Meredith MacRae filmography and biography
Date of birth: 30 May 1944, Houston, Texas, USA
Date of death: 14 July 2000, Manhattan Beach, California, USA (complications from brain cancer)
Meredith MacRae biography
Meredith Lynn MacRae was born on May 30, 1944, in Houston, Texas. She
was born on a military base where her father was stationed.
Meredith was bitten by the show business bug at an early age. Her
father, Gordon MacRae was a singer and movie idol of the 1950s
(Roger & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! and
Carousel), and her mother, Sheila MacRae, is an
actress/comedienne and author, who is probably best known as Alice
Kramden (1966-1970), during the 2nd incarnation of
Jackie Gleason (I)'s The Jackie Gleason Show
(aka "The Honeymooners").
At the age of eight, Meredith started her own acting career and appeared
in the film By the Light of the Silvery Moon, which
starred her father.
She attended UCLA and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. In
1964, she married Richard Berger, former president of MGM. They
divorced four years later.
Meredith went on to starring roles in two of television's heyday family
sitcoms: Petticoat Junction and
My Three Sons. She also guest starred in many other
television shows including: Fantasy Island,
Magnum, P.I., The Rockford Files, and
Webster (the highest rated episode ever). She also
appeared in several movies and had a brief singing career.
In 1969, Meredith married actor Greg Mullavey
(Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and
Bob amp; Carol amp; Ted amp; Alice. They had one daughter,
Allison, born in 1974. Greg and Meredith divorced in 1992 but remained
friends.
In 1995, Meredith married Phillip Neal, Chairman and CEO of
Avery-Dennison.
In 1999, she was diagnosed with cancer. In 2000, due to complications
from multiple surgeries and allergic reactions to medications (which
caused her brain to swell), Meredith Lynn MacRae departed this life.
Meredith MacRae trivia
- Daughter of Gordon MacRae and Sheila MacRae
- Eldest of four children, her sister Heather MacRae was also an
actress.
- Daughter Allison Mullavey was born August 12, 1974.
- The civic-minded actress received many awards in her later career: a
Vesta Award for Excellence in Journalism, a Bronze Halo Award from the
Motion Picture Broadcast council, an Angel Award as producer of the
year's most outstanding documentary, a U.S. Senate Certificate of
Commendation and a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition,
plus honors from Women in Film, the American Heart Association, the
League of Women Voters, the American Cancer Society, the National
Council on Alcoholism, and was named one of the city's outstanding
women by L.A. mayor Tom Bradley (III) in the 80s.
- Sidelined as a singer during her "sweater girl" heyday. She cut two
singles on her own, and two records with her TV "sisters"
Lori Saunders (I) and Linda Henning, calling themselves
the "Girls of Petticoat Junction," including a cover of "Thirty Days
Hath September".
- An avid game show enthusiast, she showed off her smarts as a
semi-regular on the syndicated version of
Whats My Line? in the late 60s.
- Known for her portrayals of folksy, wholesome daughters and girlfriends
on TV, she played Tim Considine's fiancé on
My Three Sons for a couple of years, then moved into
the role of Billie Jo Bradley on the rural comedy
Petticoat Junction.
- Continued the role of "Animal" (originated by Valora Noland) in
the "Beach Party" movie series, in the mid-1960s.
- Stepdaughter of Ronald Wayne.