Linda Lawson, a singer and actress best known for Night Tide, has died. She was 86.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Lawson died from natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Retirement Home on May 18.
Born Linda Spaziani in 1936 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Italian immigrant parents, Lawson was the youngest of three children. After attending high school in California, Lawson moved with her sister Diana to Las Vegas, where she would would sing and dance in the lounge of The Sands Hotel and open for stars including Frank Sinatra and Lena Horn.
After moving to Los Angeles some years later, Lawson worked as a studio messenger for MGM before beginning to act on screen. Her early credits in the late 1950s’ and ’60s included episodes of Tales of the Texas Rangers, adventure series Border Patrol, comedy-western Maverick and thriller Mr. Lucky. She had a recurring role in Adventures in Paradise and The Aquanauts.
Lawson married Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid producer John Foreman in 1958. The pair had two children, and were together until his death in 1992.
In 1960, Lawson released the album Introducing Linda Lawson. As a singer, she was also featured on a number of compilation albums including Music for a Bachelor’s Den.
In 1961, Lawson starred in the horror-drama Night Tide from writer and director Curtis Harrington. Lawson played the character of Maura, a mysterious mermaid, opposite Dennis Hopper. Subsequent roles included the comedy series Don’t Call Me Charlie, drama series Ben Casey, western Bonanza, dramatic anthology series The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and films such as thriller Let’s Kill Uncle and dramedy Sunset Strip.
In 2000, Lawson starred as Mrs. Pagnini in the dramedy That’s Life from creator Diane Ruggiero-Wright. The series also starred Ellen Burstyn and Kevin Dillon. Lawson’s final credits included Without a Trace and ER.
Lawson is survived by her daughters Julie Foreman Hayes and Amanda Foreman, who ask that donations be made in their mother’s name to an animal rescue charity such as ASPCA.