Susan Oliver
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
(written from a Production point of view)
| Susan Oliver | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name: | Charlotte Gercke |
| Gender: | Female |
| Date of birth: | 13 February 1932 |
| Place of birth: | New York, New York |
| Date of death: | 10 May 1990 (age 58) |
| Place of death: | Woodland Hills, California |
| Character(s): | Vina |
Susan Oliver was the stage name of Charlotte Gurcke (13 February 1932 – 10 May 1990; age 58), a New York native, who guest-starred in the original series' first pilot episode, "The Cage" as Vina. She was the daughter of Hollywood astrologer Ruth Hale Oliver. When her parents divorced around 1935, Oliver was raised by her mother, although she lived with her father in Japan for a short time.
Oliver studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City, and in 1957 moved to Los Angeles to star in her first screen role, a film entitled The Green Eyed Blonde. A later movie role was Ginger in the Morning (1974), with Monte Markham as her ex-husband.
Most of Oliver's career consisted of numerous TV guest star roles (well over 100 between 1956 and 1988). These included the "Prisoner of Love" episode of The Andy Griffith Show ; the Michael Shayne episode "The Heiress", in which Celia Lovsky also guest starred; and "The White Birch" episode of The Name of the Game, in which Louise Sorel also guest starred. Susan Oliver and Vic Perrin played Martians in the "People Are Alike All Over" episode of The Twilight Zone.
Oliver was also a passionate pilot, winner of the 1970 Powder Puff Derby air race and the fourth woman to fly a single-engined aircraft solo across the Atlantic. She attempted to become the first woman to fly a single-engine plane from the United States to Moscow; she made it as far as Denmark but was denied entry into Soviet airspace. Her aviation exploits are the focus of her 1983 autobiography, Odyssey: A Daring Transatlantic Journey (ISBN 0025929208).
Oliver received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in the three-hour 1976 NBC TV movie, Amelia Earhart. Her co-stars in this movie includes Stephen Macht and Jane Wyatt.
Oliver died in Woodland Hills, California, of lung cancer in 1990.
