Good-humored, intelligent lead, mostly on TV. Hartley's film career got off to an auspicious start with a leading role in Sam Peckinpah's second film, the elegiac "Ride the High Country" (1962). By the early 1970s, however, she was appearing in such routine fare as "The Return of Count Yorga" (1971) and "The Magnificent Seven Ride" (1972). The small screen had taken up much of the slack in the meantime, offering Hartley roles on the soap opera "Peyton Place" and the sitcom "The Hero", opposite Richard Mulligan.
Since the mid-70s, Hartley's career has encompassed a wide range of TV-movies, including a tepid remake of "The African Queen" (1977), "The Halloween That Almost Wasn't" (1979) and the bisexual romance "My Two Loves" (1986). She won an Emmy for a guest role on "The Incredible Hulk" and brought her sunny, mature charm to hosting duties on "Today" and "The Morning Show". A Myrna Loy for TV guest spots, a Suzanne Pleshette who never had a long-running sitcom to call home, Hartley is probably best remembered by many for a wryly amusing series of Polaroid TV commercials in which she appeared opposite James Garner. A role in "Encino Man" (1992) marked one of several returns to the big screen.
- Also Credited As:
Mariette Boyriven Hartley
- Born:
June 21, 1940 in New York, New York
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Job Titles:
Actor, TV hostess, Singer
Family
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Daughter: Justine Emilia Boyriven. born c. 1979
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Father: Paul Hembree Hartley. shot himself in the head when Hartley was 23
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Mother: Mary Ickes Hartley.
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Son: Sean Paul Boyriven.
Significant Others
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Companion: Lane Smith. no longer together
Education
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Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1956-57
Milestones
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1956 Appeared in "A Winter's Tale" with Shakespeare Festival, Stratford
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1962 Acted in first feature, "Ride the High Country"
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1962 TV debut on series, "Gunsmoke"
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1980 Co-hosted NBC's "Today Show"
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1987 Co-hosted CBS's "Morning Show"
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1987 Song performer ("Funny Girl") on TV special, "Broadway Sings: The Music of Julie Styne"
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1989 Returned to stage in "King John" (NYSF Central Park)
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1998 Had recurring role in the short-lived CBS drama "To Have and To Hold"
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1998 Starred in L.A. production of "The Lion in Winter"
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2001 Toured opposite Len Cariou in the award-winning stage play "Copenhagen"
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Attempted suicide at age 15
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Became well-known for series of Polaroid commercials as James Garner's wife
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Co-starred opposite Elliot Gould in a touring production of "Deathtrap"
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Got start in theater at age 10 in production of "Alice in Wonderland"
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Played Jennifer Barnes on the CBS sitcom, "Goodnight, Beantown"
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Played Ruth Garrett opposite Richard Mulligan on the TV sitcom, "The Hero"
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Played the regular role of Claire Morton on the TV soap opera, "Peyton Place"
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Regular role on TV series, "WIOU"