Hollywood is saying goodbye to one of its familiar faces from the golden age of television.
Actress and former model Lory Patrick has died at the age of 92. According to reports, she passed away peacefully on January 26 at her home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, surrounded by family.
Producers dismissed her
Born Loretta Basham on April 8, 1933, in Beckley, West Virginia, Patrick’s journey to Hollywood began in the world of modeling.
After finishing high school, Lory launched her career in Detroit and New York.
In the Big Apple, the young and striking Lory attended a film interview, only to be dismissed by a producer who sneered, “Pretty girls can’t act.”
Determined to prove them wrong, Lory defied the stereotype. She packed her bags and headed west to Los Angeles, chasing her dream of becoming a star.
It didn’t take long for her to land a contract with Universal Studios in the early 1960s. In fact, it only took her three days to land her very first role on The Loretta Young Show.
After that, television audiences quickly came to know her as schoolteacher Tina Swenson on NBC’s hit Western Tales of Wells Fargo, where she appeared alongside Dale Robertson during the show’s final season.
More than 70 television appearances
In a 1961 interview, Patrick emphasized that it was her perseverance and hard work that opened the doors to acting, not just “plain luck.”
She went on to guest-star in many of the era’s most beloved series, including Bonanza, Wagon Train, Dr. Kildare, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
Reading Lory’s interviews from the 1960s, it’s clear that much of the attention was on her looks, with the media painting the splendid brunette as a rising star on the verge of big fame.
On the big screen, she appeared in the beach-party favorite Surf Party and the 1967 comedy How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In total, she racked up more than 70 television appearances during a busy decade in Hollywood.
But Patrick wasn’t just in front of the camera. She also broke ground behind the scenes, writing episodes for Bonanza at a time when few women were working as television writers. Later, she became a columnist for a writers’ magazine and authored the 1993 faith-based book Hearing God.
In 1984, she directed the stage production St. John in Exile, starring her husband.
Married to a Disney star
Patrick was married for 42 years to Disney star Dean Jones, known for family classics like That Darn Cat!, The Love Bug, and The Shaggy D.A.. The couple married in 1973 and remained together until his death in 2015 from Parkinson’s disease. Together, they devoted much of their later years to ministry work, serving as elders at The Church on the Way in California and helping found the Christian Rescue Fund, a faith-based humanitarian organization.
Earlier in her life, Patrick was briefly married to acclaimed science-fiction writer Harlan Ellison in 1966.
After stepping away from acting in the late 1960s, Patrick focused on faith, family, writing, and art. Following her husband’s passing, she relocated from California to Gettysburg to be closer to loved ones.
She is survived by her three children, eight grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, three brothers, and a sister, a large family that reflects the full life she lived beyond the spotlight.
For many Americans who grew up watching classic Westerns and wholesome family television, Lory Patrick was a warm and familiar presence. Off-screen, she built a life centered on faith, service, and family — leaving behind not only a body of work from television’s golden era, but a legacy rooted in devotion and love.
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