Lovely actress Bridget Hanley, best known for her performance as Candy Pruitt on Here Come the Brides (1968-1970) opposite Bobby Sherman (b. 1943), died last week at 80.
Hanley died Wednesday, December 15, after battling Alzheimer's disease. She had been residing at the Motion Picture & Television Country Homse and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, where — in 2015 — she and a few other residents were part of a THR story about retired actors living in the facility.
Born February 3, 1941, in Minneapolis, she moved with her family as a toddler to the Seattle area. She studied acting in school and was active in theater at the University of Washington. Her stage work in San Francisco led to a contract with Screen Gems, which pitched her as a "young Maureen O'Hara."
Hanley made her TV debut on the forgotten series Hank in 1965, and went on to guest on such shows as Gidget (1955), The Farmer's Daughter (1966), Bewitched (1966) and I Dream of Jeannie (1967).
As Candy on the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)-inspired series Here Come the Brides, she was the love interest for teen idol Sherman who, in spite of his ability to sell magazines, was not strong enough on TV to motor the show past two seasons.
Hanley continued working almost exclusively on TV, including on shows like The Odd Couple (1970), Nanny and the Professor (1970), Love, American Style (1970-1973), The Rookies (1974), Welcome Back, Kotter (1975), Emergency! (1976), How the West Was Won (1977) and CHiPs (1978).
She was reunited with her Jeannie co-star Barbara Eden (b. 1931) for 30 episodes of the TV adaptation of the film Harper Valley P.T.A. (1981-1982) as Wanda Reilly Taylor, a character not found in the film. She went on to make her one and only film appearance in the Eden vehicle Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984).
Other TV guest spots included bits on Simon & Simon (1982 & 1988), Riptide (1985), Jake and the Fatman (1987), Murder, She Wrote (1990), Columbo (1990), The New Adam-12 (1991) and — her swan song — Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1996).
Hanley has no immeidate survivors. She was married to prolific TV director E.W. Swackhamer (1927-1994) from 1969 until his 1994 death.
Bridget Hanley looks exactly like my mother