Hollywood in the 1960s was full of stars whose careers seemed destined for greatness.
Anjanette Comer was one of them — a striking young actress who suddenly found herself being offered roles that could have changed her life forever.
But now, sad news has emerged that the actress, best known for her roles in The Loved One, The Appaloosa and The Baby, has died at 86.
For a brief moment in the 1960s, Anjanette Comer appeared to be on the fast track to becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Her Texas determination, natural acting talent, and striking looks — often compared to a young Elizabeth Taylor — were helping turn her dream into reality.
The striking, brunette beauty rose to fame after landing leading roles in The Appaloosa, Guns for San Sebastian and Lepke.
But then, Comer made a few unexpected choices that would shape the rest of her career.
At the height of her career, Comer had opportunities to star opposite Robert Redford in Barefoot in the Park and alongside Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde, both released in 1967.
She declined both.
Jane Fonda ultimately took the role in Barefoot in the Park, while Faye Dunaway landed the part in Bonnie and Clyde. Both movies became major successes and helped cement their stars as Hollywood icons.
Looking back years later, Comer was remarkably candid about why she had made those decisions. In a 1981 interview with UPI, she explained that she had been involved in what she described as a “very important relationship” with an actor who did not want her working in movies.
“At that time I was young and naive,” she said.
She also admitted something that might surprise fans looking back at her promising early career:
“I hated my career.”
Different approach on Hollywood
Comer had arrived in Hollywood with remarkable speed. Born Aug. 7, 1939, in Dawson, Texas, she studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse after growing up in the small Texas community.
While other young actresses were drawn to Hollywood’s glamour and nightlife, Anjanette took a very different approach. She focused on honing her craft and preparing for the right opportunity.
In fact, during her first two years in Hollywood, she never actively pursued a professional job or even visited a film studio. Instead, she simply practiced, studied and worked on becoming a better actress.
Her television career began in the early 1960s, with appearances on shows including My Three Sons and The Donna Reed Show. In 1963, she appeared on Gunsmoke, Ben Casey and Arrest and Trial.
Her performance on Arrest and Trial earned her an Emmy nomination for supporting actress.
Then came the movies.
Starring opposite Marlon Brando
Comer made her big-screen debut in the 1964 comedy Quick, Before It Melts, but it was her role in The Loved One the following year that really put her on the map.
In the dark comedy about the funeral industry, she played Aimee Thanatogenous, a young mortician who delivers one of the movie’s most memorable exchanges:
“What did you have in mind? Inhumement, entombment, inurnment, immurement? Some people just lately have preferred ensarcophagusment. It’s very individual.”
She followed that with a major role opposite Marlon Brando and John Saxon in The Appaloosa in 1966, playing a Mexican woman caught up in the film’s Western drama.
But around the same time, another decision would complicate her career.
Comer had been cast opposite Michael Caine in Funeral in Berlin, the 1966 sequel to The Ipcress File. During production, however, she left Germany and was replaced by Eva Renzi.
Years later, Comer acknowledged that her behavior had earned her a reputation in Hollywood.
“I had a reputation for being crazy because I’d walked out on Funeral in Berlin,” she said.
“And I guess I was crazy. You see, I didn’t build my career slowly like most successful actresses do. After a couple of TV appearances, I became an instant movie star. I didn’t know how to handle it all emotionally.”
Her career never completely disappeared, but it didn’t reach the heights many might have expected from those early years.
She continued appearing in movies and television, including Guns for San Sebastian, Rabbit, Run, The Firechasers, Fire Sale and Steven Soderbergh’s The Underneath. She also made guest appearances on familiar television favorites such as Bonanza, Mannix, Columbo, Hotel and The Practice.
One of her later memorable performances came in the bizarre 1973 horror film The Baby, where she played a social worker.
Leukemia battle
Actress Marianna Hill, who appeared alongside Comer in the film, remembered how seriously she approached her craft.
“She would tell me, ‘I’m going to create an inner life and this and that for my character,’” Hill recalled in a 2016 interview.
Comer’s personal life also took a different path than she may once have imagined.
The relationship that had influenced some of her career decisions ultimately did not last. She later married writer, screenwriter and director Robert Klane, best known for Where’s Poppa?, Fire Sale and Weekend at Bernie’s. They were married from 1976 until their divorce in 1983.
In that 1981 interview, Comer remained hopeful that she could once again reach the level of success she had experienced as a young actress.
“I’m absolutely certain I will get back to the high point of my career,” she said. “I’ve done it before and I can do it again. I have to believe that so other people will believe it, too.”
Comer died on May 28 at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, but news of her death was not made public until September 2026. According to a death certificate obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, she had been battling leukemia and also had heart problems.
Anjanette Comer never became the household name that some of her contemporaries did, but for those who remember the movies and television of the 1960s, Anjanette Comer remains a fascinating reminder of just how unpredictable Hollywood can be.
She had the talent, the looks and the opportunities — including two roles that went on to become defining moments for Jane Fonda and Faye Dunaway.
And perhaps that’s what makes her story so unforgettable: sometimes a Hollywood career is shaped just as much by the roles an actor says no to as the ones they say yes to.
Rest in peace, Anjanette.
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