# Pilar Seurat

Pilar Seurat (born Rita Hernandez; July 25, 1938 – June 2, 2001) was a Filipino American film and television actress in the 1960s.

## Career

Born in Manila, Seurat began her Hollywood career as a dancer in Ken Murray's "Blackouts", the popular postwar variety show at the El Capitan Theatre. Though she primarily played Asian characters, Seurat was adept at playing various nationalities; her breakthrough role was as Louisa Escalante, the blind murder victim's sister in John Frankenheimer's The Young Savages (1961).
She was frequently cast on 1960s television shows whose production staff sought performers for Asian, Hispanic, or Native American roles, including in Adventures in Paradise, The Fugitive, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Seaway, Hawaiian Eye, The Virginian, Maverick, Bonanza, Stoney Burke, Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Wild Wild West, Hawaii Five-O, The F.B.I., I Spy, The Lieutenant, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Rawhide, and Mannix.

## Personal life

In 1959, Seurat married producer Don Devlin. Their son, Dean Devlin, would later become a prominent producer and screenwriter. The couple divorced in 1963. In 1970, she married writer Don Cerveris and retired from acting, adopting the name Pilar Cerveris. This marriage ended in 1981.
Seurat’s father, Major Al Hernandez, was a Filipino-American who fought against Japanese occupiers in the Philippine jungle during World War II. He later authored a book titled “Bahala na,” recounting his wartime experiences. Pilar had a sister, Angela Hernandez, who lived in the Philippines, and a younger half-sister, Alana Lambros, a television producer in Los Angeles.

## Death

Seurat died of lung cancer on June 2, 2001, at the age of 62, in Los Angeles. She is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. The 2002 comedy-horror film Eight Legged Freaks, produced by her son, was dedicated to her memory.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1961 | The Young Savages | Louisa Escalante |
| 1961 | Battle at Bloody Beach | Camota |
| 1961 | Seven Women from Hell | Mai-Lu Ferguson |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959–1962 | Adventures in Paradise | Midge / Queen Victoria / Tehura | Appeared in three episodes: "The Forbidden Sea," "Queen of the Temple," and "The Quest of Ambrose Brown" |
| 1960 | Maverick | Pilar | Episode: "The Forbidden City" |
| 1961 | Ben Casey | Li Herrick | Episode: "A Certain Time, a Certain Darkness" |
| 1962 | Stoney Burke | Margo Tecas | Episode: "Point of Honor" |
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Mickey Arthur | Episode: "You'll Be the Death of Me" |
| 1963 | The Fugitive | Elena Morales | Episode: "Wine Is a Traitor" |
| 1964 | The Lieutenant | Lt. Manisahn Joraka | Episode: "To Set It Right" |
| 1965 | I Spy | Catherine | Episode: "Dragon's Teeth" |
| 1965 | The Wild Wild West | Princess Ching Ling | Episode: "The Night the Dragon Screamed" |
| 1965–1970 | The F.B.I. | Maria Montoya / Maria Sandoval / Anita Nieves | Appeared in five episodes portraying different characters |
| 1966 | Star Trek | Sybo | Episode: "Wolf in the Fold" |
| 1966 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Amra Palli | Episode: "The Indian Affairs Affair" |
| 1966 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | Moana | Episode: "The Silent Saboteurs" |
| 1966–1968 | The Virginian | Hapamawa / Tela | Appeared in two episodes: "Long Ride to Wind River" and "Nora" |
| 1967 | The High Chaparral | Pilar Castaneda | Episode: "The Terrorist" |
| 1967 | Custer | Red Moon Woman | Episode: "Spirit Woman" |
| 1969 | Mannix | Miriam Valera | Episode: "A Penny for the Peep Show" |
| 1970 | Hawaii Five-O | Theresa Dietrich | Episode: "Nightmare Road" |
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