Countless female performers left their indelible mark on television in the 1960s. But here’s a look at least ten who stood out above the rest.
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Elizabeth Montgomery
The daughter of film and TV star Robert Montgomery, Elizabeth Montgomery brought her own special brand of magic to the small screen as Samantha “the twitch-witch” Stephens on Bewitched (ABC, 1964-1972). A trailblazer for spirited female independence (it was her choice to live the mortal life), Montgomery’s bright, affable, wiggly nose and demeanor forever changed the face of television.
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Mary Tyler Moore
Before she turned the world on with her smile with her own self-titled sitcom in the 1970s, Mary Tyler made a TV splash in her capri pants playing wife Laura Petrie to Dick Van Dyke’s Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS, 1961-1966).
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Diana Rigg
A trailblazer for equal pay for women across the board, Diana Rigg made a major splash from across the pond. With her skin-tight catsuit and spiffy martial arts, Rigg embodied British secret agent Emma Peel on The Avengers (ABC, 1961-1969), and became TV’s first major female symbol.
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Barbara Eden
In the blink of an eye, Barbara Eden materialized as everyone’s magic dream girl on I Dream of Jeannie (NBC, 1965-1970). We never saw her navel due to paranoid network censors, and some condemned Jeannie’s subservient role, but Eden’s bubbly performance continues to deliver one heck of a magic carpet ride.
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Nichelle Nichols
With her portrayal as Lt. Uhura on Star Trek (NBC, 1966-1969), Nichelle Nichols became the first African-American female presence in a weekly series (sci-fi/fantasy or otherwise). Though she initially wanted to quit the series due to her lack of screen time, Nichols stayed with Star Trek on a plea from Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Yvonne Craig
Before Lynda Carter, Lindsay Wagner, Joanna Cameron, and Diedra Hall blazed their way as a variety of female TV superheroes of the 1970s, Yvonne Craig played Batgirl with high-leg-kicking pow and pizzazz on Batman (ABC, 1966-1969).
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Stephanie Powers
As The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. (NBC, 1966), Stephanie Powers delivered the goods playing special secret agent April Dancer. With her pouty lips, super-charismatic good looks, intelligence, and solid acting and karate chops, Powers made a powerful impression in what became a short-lived but no less-impactful sequel to The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
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Diahann Carroll
The 1960s would have been a lot less graceful, beautiful, and smart without Diahann Carroll’s groundbreaking lead performance in Julia (NBC, 1968-1971). Carroll’s professional nurse and single widowed mother Julia Baker was far from any stereotype seen on the small screen before.
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Peggy Lipton
With grace, beauty, and youth on her right side of the law, Peggy Lipton’s Julie Barnes was the former troublesome-teen-turned-hip-cop on The Mod Squad (ABC, 1968-1973). As the “Blonde” waif with wit amid the “Black” Lincoln Hayes (Clarence Willams III), and the “White” Pete Cochran (Michale Cole), Lipton was without a doubt a stand-out.
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Julie Newmar
Eartha Kitt and Lee Meriwether assuredly made their stamp with camp as Catwoman on Batman (ABC, 1966-1968), but the statuesque Julie Newmar didn’t exactly need to claw her way to the top of the feline heap. Her ppppuuurrrrfect, slinky, and svelt performance just seemed to come naturally.
[Note: This article features edited material from the books, Glamour, Gidgets and the Girl Next Door, One Tough Dame: The Life and Career of Diana Rigg, The Essential Elizabeth Montgomery, Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Story, and Twitch Upon a Star: The Bewitched Life and Career of Elizabeth Montgomery.]
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This article originally appeared on Upbeatwithherbiejpilato.substack.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org
Image Credit: IMDb.
