Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than 50 films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean’s 11, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne “Pepper” Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.
Dickinson, the second of four daughters, was born Angeline Brown in Kulm, North Dakota, the daughter of Frederica and Leo H. Brown. Her family is of German descent and she was raised Roman Catholic. Dickinson’s father was a small-town newspaper publisher and editor. In 1942, her family moved to Burbank, California, where she attended Bellarmine-Jefferson High School, graduating in 1947 at just 15 years of age. The previous year, she had won the Sixth Annual Bill of Rights essay contest. She studied at Glendale Community College and in 1954 graduated from Immaculate Heart College with a degree in business. Taking a cue from her publisher father, she had intended to be a writer. While a student from 1950?52, she worked as a secretary at Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank and in a parts factory.
In 1953, she placed second in a beauty pageant. Soon after her first marriage to Gene Dickinson she decided to pursue a career in acting. She studied the craft and a few years later was approached by NBC to guest-star on a number of variety shows, including The Colgate Comedy Hour. She soon met Frank Sinatra who became a lifelong friend. She would later play Sinatra’s wife in the film Ocean’s Eleven.
On New Year’s Eve 1954, Dickinson made her acting debut in an episode of Death Valley Days. This led to other roles in such productions as Buffalo Bill Jr, eight episodes of Matinee Theatre, City Detective, Gray Ghost, General Electric Theater, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Broken Arrow, Meet McGraw, Northwest Passage, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Tombstone Territory, Cheyenne, Meet McGraw, The Restless Gun, Perry Mason, Mike Hammer, Wagon Train, Men Into Space, and a memorable turn as the duplicitous murder conspirator in a 1964 episode of the classic The Fugitive series with David Janssen and fellow guest star Robert Duvall. In 1965, she had a recurring role as Carol Tredman on Dr. Kildare.