Abby Dalton

Sleek and striking Abby Dalton became a very familiar perky and sexy presence in 1960s TV households. Known not only for her award-worthy acting on TV comedy, she became an avid game-show panelist and appeared on a slew of TV's more popular programs. It might come as a surprise to some that she honed her wholesome sitcom personality only after apprenticing in Roger Corman cheap-jack cult movies -- sometimes as a juvenile delinquent. She was born Gladys Marlene Wasden on August 15, 1932 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and started working in the entertainment field as a teen magazine cover model, also appearing at times on record album jackets. An acting company member for writer/producer Roger Corman beginning in 1957, Abby made her dubious debut in the low-grade beatnik film, Rock All Night (1957), in which she and others are trapped and held hostage in a bar by a pair of killers. Corman continued to use her in his films, some with and some without billing, including Teenage Doll (1957), Carniva