Leslie Gaye Griffin[1] (March 6, 1935 – July 14, 2016), better known as Lisa Gaye, was an American actress and dancer.[2]
Early years
Leslie Gaye Griffin was born on March 6, 1935, in Denver, Colorado, to Frank Henry Griffin, a painter, and Margaret Allen Griffin (née Gibson), an actress.[citation needed]
Her family moved from Denver to Los Angeles, California, when sister Teala was contracted to be an actress by Paramount Pictures.[2] Her mother was determined that Gaye and her siblings make their careers in show business. Her siblings, Marcia (Teala Loring), Debralee (Debra Paget), and Frank (Ruell Shayne), all entered the business as either cast or crew.[3]
Gaye made her first professional film appearance at the age of 7. At 17, she signed a seven-year contract with Universal Studios and was enrolled in the studio's professional school for actors and actresses.[5]
On stage, Gaye acted in a production of Merry Wives of Windsor when she was 12 years old. In 1957, she made her adult stage debut in Darling, I'm Yours in San Francisco.[4]
She appears in one episode of Zorro in the 1957 episode "Constance". She appeared twice in Have Gun - Will Travel in 1957 as Helen in "Helen of Abajinian", and as Nancy in "Gun Shy" (along with Dan Blocker, Corey Allen and Jeanette Nolan), and in the Science Fiction Theatre episode "Gravity Zero" as Elisabeth. She made a single appearance in the 1959 episode "The Peace Offering" of the syndicated western series, Pony Express, starring Grant Sullivan. Among her seven appearances on Perry Mason, Gaye played Rita Magovern and Lola Bronson in the 1961 episodes, "The Case of the Traveling Treasure" and "The Case of the Guilty Clients". In 1964 she played as Pamela Blair in "The Case of the Nautical Knot". Also in 1961, Gaye appeared as a Spanish woman tied up in a revolution against the United States in an episode of Maverick titled "State of Siege". She appeared in several episodes of Bat Masterson: in "Sharpshooter", she played Laurie LaRue, the stage assistant and wife of stage sharpshooter, Danny Dowling; in the 1959 episode "Buffalo Kill" as Susan; and in the 1961 episode, "The Fatal Garment", she portrayed Elena, a Mexican Cantina owner.
Personal life
Gaye was married in 1955 to Bently C. Ware; the marriage ended with his death in 1977; the couple had one daughter, Janelle.[7] She died in Houston, Texas, on July 14, 2016.[7] Because her husband had served as a corporal in the U.S. Army, she was interred at Houston National Cemetery.[8]
