Miss Blake's fifth husband, Mark Spaeth, a developer and City Councilman in Austin, Tex., died of pneumonia in 1985 at age 45. Doc Adams didn't leave Gunsmoke by choice despite the stereotypes that actors leave shows over drama behind the scenes.For the whole 20 years the series was on the air from 1955 until 1975, he appeared in an impressive 605 of 635 episodes, according to IMBD.. Amanda Blake, who played the kindhearted saloonkeeper Miss Kitty in the ''Gunsmoke'' television series for 19 years, died of oral cancer on Wednesday … Miss Kitty of the television series, Gunsmoke, Amanda Blake died on August 16, 1989, at the age of 60. The actor died … SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Actress Amanda Blake, who as Miss Kitty reigned for 19 years as the queen of Dodge City's Long Branch Saloon in the TV series "Gunsmoke," died after a long battle with cancer. He said he didn’t know how she contracted the fatal disease. In Doc's world, Kitty was a woman to give the world over to. http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/james-arness The show last one more season on CBS, then was canceled. Amanda Blake will forever be remembered as Miss Kitty from the cult Western series "Gunsmoke," but her life was just as dramatic, and had a tragically unexpected ending.. Amanda spent her last years dedicated to her beloved animal conservation causes and died at 60 of what was … SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty in the long-running ″Gunsmoke″ television series, died of AIDS-related complications, not cancer as previously reported, her doctor said Monday. It was initially reported that the actress died after a long battle of oral cancer. Death certificates are public documents under California law and are recorded with the county where a person dies. In this case, the friends were the family,″ Ewen said. The Clampett clan on The Beverly Hillbillies. After ″Gunsmoke,″ she worked only sporadically, usually in guest appearances for TV game shows, movies of the week and such series as ″Edge of Night,″ ″Hart to Hart,″ and ″Love Boat.″. Jerri Ewen, a Mercy General spokeswoman, said she reported cancer as the cause of death at the request of Blake’s close friends. Miss Kitty was a brothel and saloon owner. Miss Kitty Kitty was played by Georgia Ellis on radio, and by Amanda Blake on TV. Captain Kangaroo. Why did Amanda Blake leave Gunsmoke? Blake left ″Gunsmoke″ in 1974. Kitty has her friends in Dodge buzzing when she meets the stage in the early hours to pick up a small boy. Amanda Blake, the actress who played Miss Kitty on the long-running television series ''Gunsmoke,'' died of AIDS-related complications and not, as a … It was widely reported in the news media that she had died of AIDS and had contracted HIV. Blake's character was Miss Kathleen "Kitty" Russell, the proprietor of a saloon in Dodge City, the setting for "Gunsmoke." This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. July 1957. It went off the air the next year. August 17, 1989 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ Actress Amanda Blake, who as Miss Kitty reigned for 19 years as the queen of Dodge City’s Long Branch Saloon in the TV series ″Gunsmoke,″ died after a long battle with cancer. She died at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California. In order to understand how television has changed through the years, one would have to consider the on-screen relationship between Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) and saloon owner Miss Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake) on the classic Western series "Gunsmoke," which ran … Amanda Blake, "Gunsmoke's" Miss Kitty had a real-life tragic end that no one could have foreseen. Amanda Blake was an American actress, best known for her role as Miss Kitty Russell in Gunsmoke.She was born in New York City and attended Pomona College before she started acting. The TV show Gunsmoke was a classic and it ran for 20 years on CBS. She appeared in A Star is Born and eventually Gunsmoke. She was 60. There are a few iconic TV characters from my childhood. Blake played Kitty from the series' debut in 1955 until 1974. The doctor, Lou Nishimura, a Sacramento internist, said Monday that Miss Blake, who died at age 60 on Aug. 16, did have throat cancer. Blake was a heavy cigarette smoker, and she had surgery for oral cancer in 1977. KATHLEEN GRUBB November 6, 1989 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty in the long-running ″Gunsmoke″ television series, died of AIDS-related complications, not cancer as previously reported, her doctor said Monday. Miss Blake's death certificate, however, listed the immediate cause as cardiopulmonary arrest due to liver failure and CMV hepatitis. Amanda Blake, who played the kindhearted saloonkeeper Miss Kitty in the ”Gunsmoke” television series for 19 years, died of oral cancer on Wednesday at Mercy General Hospital in Los Angeles. Blake’s death certificate listed the immediate cause of death as cardiopulmonary arrest due to liver failure and CMV hepatitis. She was 60 years old. However, Strange died of lung cancer before the show ended, at 74. They married in April 1984, and divorced a short time later. After Miss Blake died at Mercy General Hospital, a statement by the hospital and her friends reported the cause of death as cancer. See the article in its original context from. Blake’s fifth husband, Mark Spaeth, an Austin, Texas, city councilman and developer, died of pneumonia in 1985 at age 45. Amanda Blake was a person who has contributed to the creation of this organisation. Ewen said she never saw the death certificate. With James Arness, Dennis Weaver, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake. Kitty gets caught in the middle when a crazy-eyed man goes hunting for his former son-in-law, whom he blames for the death of his daughter in childbirth. Her career began in the ‘40s when she was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.She appeared in A Star is Born and eventually Gunsmoke.. Before Gunsmoke, she was mainly a movie star. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Once a two-pack-a-day smoker, Blake had undergone surgery for oral cancer in 1977 and afterward made appearances throughout the country on behalf of the American Cancer Society. Buck Taylor who played Newly O'Brien named his third son after Strange and called him Cooper Glenn Taylor. Directed by Arthur Hiller. Blake, 60, had AIDS symptoms for about a year, said Nishimura. Amanda Blake died at age 60 on August 16, 1989, at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California. "Gunsmoke II: The Last Apache," a CBS movie airing at 8 p.m. Sunday on KOTV-channel 6, brings back James Arness as Dillon, trying to rescue his daughter, Beth - a child Amanda Blake, the actress who played Miss Kitty on the long-running television series ''Gunsmoke,'' died of AIDS-related complications and not, as a hospital and her friends reported at the time, of cancer, her doctor says. Miss Blake, a resident of Sacramento, was a longtime activist for animal protection. Miss Kitty was long the fan-favorite on Gunsmoke.The sassy owner of Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City was played by actress Amanda Blake, a … After Blake left the show, the writers decided that Kitty had left Dodge City for New Orleans. She was a heavy smoker and had surgery for oral cancer in 1977. Actresses Amanda Blake and James Arness attend the Golden Boot Awards in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. Kitty knew she could not pull the wool over Doc's eyes - she loved Matt deep, but the way the two were with each other didn't follow true with Doc. In 1967 she met Pat Derby (a co-founder of PAWS) during “Gunsmoke” filming. She was a mainstay on the show, however, she decided to leave her role after 19 years. Dr. Nishimura spoke after a report by television station KRBK in Sacramento, where Miss Blake was a longtime resident, quoted her friends as saying now that her death was related to AIDS. The Cartwrights on Bonanza. Miss Kitty had a permanent room upstair where she also could entertain if she wanted too. After Blake died Aug. 16 at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, a statement composed by the hospital and the actress’ friends reported her death as the result of her long battle with cancer. Doc also didn't want Kitty to give in to Matt's stubbornness and get married for the sake of becoming Mrs. Matt Dillon. But how did Miss Kitty die? Amanda Blake (born Beverly Louise Neill, February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the western television series Gunsmoke.Along with her third husband, Frank Gilbert, she ran one of the first successful programs for breeding cheetahs in captivity. Pat worked as an animal trainer on the set and Amanda had a role of Miss Kitty. Soon after this, Blake was cast as Kitty Russell in the drama series ‘Gunsmoke’. It is spread most often through sexual contact, needles or syringes shared by drug abusers, infected blood or blood products, and from pregnant women to their offspring. But he added, ''That wasn't the reason that she died.''. Amanda Blake who played Miss Kitty took the loss so hard that she couldn't handle continuing on, so she was written out of the show the year after that. All wonder, especially his foster parents: could his real mother be Kitty? Miss Blake left the series in 1974. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. She was in Cattle Town, Miss Robin Crusoe, and more. In 1987, CBS aired the reunion TV movie – Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome and cancer were listed on the certificate as contributing to her death. Blake died on August 16, 1989, at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California, of oral cancer. They married in April 1984, and divorced a short time later. He said that she had suffered from AIDS symptoms for about a year but that he did not know how she had contracted the disease. The following year she did a few movies, namely ‘Miss Robin Crusoe’, ‘About Mrs. Leslie’, ‘A Star Is Born’ and ‘The Adventures of Hajji Baba’. She appeared on the series from 1955 to 1974. With James Arness, Dennis Weaver, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake. Jan 05, 2021 (AP) _ Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty in the long-running ''Gunsmoke'' television series, died of AIDS-related complications, not cancer Blake did have throat cancer, but ″that wasn't the reason that she died,″ said Dr. Lou Nishimura, a Sacramento internist. Then, Amanda played Miss Kitty, the saloon keeper for 19 years on Gunsmoke. Directed by Harry Harris. CMV, or cytomegalo virus, hepatitis is AIDS-related, said Dr. Nishimura. Amanda Blake, 60, who from 1955 to 1974 played Miss Kitty Russell, the stunning owner and operator of the legendary Longbranch saloon in the television series "Gunsmoke," died of cancer Aug. Thankfully, the Missouri native wasn’t one of them. Blake reigned as Miss Kitty, queen of Dodge City’s Long Branch Saloon, for 19 years in the TV series ″Gunsmoke.″ Set in the lawless cattle town of Dodge City, Kan., in the late 1800s, ″Gunsmoke″ was one of television’s original ″adult westerns″ in the mid-1950s. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. She was 60.Blake died Wednesday night at Mercy General Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Jerri Ewen. Nishimura was interviewed following a report Friday on Sacramento television station KRBK quoting friends of Blake who said AIDS had played a role in her death. CMV or cytomegalo virus hepatitis is AIDS-related, said Nishimura, who treated Blake during the year before her death and signed her death certificate. Even after the original series of Gunsmoke came to an end in 1975, Arness was constantly asked to come back to reprise the role. AIDS is caused by a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. Ewen said the hospital reported the death to the federal Centers for Disease Control. The brothel was the upstair with number of rooms for the saloon girls to use with their clients. Although Amanda Blake and Buck Taylor also reprised their respective roles, Milburn Stone died seven years before the movie came out. He was 88. Blake did have throat cancer, but ″that wasn’t the reason that she died,″ said Dr. Lou Nishimura, a Sacramento internist. 3Mrs. The show introduced Fran Ryan as Hannah, the new saloon owner. The exact cause of Blake’s death is unclear. Miss Blake died Wednesday night at Mercy General Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Jerri Ewen. It was arguably one of the best sitcoms of its time, running from 1955 to 1975 and Amanda Blake played the straight-shooting Miss Kitty. ″When somebody dies, you go by what the wishes of the family are. Before Gunsmoke, she was mainly a movie star. 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