bethel Leslie
About
Biography
Biography
Bethel Leslie was an actress who had a successful Hollywood career. In 1946, she appeared with Fredric March in "Year Ago." In 1950, she co-starred with Helen Hayes in "The Wisteria Trees," an Americanization of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard." In 1944, she made her acting debut on Broadway in "Snafu" at age 15. In 1948, she had a supporting role in "Goodbye, My Fancy," starring Sam Wannamaker. Leslie worked on a variety of projects during her early entertainment career, including "Captain Newman, M.D." with Gregory Peck (1963), "Love of Life" (CBS, 1951-1980) and "Playhouse 90" (CBS, 1956-1960). She also contributed to "Studio One" (CBS, 1948-1958), "The Nash Airflyte Theater" (CBS, 1950-51) and "The Rabbit Trap" (1959). She followed this recognition with roles in the Suzanne Pleshette dramatic adaptation "A Rage to Live" (1965), "The Molly Maguires" (1970) and "Dr. Cook's Garden" (ABC, 1970-71). She spent the seventies through the nineties tackling film roles in the Meryl Streep dramatic period piece "Ironweed" (1987) and "Message in A Bottle" (1999) with Kevin Costner. She also was featured in the TV movie "The Gift of Love" (ABC, 1978-79). Leslie last acted in the Kevin Isola crime drama "Uninvited" (1999). Leslie passed away in November 1999 at the age of 70.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1944
Made her acting debut on Broadway in "Snafu" at age 15
1946
Appeared with Fredric March in "Year Ago"
1948
Had a supporting role in "Goodbye, My Fancy," starring Sam Wannamaker
1950
Co-starred with Helen Hayes in "The Wisteria Trees," an Americanization of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard"
1955
Breakthrough stage role in "Inherit the Wind"
1964
Feature film debut, "Captain Newman, M.D."
1986
Starred opposite Jack Lemmon in revival of "Long Day's Journey Into Night," for which she earned a Tony nomination
1999
Final stage appearance in the Off-Broadway staging of "The Exact Center of the Universe"
Family
