The Golden Age of Hollywood

Celebrating the Birthdays of so many great stars who have brought us endless hours of thrills, romance & laughs on the big screen and TV. Happy Birthday All!

Nita Talbot

This month I am very happy to tell you a little bit about a truly wonderful person and great actress, my friend, Nita Talbot. Now of course you know her from her role as Marya, the Russian spy on Hogan’s Heroes with Bob Crane for which she received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Admittedly this was one of her favorite roles to which she had so much fun with the cast. But there is so much more to this incredible woman who has been in hundreds of roles on screen, tv & stage.

Nita was born Anita Sokol and grew up in NYC with her older sister Gloria Stone Martin who one day would also become an actress. Early on Nita had the nick name Ginger, but years later it was a dear friend Jack Carson that suggested shortening Anita to Nita as a better stage name for this Hollywood beauty. Nita had wanted to be a model growing up which soon expanded to acting when she was in her teens. Joining her high school drama team she was cast in many of the school's plays. At 16 she went to audition as a child model, but being 5ft 8in immediately gave her the opportunity to model as an adult. Things moved pretty quickly for Nita after High School. At just 18 Warner Brothers signed her to a contract and placed her in her first role as a model in It’s A Great Feeling with Doris day, Jack Carson & Dennis Morgan. The years soon ahead would see her in dozens of movies, tv shows and stage productions. In 1951 she even debuted on Broadway in The 5th Season. In decades to come we would see Nita in a never ending parade of great shows like the hit movie Bundle of Joy with Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fischer, and a list of tv shows a mile long like The Jim Backus Show, Gunsmoke, Love American Style, Perry Mason, Maverick, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, General Hospital, Bewitched, The Partridge Family, Hogan's Heroes and so, so many more.

Nita was truly one of the hardest working actresses in Hollywood playing to 100's of shows which will be enjoyed for generations while her personal role as a philanthropist has also benefited so many charities over the years. Thanks for everything Nita! ~ Here's wishing you a very Happy Birthday!!