# Chanin Hale

Chanin Hale, married name Chanin Hale Bradshaw (October 3, 1928 – 30 January 2020), was an American actress on stage, film, and television, perhaps best known for more than forty appearances on The Red Skelton Hour.

## Early life

Chanin Hale was born Marilyn Victoria Chanine Hale Haney in Dayton, Ohio. As a creative, athletic girl, she won art awards and excelled in sports. Being "bit" by the performing bug in school, Hale pursued acting and acquired roles in student and community theater, taking lessons in dancing and singing. She dyed her red hair platinum blonde, and joined the Dayton Y Players, learning Greek tragedy and low comedy. She attained some success in the title role of Annie Get Your Gun, which helped to land a role in Little Mary Sunshine, playing a flirtatious character named Twinkle. Hale took to her mother's family name, retaining it into her professional career.

## Career

Hale moved to New York in 1955 and became a stage actress. She toured with the revue "High Time" performing in plays such as Bus Stop (1955), The Gazebo (1958) (with William Bendix), Little Mary Sunshine (1959), and Come Blow Your Horn (1961).
Hale began in television as secretaries, corpses, and other "bit" roles. In a 1963 UCLA comedy production, she met Jack Albertson who introduced her to Red Skelton. With excellent pantomime skills, Hale appeared regularly on the show. Her other television appearances include roles on Adam-12, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bonanza, The Danny Kaye Show, Death Valley Days, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Donna Reed Show, Dragnet (she was one of several "stable" actors that Jack Webb used in recurring roles on his shows), Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Green Acres, Hey, Landlord, Hondo, The Jimmy Stewart Show, and Gunsmoke, among others.
Film appearances include Synanon (1965), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), Gunn (1967), The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968), Will Penny (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), and a small role in Blue Hawaii (1961).
Hale was also a regular supporter of, and toured with, the USO, to Vietnam and other overseas locations, well into the late 1960s. Subsequently, Hale was one of the last successful pinup models. Early in 1969, she was a favorite with the soldiers; thousands of 8x10s were printed and mailed after her photo was published by the New York Daily News posing as Eve in a homemade costume.

## Personal life

Hale was married to Richard Bradshaw in 1986 until her death nearly 34 years later. She died at the age of 91.

## Filmography

A partial filmography follows.

### Film

* Blue Hawaii (1961)
* Synanon (1965)
* A Guide for the Married Man (1967) as Miss Crenshaw
* Gunn (1967) as Scarlotti's Mistress
* The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968) as Hilda
* Will Penny (1968) as Girl
* The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) as Valerie

### Television

* The Danny Kaye Show
* Naked City (1961) "Bridge Party" as Miss Webb
* The Red Skelton Hour (1963-1971)
* The Beverly Hillbillies (1965) "Luke's Boy" as Linda Curry
* The Donna Reed Show (1965) "How to Handle a Woman" as Myrtle
* Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1965-1968)
** "A Star Is Not Born" (1968) as Gloria
** "Double Date with the Sarge" (1965) as Hostess
* The Legend of Jesse James (1965) "The Quest" as Marie
* The Dick Van Dyke Show (1966) "Bad Reception in Albany" as Sugar Henderson
* The Double Life of Henry Phyfe (1966) "Phyfe and the Code Book: Part 2" as Pretty Blonde
* My Favorite Martian (1966) "Martin, the Mannequin" as Sales Girl
* Hey, Landlord (1966) "Pursuit of a Dream" as Lady Godiva
* The Wild Wild West (1966) "The Night of the Whirring Death" as Flo
* Death Valley Days (1967) "Shanghai Kelly's Birthday Party" as Flora
* The F.B.I. (1967) "Rope of Gold" as Bobbie
* Hondo (1967) "Hondo and the Gladiators" as Carrot Top
* Blondie (1968) "Dagwood the Wheeler Dealer" as Mrs. Hathaway
* Dragnet (1969)
** "Frauds (DR-36)" as Helen Zimmerman
** "Vice (DR-30)" as Dottie Taylor
* I Dream of Jeannie (1969) "Jeannie and the Bachelor Party" as Girl at the Party
* In Name Only (1969) as Barbara
* Bonanza (1969-1970)
** "The Trouble with Trouble" as Lily
** "Mrs. Wharton and the Lesser Breeds" as Laura Mae Mears
* Green Acres (1969-1970)
** "Oliver's Double" as Blanche Foster
** "Beauty Is Skin Deep" as Girl
** "The Special Delivery Letter" as Post Office Clerk
* Howdy (1970)
* Gunsmoke (1971-1975)
** "The Sharecroppers" (S2E24) as Woman
** "Lavery" (S16E22) as Verna
** "The River: Part 1" (S18E1) as Apple Pie Lady
** "Talbot" (S18E23) as Sally
* The Jimmy Stewart Show (1972)
** "Jim's Decision" as Lala Brodu
** "Song of the Jailbird" as Candy Jar
* Adam-12 (1972-1974)
** "Lost and Found" as Irma Baker
** "North Hollywood Division" as Helen Dugan
* The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973) "Hi There, Sports Fans" as Waitress
* Laverne & Shirley (1976) "Angels of Mercy" as Nurse
* Marcus Welby, M.D. (1976) "How Do You Know What Hurts Me?" as Lois
* Mobile One (1976) "Libel" as Carol North
* Police Woman (1976) "Mother Love" as Adoption Clerk
* Chico and the Man (1977) "Uncle Sonny" as Annalou Brown
* The Love Boat (1977) "Lonely at the Top / Silent Night / Divorce Me, Please" as Claire
* Welcome Back, Kotter (1977) "There Goes Number 5" as Orshack's Secretary
* No Man's Valley (1981) as Nipponia (voice)