Amanda Blake

Honored in 1987

Amanda Blake (February 20, 1929 - August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the television western Gunsmoke.

Beverly Louise Neill was born in Buffalo, New York, the only child of Jesse and Louise (nee Puckett) Neill. Her father was a banker, and she was a telephone operator before taking up acting.

Nicknamed "the Young Greer Garson,"[1] she became best known for her 19-year stint as the saloon-keeper Miss Kitty on the television series Gunsmoke from 1955 until 1974. In 1968, Blake was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.[2] She was the third performer inducted, after Tom Mix and Gary Cooper, who were selected in 1958 and 1966 respectively.

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