# Bettye Ackerman

Bettye Louise Ackerman (February 28, 1924 – November 1, 2006) was an American actress primarily known for her work on television.

## Early years

Ackerman was born in Cottageville, South Carolina (another source says she was born in Williston, South Carolina), the daughter of Clarence Kilgo Ackerman and Mary Baker Ackerman, and grew up in Williston, in Barnwell County in southwestern South Carolina, one of four children. She graduated from Columbia College in South Carolina in 1945 and left for New York City soon after. She studied theater at the graduate level at Columbia University in New York and pursued art studies with Joseph Mugnaini and George DeGroat at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles.

## Television

From 1961 until 1966, Ackerman played Dr. Maggie Graham on the ABC medical drama Ben Casey. She played Anne Frazer on Bracken's World and the original Constance MacKenzie on the daytime program Return to Peyton Place. She appeared in an early episode of prime time soap Falcon Crest portraying the character of Elisabeth Bradbury. She also appeared in two episodes of Perry Mason, starring Raymond Burr: in 1965. she played the role of Amy Reid in the episode, "The Case of the Thermal Thief," and in 1966. she played Laura Brandon in "The Case of the Positive Negative." In 1977, she appeared in "Never Con a Killer," the pilot for the ABC crime drama The Feather and Father Gang.

## Stage

Ackerman played the title role in the one act play Salome, by Oscar Wilde, as part of the Alexander Kirkland Acting Group. The production was released on Magic-Tone Records (CTG 4011). Ackerman's Broadway credits include A Meeting by the River (1979).

## Film

Ackerman's film debut came in Face of Fire in 1959.

## Personal life

On June 7, 1956, Ackerman, at 32, married her future Ben Casey co-star Sam Jaffe, who was then 65. Although there was a 33-year difference in their ages, the couple had a very successful and happy marriage until Jaffe died of cancer in 1984. They had no children.
She sold her home in Beverly Hills, California, and returned to South Carolina to be near her large extended family in 1998. Shortly afterwards, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Ackerman was also a noted artist, who had numerous exhibits in both Beverly Hills and Columbia, South Carolina.

## Death

Ackerman died November 1, 2006, after having suffered a stroke in Columbia, South Carolina. She was 82.
She is buried in Williston Cemetery in South Carolina.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959 | Face of Fire | Grace Trescott | |
| 1969 | Rascal | Miss Whalen | |
| 1991 | Ted & Venus | Poetry Award Presenter | |
| 1994 | Prehysteria! 2 | Miss Winters | Video |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1953 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Girl (uncredited) | Season 6 Episode 2: "The Bachelor Party" |
| 1955 | Studio One | Betty | Season 7 Episode 39: "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" |
| 1959 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Mrs. Inkel | Season 5 Episode 12: "Specialty of the House" |
| 1961 | Naked City | Susan Bognar | Season 2 Episode 25: "An Economy of Death" |
| 1961 | Insight | Ilsa Davis | Season 1 Episode 133: "Breakthrough" |
| 1961–1966 | Ben Casey | Dr. Maggie Graham | 58 episodes |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Lorna Dickson | Season 1 Episode 14: "The Tender Poisoner" |
| 1962–1963 | Alcoa Premiere | Ellen / Dorothy Swift | 2 episodes |
| 1964 | Breaking Point | Eunice Osment | Season 1 Episode 18: "Better Than a Dead Lion" |
| 1965–1966 | Perry Mason | Amy Reid / Laura Brandon | 2 episodes |
| 1967 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Dorothy Reynolds | Season 4 Episode 21: "Verdict for Terror" |
| 1967 | Bonanza | Estelle Dawson | Season 9 Episode 1: "Second Chance" |
| 1968 | Companions in Nightmare | Sara Nicholson | TV Movie |
| 1968–1970 | The F.B.I. | Annette Jurgens / Miss Kurland / Mary Binyon | 3 episodes |
| 1969 | Mannix | Rita Claman | Season 2 Episode 15: "Only Giants Can Play" |
| 1969–1973 | Medical Center | Nurse Marsh | 4 episodes |
| 1969–1974 | Ironside | Dr. Pat Manners / Sylvia Harris | 2 episodes |
| 1970 | Bracken's World | Anne Frazer | 13 episodes |
| 1972 | Columbo | Miss Sherman | Season 1 Episode 7: "Blueprint for Murder" |
| 1972 | The Sixth Sense | Helene | Season 1 Episode 6: "Can a Dead Man Strike from the Grave?" |
| 1972 | Heat of Anger | Stella Galvin | TV Movie |
| 1972–1974 | Return to Peyton Place | Constance MacKenzie #1 | |
| 1973 | Gunsmoke | Zisha Gorofsky | Season 18 Episode 24: "This Golden Land" |
| 1973–1975 | The Rookies | Ellen Tabnor / Judge | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Murder or Mercy | Nurse Cantelli | TV Movie |
| 1974 | Mooch | Bettye Ackerman (uncredited) | TV Movie |
| 1974 | Lucas Tanner | Frances Shaw | 2 episodes |
| 1974–1976 | Police Story | Martha Dunnhill / Katherine Moran | 2 episodes |
| 1974–1976 | Barnaby Jones | Margery Kinner / Mrs. Nesbitt | 2 episodes |
| 1975 | The Streets of San Francisco | Dr. Hamill | Season 3 Episode 21: "Asylum" |
| 1975 | Harry O | Laureen Lister | Season 2 Episode 6: "The Acolyte" |
| 1975 | Petrocelli | Ann Hendricks | Season 2 Episode 11: "Too Many Alibis" |
| 1977 | Never Con a Killer | Dorothy | TV Movie |
| 1977 | The Feather and Father Gang | Dorothy | Season 1 Episode 6: "Never Con a Killer" |
| 1977 | Wonder Woman | Asclepia | Season 2 Episode 1: "The Return of Wonder Woman" |
| 1977 | CHiPs | Mrs. Burgess | Season 1 Episode 2: "Undertow" |
| 1977–1981 | The Waltons | Belle Becker | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | Doctors' Private Lives | Sylvia | TV Movie |
| 1978 | Police Woman | Helen Fletcher | Season 4 Episode 22: "Good Old Uncle Ben" |
| 1979 | 240-Robert | Eileen Phillips | Season 1 Episode 2: "Stuntman" |
| 1980 | Trouble in High Timber Country | Mrs. Lomax | TV Movie |
| 1981 | Foul Play | | Season 1 Episode 9: "The Terrible Tara O'Hara" |
| 1982 | Falcon Crest | Elizabeth Bradbury | Season 1 Episode 11: "For Love or Money" |
| 1982 | A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain | Belle Tucker | TV Movie |
| 1982 | Dynasty | Katherine | Season 3 Episode 4: "The Will" |
| 1982–1984 | Trapper John, M.D. | Mrs. Bayard / Dr. Michaels | 2 episodes |
| 1983 | Confessions of a Married Man | Social Security Employee | TV Movie |
| 1983 | The Love Boat | Professor Helen Burton | Season 6 Episode 26: "The Professor Has Class/When the Magic Disappears/We, the Jury" |
| 1984 | Double Trouble | The Judge | Season 1 Episode 5: "Dueling Feet" |
| 1985 | Me and Mom | | Season 1 Episode 1: "A Killing in the Market" |
| 1985 | Tales of the Unexpected | Ruby | Season 8 Episode 3: "Nothin' Short of Highway Robbery" |
| 1986 | St. Elsewhere | Mrs. Nova | Season 5 Episode 11: "Lost Weekend" |