# Elaine Giftos

Elaine Giftos (born 1942/1943) is a retired American model, actress, and dancer.

## Early life

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Giftos, she attended Pittsfield High School.
While working as a fashion model in New York, Giftos was selected by the Clairol company as Miss Ultra Smooth in 1964. In this role, she traveled around the United States promoting the company's soothing lotion for shaving women's legs. Her work as a photographer's model resulted in photographs of her being used in Ingenue, Redbook, and Seventeen magazines.

## Career

Trained by George Balanchine as a member of the New York City Ballet, Giftos performed on Broadway in Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968 and Pousse-Café, then moved to California to pursue a career in movies and television.
Giftos' first television appearance was in an episode of I Dream of Jeannie ("Jeannie the Matchmaker") as a dating-service clerk. Other shows in which she appeared were Bonanza; My Three Sons; The Interns; Ironside; Adam-12; Streets of San Francisco; The Paul Lynde Show; Love, American Style; The Partridge Family in a recurring role as Reuben Kinkcaid's girlfriend Bonnie Kleinschmidt; Kolchak: The Night Stalker; The Bob Newhart Show; The Six Million Dollar Man; Otherworld; Barney Miller; Three's Company; Hawaii Five-O; Quincy, M.E.; Knight Rider; Magnum, P.I.; Murder, She Wrote; Tales of the Unexpected; War of the Worlds; Ally McBeal; Mars and Beyond and Family Law.
Her movie credits include roles in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970); The Student Nurses (1970); Gas-s-s-s (1970, as the female lead Cilla); No Drums, No Bugles (1972); Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972); The Wrestler (1974); Paternity (1981); Angel (1984); and The Trouble with Dick (1987).

## Personal life

Giftos was married to writer/producer Herbert Wright until his death in 2005.
Since 1989, Giftos Wright has provided consulting services for feng shui under the name The Wright Way of Feng Shui.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1970 | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | Muriel | Comedy drama fantasy film |
| 1970 | The Student Nurses | Sharon | Drama film |
| 1970 | Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the world in Order to Save It. | Cilla | Comedy drama science fiction film |
| 1972 | No Drums, No Bugles | | War film |
| 1972 | Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) | Mrs. Ross | |
| 1974 | The Wrestler | Debbie | Action crime film |
| 1981 | Paternity | Woman in Oak Room Bar | Comedy romance film |
| 1984 | Angel | Patricia Allen | Action crime thriller film |
| 1987 | The Trouble with Dick | Sheila | Comedy science fiction film |
| 1989 | Another Time, Another Place | Winky Heinson | |
| 1995 | Body Chemistry IV: Full Exposure | Charlotte Sanders | Thriller film |
| 2000 | Mars and Beyond | NASA Oversight Officer Gennifer Gianni | Short science fiction film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | I Dream of Jeannie | Laverne Sedelko | Episode: "Jeannie, the Matchmaker" |
| 1970 | Bonanza | Charley (uncredited) Charity McGill | Episode: "The Trouble with Amy" Episode: "The Lady and the Mark" |
| 1970-1971 | The Interns | Bobbe Marsh | 24 episodes |
| 1971 | Cade's County | Eleanor Jameson | Episode: "Safe Deposit" |
| 1971 | Ironside | Stephie Parker | Episode: "Murder Impromptu" |
| 1972 | My Three Sons | Jewel Marsenick | Episode: "Lonesome Katie" |
| 1972 | Adam-12 | Kathy Stephens | Episode: "Lost and Found" |
| 1972 | Temperatures Rising | Nina | Episode: "The Muscle and the Medic" |
| 1972 | The Streets of San Francisco | Irene Jepsen | Episode: "Timelock" |
| 1972 | The Bob Newhart Show | Cynthia Fremont | Episode: "Anything Happen While I Was Gone?" |
| 1972 | Banyon | Verna | Episode: "The Lady Killer" |
| 1972 | Cool Million | Kahadija Messadi | Episode: "The Million Dollar Misunderstanding" |
| 1973 | The Paul Lynde Show | Judy Murdock | Episode: "Is This Trip Necessary?" |
| 1971-1973 | Love, American Style | Susan Elizabeth Karen Smith Gwen | (segment "Love and the Second Time") (segment "Love and the Awakening (segment "Love and the Family Hour" (segment "Love and the Single Husband" |
| 1972-1973 | The Partridge Family | Bonnie Kleinschmidt | Episode: "Home Is Where the Heart Was" Episode: "Bedknobs and Drumsticks" Episode: "Reuben Kincaid Lives" Episode: "Double Trouble" |
| 1973 | Chase | Gloria | Episode: "The Garbage Man" |
| 1974 | The New Perry Mason | Shelby Danton | Episode: "The Case of the Tortured Titan" |
| 1974 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker | Nurse Janis Eisen | Episode: "The Energy Eater" |
| 1975 | The Secret Night Caller | Chloe | TV film |
| 1973-1975 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Melanie Gates Doris | Episode: "The Problem with Charlie" Episode: "Save the Last Dance for Me" |
| 1975 | Ladies of the Corridor | Betsy Ames | TV film |
| 1975 | Cannon | Margaret Hatt | Episode: "To Still the Voice" |
| 1977 | Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? | Arlene | TV film |
| 1978 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Emily | Episode: "Date with Danger: Part 1" Episode: "Date with Danger: Part 2" |
| 1979 | Breaking Up Is Hard to Do | Tina Scapa | TV film |
| 1979 | Quincy, M.E. | Loxie Adams | Episode: "Hot Ice" |
| 1980 | Barney Miller | Laura Kiergo | Episode: "Vanished: Part 1" Episode: "Vanished: Part 2" |
| 1976-1980 | Hawaii Five-O | Janice Lockman Lily Kalima Anne Chernus | Episode: "The Last of the Great Paperhangers" Episode: "The Friends of Joey Kalima" Episode: "Clash of Shadows" |
| 1981 | Number 96 | Hildy | Episode: "Father's Day" |
| 1981 | Through the Magic Pyramid | Nefertiti | TV film |
| 1982 | Games Mother Never Taught You | | TV film |
| 1980-1982 | Three's Company | Darlene Randy | Episode: "A Hundred Dollars a What?" Episode: "An Affair to Forget" |
| 1982 | Magnum, P.I. | Ginger Leah Grant | Episode: "Mixed Doubles" |
| 1983 | Venice Medical | Gwen Marcus | TV film |
| 1983 | Matt Houston | Nikki Sheffield | Episode: "The Centerfold Murders" |
| 1982-1984 | Trapper John, M.D. | Katie Miller | Episode: "Ladies in Waiting" Episode: "Special Delivery" |
| 1985 | Knight Rider | Debra Sands | Episode: "Custom Made Killer" |
| 1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Lonnie Valerian | Episode: "Broadway Malady" |
| 1985 | Otherworld | Belisama | Episode: "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar" |
| 1985 | Tales of the Unexpected | Grace | Episode: "In the Cards" |
| 1986 | Blacke's Magic | Agent Joanna Kelsey | Episode: "Last Flight from Moscow" |
| 1987 | What a Country! | Danny the Bartender | Episode: "The Road from Morocco" |
| 1989 | War of the Worlds | Q'Tara | Episode: "The Angel of Death" |
| 1989-1990 | Dragnet | Joan Randall Martha Lester | Episode: "The Connection" Episode: "Family Affair" |
| 1998 | Ally McBeal | Nancy Foote | Episode: "Forbidden Fruits" |
| 2001 | Family Law | US Attorney Annette Hodge | Episode: "Liar's Club: Part 1" |