Lillian Culver
Acting
Biography
Lillian (Roberts) Culver was born in Loveland, Colorado, the daughter of William Porter Roberts and Clara Ellen Lackey. Her ancestors included Brigadier General Isaac Roberts of the War of 1812 and Anne (Robertson)(Johnston) Cockrill, heroine of the Revolutionary War and sister of James Robertson, "the father of Tennessee." She was an aspiring actress in silent movies when she met Harry H. Culver in 1915; they were married a short while later. She gave up her acting career until her husband's death August 17, 1946, whereupon she played small speaking roles in movies and guested on several television shows.
Born: March 23, 1896
Place of Birth: Loveland, Colorado, USA
Known For
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.
All That Heaven Allows
Two different social classes collide when Cary Scott, a wealthy upper-class widow, falls in love with her much younger and down-to-earth gardener, prompting disapproval and criticism from her children and country club friends.
The Bad and the Beautiful
Told in flashback form, the film traces the rise and fall of a tough, ambitious Hollywood producer, Jonathan Shields, as seen through the eyes of various acquaintances, including a writer, James Lee Bartlow; a star, Georgia Lorrison; and a director, Fred Amiel. He is a hard-driving, ambitious man who ruthlessly uses everyone on the way to becoming one of Hollywood's top movie makers.
The Harder They Fall
Jobless sportswriter Eddie Willis is hired by corrupt fight promoter Nick Benko to promote his current protégé, an unknown Argentinian boxer named Toro Moreno. Although Moreno is a hulking giant, his chances for success are hampered by a powder-puff punch and a glass jaw. Exploiting Willis' reputation for integrity and standing in the boxing community, Benko arranges a series of fixed fights that propel the unsophisticated Moreno to #1 contender for the championship. The reigning champ, the sadistic Buddy Brannen, harbors resentment at the publicity Toro has been receiving and vows to viciously punish him in the ring. Eddie must now decide whether or not to tell the naive Toro the truth.
The Thrill of It All
A housewife's sudden rise to fame as a soap spokesperson leads to chaos in her home life.
Tammy and the Bachelor
An unsophisticated young woman from the Mississippi swamps falls in love with an unconventional southern gentleman.
Nightfall
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
The Garment Jungle
Alan Mitchell returns to New York to work for his father Walter, the owner of a fashion house that designs and manufactures dresses. To stay non-union, Walter has hired Artie Ravidge, a hood who uses strong-arm tactics to keep the employees in line.
Blue Hawaii
Chad Gates has just been discharged from the Army, and is happy to be back in Hawaii with his surf-board, his beach buddies and his girlfriend.
Critic's Choice
Parker Ballantine is a New York theater critic and his wife writes a play that may or may not be very good. Now Parker must either get out of reviewing the play or cause the breakup of his marriage.
Filmography
as Autograph Seeker (uncredited)
as Woman (uncredited)
as Matron (uncredited)
as Barney's Mother
as Woman at Exhibition (uncredited)
as Buyer (uncredited)
as Woman (uncredited)
as Mrs. Wilson Harding (uncredited)
as Mrs. Taylor (uncredited)
as Mrs. Hall (uncredited)
as Real Estate Woman (uncredited)