# Elizabeth Rogers

Elizabeth Rogers (born Betty Jayne Rogers, May 18, 1934 – November 6, 2004) was an American actress.

## Life and career

Born in Austin, Texas, she played minor characters in thirty-seven episodes of a dozen different prime-time network series, including Little House on the Prairie, Bewitched, Gunsmoke, The Waltons, Marcus Welby, M.D., Dragnet 1966, Mannix, Dragnet 1967, Bonanza, The Time Tunnel, Land of the Giants, Dr. Kildare, Gunsmoke and Slattery's People.
In the original Star Trek television series, she portrayed Lt. Palmer, a substitute communications officer, in two episodes: "The Doomsday Machine" (1967) and "The Way to Eden" (1969). For Doomsday Machine, Rogers was brought in at the last minute after Nichelle Nichols (the series regular as communications officer Lt. Uhura) informed the producers that she was flying to New York for a concert performance. As Nichols had no standard contract she was legally free to do so, but Rogers' appearance was intended to convince her to keep herself available for Star Trek. Rogers said in a later interview, "I got the part when Uhura [Nichols] had a singing engagement. I was used as an instant 'threat' replacement."
During the 1970s, she also appeared in a string of Irwin Allen produced films including The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974). She was a personal friend of Allen and his wife, Sheila Matthews Allen, and was married to actor Erik Nelson (also a regular in Irwin Allen films) in the backyard of Allen's home. Her other film appearances included Bittersweet Love (1976), The Van (1977), Grand Theft Auto (1977), and An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) as David Keith's mother.

## Death

She died from multiple strokes and lung cancer on November 6, 2004, in Tarzana, California at the age of 70.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1965 | Slattery's People | Betty Dyne | Episode: "The Hero" |
| 1965 | Dr. Kildare | Miss Trilling | 2 episodes |
| 1965, 1967 | Bonanza | Ellie Blackwell / Allie Lou | 2 episodes |
| 1966 | The Time Tunnel | Mrs. Reynerson | Episode: "The Alamo" |
| 1966 | Gunsmoke | Hostage / Mrs. Davis | 2 episodes |
| 1967, 1969 | Star Trek | Lt. Palmer | 2 episodes |
| 1968 | Dragnet 1967 | Mrs. Bradley | Episode: "The Little Victim" |
| 1969 | Star Trek | Lt. Palmer | S3:E20, "The Way to Eden" |
| 1969 | Mannix | Records Clerk | Episode: "Shadow of a Man" |
| 1969 | Dragnet 1966 | Eve Sorenson | TV movie |
| 1969 | Land of the Giants | Secretary | Episode: "Sabotage" |
| 1970 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Woman Executive | Episode: "Go Get 'Em, Tiger" |
| 1971 | Bewitched | Duchess | Episode: "The Ghost Who Made a Spectre of Himself" |
| 1972 | Something Evil | Party Guest | TV movie |
| 1972 | The Poseidon Adventure | Woman Next to Mr. Tinkham | Uncredited |
| 1974 | The Towering Inferno | Lady in Buoy | |
| 1975 | Adventures of the Queen | Irene McKay | TV movie |
| 1975 | The Waltons | Nurse Smith | Episode: "The Nurse" |
| 1976 | Bittersweet Love | Joan | |
| 1976 | Flood! | Nancy Lowman | TV movie |
| 1977 | The Van | Mrs. Eastman | |
| 1977 | A Sensitive, Passionate Man | Sophie | TV movie |
| 1977 | Grand Theft Auto | Priscilla Powers | |
| 1978 | Lacy and the Mississippi Queen | Madam Josephine | TV movie |
| 1978 | The Swarm | Woman Scientist | (extended version only) |
| 1979 | Hanging by a Thread | Maggie Porter | TV movie |
| 1979 | Goldie and the Boxer | First matron | TV movie |
| 1981 | Little House on the Prairie | Mrs. Miles | Episode: "For the Love of Nancy" |
| 1982 | An Officer and a Gentleman | Betty Worley | |
| 1983 | The Night the Bridge Fell Down | | TV movie |
| 1984 | The Yellow Rose | Tess Anderson | Episode: "The Far Side of Fear" |
| 1986 | Outrage! | Stella Smith | TV movie, (final film role) |