Dolores Faith

Dolores Faith Hedges (July 15, 1941 – February 15, 1990), better known as Dolores Faith, was an American actress. She is best remembered as the mute girl Zetha in the 1961 science fiction film The Phantom Planet. Her brief career came to an end when she married millionaire James Robert Neal.[1]

Dolores Faith
Faith in 1961
Born
Dolores Faith Hedges

(1941-07-15)July 15, 1941
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedFebruary 15, 1990(1990-02-15) (aged 48)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Resting placeHoly Cross Cemetery, Culver City
OccupationActress
Years active1961–1972
Spouse(s)
James Robert Neal
​
​
(m. 1972; div. 1977)​

Early life

Dolores Faith Hedges was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 15, 1941. She was of Hungarian and Italian descent.[1] She lost her hearing at age four from an accident, but it later returned by age eight. A natural blonde, she dyed her hair black to better match her olive skin.[1] She graduated from Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, California, in 1958. She was a member of the "Sock 'n' Buskin" drama club.

Career

Faith began as a model and as a dance instructor before acting.[1] In 1959, she was given a screen test by Warner Bros. They chose not to hire her because of her resemblance to both Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly. She became a Hollywood Deb Star in 1962, and was featured in Life magazine in 1963.[2][3]

Faith probably is best remembered for three low-budget science fiction films: The Phantom Planet, The Human Duplicators, and Mutiny in Outer Space. She also appeared in dramas. In V.D., she was a young vixen who gets gonorrhea from the "hero" (who got it from a prostitute). In Wild Harvest, she plays the mistress of a ruthless, womanizing vineyard manager whom she sides against after getting fed up. She was also in Shell Shock, a war drama.

On television, she appeared in episodes of Ripcord, Have Gun - Will Travel, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a two-part episode released theatrically as One of Our Spies Is Missing.

Personal life

Faith met Texas millionaire and Maxwell House heir James Robert Neal (1921-2006) and the couple became a regular sight at various public events.[2] In November 1972, they were married in Las Vegas after a long courtship, and she retired from acting.[4] They divorced in April 1977.[2] They remarried years later until her death.

Death

Most sources state that Faith died in Miami, Florida, on February 15, 1990, at the age of 48. It is worth mentioning that in his book Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood: Seventy-Five Profiles, author Tom Lisanti claimed that Faith was alive and living in Florida as of 2006,[1] however a neighbor and family friend has validated that the theory is impossible as she committed suicide.

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1961 All in a Night's Work Girl Holding Hands Uncredited
1961 The Phantom Planet Zetha
1961 Love in a Goldfish Bowl Pie Throwing Girl Uncredited
1961 V.D. Kathy Durham
1962 Wild Harvest Rose
1963 Ripcord Tanya Rovag Episode: "The Last Chapter"
1963 Have Gun - Will Travel The Rani Episode: "The Caravan"
1963 Summer of '63 Kathy Short film
Uncredited
1964 Shell Shock American Girl
1965 Honeymoon Hotel Mrs. Fendelmeyer Uncredited
1965 Mutiny in Outer Space Faith Montaine
1965 The Human Duplicators Lisa Dornheimer
1965 House of the Black Death Valerie Desard
1966 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Lorelei Lancer Episode: "The Bridge of Lions Affair, Part 1"
1966 One of Our Spies Is Missing Lorelei Lancer
1966 That Tennessee Beat Belle Scofield

References
  1. Lisanti, Tom (2007). Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood: Seventy-Five Profiles. McFarland & Company. pp. 77–79. ISBN 978-0786431724.
  2. "Dolores Faith". Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  3. Ornitz, Don (April 26, 1963). "Ah, What Sights—Water Sprites!". Life. ISSN 0024-3019.
  4. Manners, Dorothy (November 25, 1972). "In Hollywood". Mansfield News Journal. p. 21.
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