Vera Miles

Vera June Miles (née Ralston, born August 23, 1929)[1][2] is a retired American actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, most notably as Lila Crane in the classic 1960 film Psycho, reprising the role in the 1983 sequel Psycho II. Other films in which she appeared include Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955), The Searchers (1956), Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956), A Touch of Larceny (1959), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Follow Me, Boys! (1966), Sergeant Ryker (1968) and Molly and Lawless John (1972).

Vera Miles
Miles in the 1950s
Born	Vera June Ralston August 23, 1929 Boise City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1948–1995
Spouse(s)	Bob Miles ​ ​ (m. 1948; div. 1954)​ Gordon Scott ​ ​ (m. 1956; div. 1960)​ Keith Larsen ​ ​ (m. 1960; div. 1971)​ Bob Jones ​ ​ (m. 1973; div. 1975)​
Children	4

Early life

Vera June Ralston was born in Boise City, Oklahoma, on August 23, 1929, to Thomas and Bernice (née Wyrick) Ralston. She had three elder brothers.[3]

She grew up first in Pratt, Kansas, and later lived in Wichita, where she worked nights as a Western Union operator-typist and graduated from Wichita North High School in 1947. She was crowned Miss Kansas in 1948 and was the third runner-up in the Miss America contest.[4] When she appeared as a contestant on the April 4, 1951, edition of the Groucho Marx quiz show You Bet Your Life described as "a beauty contest winner", Marx asked her about some of the titles she held. She replied, "I was first Miss Chamber of Commerce and then Miss Wichita and then Miss Kansas and Miss Texas Grapefruit and recently I've been chosen Miss New Maid Margarine and I had the honor to represent Kansas in the Miss America pageant."[5]

Career

Miles moved to Los Angeles in 1950 and landed small roles in television and film, including a minor role as a chorus girl in Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), a musical starring Janet Leigh, with whom Miles co-starred nine years later in the classic Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho. She used her first husband's name, Miles, because an active film actress already went by the name Vera Ralston. Miles eventually was put under contract at various studios. She once recalled, "I was dropped by the best studios in town."[6]

Miles' first credited film appearance was in The Rose Bowl Story (1952), a romantic comedy in which she played a Tournament of Roses queen.

While under contract to Warner Bros., Miles was cast alongside her future husband Gordon Scott in the 1955 film Tarzan's Hidden Jungle as Tarzan's love interest.[7] The following year, she was cast by director John Ford as Jeffrey Hunter's love interest in the John Wayne Western The Searchers (1956),[8] and appeared in the movies Wichita, directed by Jacques Tourneur and 23 Paces to Baker Street with Van Johnson. Also in 1956, Miles starred as Rose Balestero, the fragile wife of Manny Balestero, a musician falsely accused of a crime and played by Henry Fonda, in the film The Wrong Man. The movie was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and is one of only a few Hitchcock films based on real-life events.[9]

Signing a five-year personal contract with Hitchcock in 1957,[7] Miles was widely publicized as the director's potential successor to Grace Kelly.[10] Two years prior, Hitchcock had directed Miles in the role of Ralph Meeker's emotionally troubled new bride in "Revenge", the pilot episode of his television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.[11]

Vertigo (1958), a project Hitchcock designed as a showcase for his new star, was met with production delays. Miles' subsequent pregnancy would cost her the lead role which eventually went to Kim Novak with whom Hitchcock reportedly clashed, although Ms. Novak has stated in interviews that she did not have trouble working with Hitchcock on the film. Vertigo (which also starred James Stewart) was not a financial or critical success at the time, with Hitchcock claiming that Novak was miscast.[12] Despite Hitchcock's disappointment regarding Vertigo, he continued to work with Miles, eventually casting her in what is arguably the role for which she is most remembered, that of Lila Crane in Psycho.[13] In it she portrayed the determined sister of the doomed motel guest Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) (killed in the famous shower scene), who teams up with Marion's boyfriend and a private investigator to find her. Miles later appeared in two episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (in 1962 and 1965).

In 1962, Miles reunited with director John Ford for the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Starring alongside her former co-star from The Searchers, John Wayne, she is pursued by both Wayne and James Stewart, two very different men competing for her hand in marriage.[7]

In addition to her film appearances, Miles was featured in many popular television shows throughout her career, including Wagon Train, Laramie, The Twilight Zone and the western series Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds. She also co-starred in the first episode of ABC's The Fugitive (titled "Fear in a Desert City"), as well as guest-starring in episodes of The Outer Limits, Burke's Law, The Eleventh Hour, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Ironside.

In 1965, Miles had a supporting role in three episodes of the CBS series My Three Sons. The same year, she co-starred with lead actors Robert Culp and Bill Cosby in the pilot episode of the TV series I Spy entitled "Affair in T'Sien Cha" (although the pilot was not actually broadcast until midway through the series’ first season).

Other notable films in which Miles appeared included the Walt Disney film Follow Me, Boys! (1966) with Fred MacMurray, and Hellfighters (1968), reuniting again with John Wayne. Miles had also filmed scenes with Wayne for the movie The Green Berets (also 1968), playing Wayne's character's wife. However, with Warner Bros. wanting more action in the film, her scenes were cut.[14]

Miles continued to appear in numerous TV films and TV series during the 1970s, including the pilot for the TV series Cannon (broadcast in March 1971) as the wife of a deceased war comrade of private investigator Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad. She guest-starred in a further two episodes of the series in different roles during its run. In 1973, she appeared alongside Peter Falk in "Lovely But Lethal", an episode of NBC's Columbo, playing a cosmetics queen who commits murder. She also made guest appearances in episodes of Hawaii Five-O, The Streets of San Francisco, and Fantasy Island among others.

In 1983, more than 20 years after Psycho, Miles reprised the role of Lila Crane in Psycho II, joining Anthony Perkins in the sequel. Miles and Perkins were the only stars of the original film to appear in this second installment. Miles continued to appear in a number of TV and film productions during the 1980s, with appearances in the movies The Initiation (1984) and Into the Night (1985), and guest-starring in episodes of the TV series The Love Boat (1982 and 1984) and Hotel (1984 and 1987). She also appeared alongside Angela Lansbury in the TV series Murder, She Wrote, guest-starring in three episodes broadcast in 1985, 1990, and 1991. The 1991 episode, titled "Thursday's Child", was her final television role. Miles acted just once more, appearing alongside James Belushi in the film Separate Lives (1995), before retiring from the industry.[15]

Personal life

Miles has been married four times. Her first husband was Bob Miles. They were married from 1948 to 1954, and had two daughters, Debra and Kelley. Her second husband was Gordon Scott, her co-star in Tarzan's Hidden Jungle. They were married from 1956 to 1960 and had one son, Michael. Her third husband was actor Keith Larsen (né Keith Larsen Burt). They were married from 1960 to 1971 and had one son, Erik.[7]

Miles' ex-husbands died within a short timespan of each other. Her third husband, Keith Larsen, died on December 13, 2006; first husband, stuntman and small-part actor Bob Miles died on April 12, 2007; and second husband, actor and bodybuilder Gordon Scott, died 18 days later on April 30, 2007. Miles was married to her fourth husband, director Robert Jones, from 1973 until their divorce in 1975.

Miles is a Republican and she was supportive of Dwight Eisenhower's re-election campaign during the 1956 presidential election.[16] Miles is a Mormon[17] who is both a member of the Hollywood California Stake and had been a frequent visitor to Salt Lake City, Utah.[18]

Miles lives in Palm Desert, California, and does not grant interviews or make public appearances, although she is well known for corresponding with her fans. One of her grandsons, actor Jordan Essoe, met with actress Jessica Biel in 2012 in preparation for Biel's portrayal of Miles in the film Hitchcock.[19]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	When Willie Comes Marching Home	Laughing Sergeant's date	Uncredited
1951	Two Tickets to Broadway	Showgirl	Uncredited
1952	For Men Only	Kathy Hughes
	The Rose Bowl Story	Denny Burke
1953	The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms	Trailer Commentator	Uncredited
	The Charge at Feather River	Jennie McKeever
	So Big	Schoolgirl	Uncredited
1954	Pride of the Blue Grass	Linda	Alternative title: Prince of the Blue Grass
1955	Tarzan's Hidden Jungle	Jill Hardy
	Wichita	Laurie McCoy
1956	The Searchers	Laurie Jorgensen
	23 Paces to Baker Street	Jean Lennox
	Autumn Leaves	Virginia Hanson
	The Wrong Man	Rose Balestrero
1957	Beau James	Betty Compton
1959	Web of Evidence	Lena Anderson	Alternative title: Beyond This Place
	The FBI Story	Lucy Ann Hardesty
	A Touch of Larceny	Virginia Killain
1960	Five Branded Women	Daniza
	Psycho	Lila Crane
1961	The Lawbreakers	Angela Walsh
	Back Street	Liz Saxon
1962	The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance	Hallie Stoddard
1964	A Tiger Walks	Dorothy Williams
1965	Those Calloways	Lydia "Liddy" Calloway
1966	One of Our Spies Is Missing	Madame Raine De Sala
	Follow Me, Boys!	Vida Downey
1967	The Spirit Is Willing	Kate Powell
	Gentle Giant	Ellen Wedloe
1968	Sergeant Ryker	Ann Ryker
	Kona Coast	Melissa Hyde
	The Green Berets	Mrs. Lee Kirby	Scenes deleted
	Mission Batangas	Joan Barnes
	Hellfighters	Madelyn Buckman
1969	It Takes All Kinds	Laura Ring
1970	The Wild Country	Kate Tanner
1972	Molly and Lawless John	Molly Parker
1973	One Little Indian	Doris McIver
1974	The Castaway Cowboy	Henrietta MacAvoy
1977	Run for the Roses	Clarissa Stewart	Alternative title: The Thoroughbreds
1982	Brainwaves	Marian Koonan
1983	Psycho II	Lila Loomis
1984	The Initiation	Frances Fairchild
1985	Into the Night	Joan Caper
1995	Separate Lives	Dr. Ruth Goldin	(final film role to date)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	Fireside Theatre		Episode: "The Seven Graces"
1953–1958	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars	Sarah Larkin / Julie	4 episodes
1954	Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson	Lois Wheeler	Episode: "This Day Is Yours"
	Lux Video Theatre	Herself - Intermission Guest	2 episodes
	Hallmark Hall of Fame		Episode: "The Immortal Oath"
	Four Star Playhouse	Julie Tolin / Maggie	2 episodes
	Medic	Jane Agnes Caldwell	Episode: "The Wild Intruder"
1954–1955	The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse	Daughter / Nancy	3 episodes
	Ford Television Theatre	Angela / Nancy Carr	2 episodes
1954–1957	Lux Video Theatre	Jenny / Christine Carroll Kimberly / Audrey O'Connor / Maureen O'Reilly	4 episodes
1954–1958	Climax!	Janet Reese / Jan Michaels / Sally Jordan	4 episodes
1954–1960	General Electric Theater	Debra Stone / Nora Douglas / Mrs. Eaton / Terry	5 episodes
1955	City Detective	Carol Martin	Episode: "Goodbye Old Paint"
	Science Fiction Theatre	Dr. Jan Corey	Episode: "No Food for Thought"
	The Millionaire	Merle Roberts	Episode: "The Merle Roberts Story"
	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Elsa Spann	Episode: "Revenge"
	Screen Directors Playhouse	Ruth Dahlberg	Episode: "Rookie of the Year"
	The 20th Century Fox Hour	Virginia	Episode: "Man on the Ledge"
1956	Strange Stories	Susan Harris	Episode: "Such a Nice Little Girl"
1957	Playhouse 90	Carolyn Cook	Episode: "Panic Button"
1958	Studio 57	The Little Girl's Mother	Episode: "Emergency Call"
	Colgate Theatre	Judy Gregory	Episode: "Mr. Tutt"
1959	Riverboat	Jeanette Mowbray	Episode: "About Roger Mowbray"
	Rawhide	Helen Walsh	Episode: "Incident at the Buffalo Smokehouse"
1959–1965	Wagon Train	Anne Reed / Janice Stuart / Sister Rita	3 episodes
1960	Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre	Jenny Breckenridge	Episode: "Miss Jenny"
	The Twilight Zone	Millicent Barnes	Episode: "Mirror Image"
	Startime	Jean Medwick	Episode: "Incident at a Corner"
	Laramie	Anne Andrews	Episode: "Three Rode West"
1961	The Asphalt Jungle	Angela Walsh	Episode: "The Lady and the Lawyer"
	Frontier Circus	Maureen McBride	Episode: "Lippizan"
	Checkmate	Zoe Kamens	Episode: "The Crimson Pool"
1962	The Detectives	Lucy	2 episodes
	Sam Benedict	Midge Maddon	Episode: "Maddon's Folly"
	Route 66	Ellen Barnes	Episode: "Where Is Chick Lorimer, Where Has She Gone?"
	The Dick Powell Show	Stella Calman	Episode: "Crazy Sunday"
1962–1963	The Eleventh Hour	Kate Sommers / Ann Costigan	2 episodes
1962–1965	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Nicky Revere / Daphne	2 episodes
1963	The Fugitive	Monica Welles	Episode: "Fear in a Desert City"
	Arrest and Trial	Jean Forbes	Episode: "Isn't It a Lovely View"
	Kraft Suspense Theatre	Ann Ryker	2 episodes
	The Fugitive	Monica Welles	Television film
1963–1970	The Virginian	Amelia Ballard / Maggie Menken / Miss Wallace	3 episodes
	Insight	Lucy / Mme Bernice / Sister Lucy Anne / Marion / Maria	5 episodes
1964	The Unknown	Kassia Paine	Television film
	The Outer Limits	Kasha Paine	Episode: "The Forms of Things Unknown"
	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	Beth	Episode: "The Sojourner"
	Burke's Law	Claudia Sutton	Episode: "Who Killed the Horne of Plenty?"
	The Hanged Man	Lois Seeger	Television film
1965	Slattery's People	Lucy Hampton	Episode: "Question: How Long Is the Shadow of a Man?"
	Mr. Novak	Sister Gervaise	Episode: "There's a Penguin in My Garden"
	My Three Sons	Ernestine Coulter	3 episodes
	I Spy	Rachel	Episode: "Affair in T'Sien Cha"
1966	The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	Madame Raine De Sala	2 episodes
	ABC Stage 67	Adele	Episode: "The People Trap"
1966–1971	Bonanza	Mrs. April Christopher / Sarah Lowell	2 episodes
1967	Run for Your Life	Rachel Pike	Episode: "The Inhuman Predicament"
	Off to See the Wizard	Gypsy Queen	Episode: "Gypsy Colt"
	Judd, for the Defense	Lydia Gray	Episode: "Everyone Loved Harlan But His Wife"
1968	Journey to the Unknown	June Wiley	Episode: "Matakitas Is Coming"
1968–1970	The Name of the Game	Hilary Vanderman / Tracy Cannon / Marisa Cummings	3 episodes
1968–1971	Ironside	Gloria Campbell / Barbara Richards / Barbara Jones	3 episodes
1969	Journey to the Unknown	June Wiley	Television film ("Matakitas Is Coming" segment)
	The F.B.I.	Kate Burke	Episode: "The Swindler"
	Mannix	Jean McBride	S3-Episode 03: "Return to Summer Grove"
1970	Gunsmoke	Dr. Sam McTavish	Episode: "Sam McTavish, M.D."
	Dan August	Carla	Episode: "When the Shouting Dies"
1970–1973	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Janet Devaney / Helen Wagner	2 episodes
1970–1974	Medical Center	Nora Crayton / Eva / Dr. Gloria Howell	4 episodes
1971	Hawaii Five-O	Flora Whiting	Episode: "Dear Enemy"
	In Search of America	Jenny Olson	Television film
	Cannon	Diana Langston	Television film
	Alias Smith and Jones	Belle Jordan	Episode: "The Posse That Wouldn't Quit"
	A Howling in the Woods	Rose Staines	Television film
1971–1973	Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law	Nancy Hodges / Joan Baldwin	2 episodes
1972	Jigsaw	Lilah Beth Cummings	Television film
	A Great American Tragedy	Gloria Wilkes	Television film
1972–1975	Cannon	Vivian Cabe / Dr. Adams	2 episodes
1973	Baffled!	Andrea Glenn	Television film
	Columbo	Viveca Scott	Episode: "Lovely But Lethal"
	Runaway!	Ellen Staffo	Television film
1974	Live Again, Die Again	Marcia Carmichael	Television film
	The Underground Man	Eleanor Strom	Television film
	The Strange and Deadly Occurrence	Christine Rhodes	Television film
1975	The Wonderful World of Disney	Kate Tannen	Episode: "Wild Country: Part 2"
	The Streets of San Francisco	Catherine Wyatt	Episode: "Men Will Die"
1976	Ellery Queen	Celeste Wakefield	Episode: "The Adventure of the Two-Faced Woman"
	Movin' On	Sheila Powers	Episode: "Sing It Again, Sonny"
	McNaughton's Daughter	Grace Coventry	Episode: "McNaughton's Daughter"
	Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys	Mrs. Horton	Television film
	State Fair	Melissa Bryant	Television film
	Smash-Up on Interstate 5	Erica	Television film
1977	Fire!	Martha Wagner	Television film
	Barnaby Jones	Diane Magnus	Episode: "The Reincarnation"
1978	How the West Was Won	Beth	2 episodes
	Fantasy Island	Martha Tate	Episode: "Superstar/Salem"
	The Runaways		Episode: "Lies We Live With"
	And I Alone Survived	Irene Elder	Television film
1980	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century	Tora	Episode: "Flight of the War Witch"
	Roughnecks	Ida McBride	Television film
1981	Our Family Business	Patricia	Television film
	Magnum, P.I.	Joan Gibson	Episode: "Mad Buck Gibson"
1982	Mazes and Monsters	Cat Wheeling	Television film
1982–1984	The Love Boat	Eve Springer / Arlene Kemper / Bess Hensinger	3 episodes
1983	Little House on the Prairie	Ruthy Leland	Episode: "The Last Summer"
	Trapper John, M.D.	Liz Waleska	Episode: "Blue Genes"
	Travis McGee	Julie Lawless	Television film
1984	Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues	Kate Keller	Television film
	Matt Houston	Mary Haywood	Episode: "The High Fashion Murders"
1984–1987	Hotel	Ruth / Grace Harlan / Millie Broom / Teresa Clayborne	4 episodes
1985	Finder of Lost Loves	Joanna Shaw	Episode: "Deadly Silence"
	International Airport	Elaine Corley	Television film
	Crazy Like a Fox	Georgina	Episode: "Requiem for a Fox"
1985–1991	Murder, She Wrote	Nancy Landon / Charmaine Calloway Thompson / Elizabeth Gates	3 episodes
1988	Simon & Simon	Catherine Van Alder-Vicente	Episode: "The Richer They Are the Harder They Fall"
1989	The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro	Sophie Kubacki	Television film

References

1. "MILES profile". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
2. "Vera Miles profile". Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
3. Vera Miles Biography Archived February 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Yahoo.com; accessed November 26, 2015.
4. "Miss Kansas 1948 - Vera (Miles) Ralston". Miss Kansas. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
5. Meuel, David (2014). Women in the Films of John Ford. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 136. ISBN 978-1476614564.
6. Frankel, Glenn (2014). The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-62040-065-4.
7. MacKenzie, Carina (June 29, 2010). "Vera Miles - Hollywood Star Walk". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
8. Colonnese, Tom Grayson; Luhr, William; Brooks, James F.; Henderson, Brian; Grimsted, David (2004). The Searchers: Essays and Reflections on John Ford's Classic Western. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. pp. 167, 173. ISBN 0-8143-3056-8.
9. Allen, Richard (2007). Hitchcock's Romantic Irony. 58. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-231-13574-0.
10. Charlotte Chandler, It's Only A Movie: Alfred Hitchcock, a Personal Biography, Simon & Schuster, 2005, p. 237; ISBN 0-7432-4508-3
11. Harris, Robert A.; Lasky, Michael S. (2002). The Complete Films of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Citadel Press Books. p. 202. ISBN 0-8065-2427-8.
12. Rothman, William (2014). Must We Kill the Thing We Love?: Emersonian Perfectionism and the Films of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-231-16602-7.
13. Leitch, Thomas; Poague, Leland (2011). A Companion to Alfred Hitchcock. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-4051-8538-7.
14. Munn, Michael (2004). John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth. London, England: Robson Publishing. pp. 294–295. ISBN 1-86105-722-9.
15. Hunter, Stephen (September 11, 1995). "'Separate Lives' plods through a predictable mystery formula, and yet ..." The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
16. Motion Picture Magazine, Issue 549, November 1956, Brewster Publications, Inc., Page. 27
17. "Mormonism and the Commercial Theatre" (PDF). scholarsarchive.byu.edu. April 1, 1972. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
18. "Hollywood Honors Scouting" (PDF). Church News. September 21, 1996. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
19. "Vera Miles' grandson Jordan Essoe met with Jessica Biel to discuss the film Hitchcock". Indiewire. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved September 24, 2014.

External links

• Vera Miles at IMDb