Person Biography:
Lynn Cartwright was a talented American actress, born on February 27, 1927, in McAlester, Oklahoma, to U.S. Congressman Wilburn and his wife Carrie (née Staggs) Cartwright. She was the daughter of a prominent Oklahoma family, with her younger sister Wilburta becoming an artist, and other relatives including Legislator Buck Cartwright and former Attorney General Jan-Eric Cartwright.
Lynn began her acting career in the late 1940s at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, where she met her future husband, actor and writer Leo Gordon. The couple married in 1950 and began their career touring the Borscht Belt stages. They had a daughter, Tara Gordon, and later moved to Los Angeles, where Leo's career took off.
Lynn made her film debut in the 1957 film "Black Patch," which was written by Leo, and went on to appear in several films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including "The Wasp Woman" and "A League of Their Own." She also appeared in numerous television shows, including "Rin Tin Tin," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," and "Peter Gunn."
In the 1970s and 1980s, Lynn appeared in a range of films, including "Where Does It Hurt?" and "The Garbage Pail Kids Movie," as well as several television shows, including "Adam 12," "Little House on the Prairie," and "Dynasty." She also worked with her husband on several stage plays with the Group Repertory Theatre company in North Hollywood, California.
Lynn ended her career on a sentimental note after being cast as the senior version of Geena Davis' character in the 1992 film "A League of Their Own." She died in 2004 at the age of 77, after suffering from dementia following the death of her husband, Leo, in 2000.
