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Inger Stevens 1934 - 1970

Inger Stevens was born on October 18, 1934 in Sweden, and died at age 35 years old on April 30, 1970. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Inger Stevens.

Inger Stevens

October 18, 1934

Sweden

April 30, 1970

Female

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Inger Stevens Inger Stevens (1934 - 1970)

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Inger Stevens' History: 1934 - 1970

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Introduction

Inger Stevens - Movie Star (born Ingrid Stensland) October 18, 1934 – April 30, 1970)
10/18

1934

Birthday

October 18, 1934

Birthdate

Sweden

Birthplace

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04/30

1970

Death

April 30, 1970

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

Unknown
Death location

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Obituary

HOLLYWOOD, April 30 (UPI) —Inger Stevens, the blonde actress who played the beguiling housekeeper on “The Farmer's Daughter” television series for three years, was found dead in her home today. The cause of the 35‐year‐old actress's death was listed as “acute barbiturate intoxication.” The coroner's office said further tests were under way to determine how the pills came to be taken and whether the death would be ruled a suicide. Miss Stevens died on the way to a hospital after she was found semi‐conscious in her home. ‘A Hard Luck Girl’ Miss Stevens was one of the few actresses who was able to win fame in television and then move on to stardom in the movies. Despite her successes, she was, in her own words, “very much a hard luck girl.” On New Year's Day, 1959, she swallowed 25 sleeping pills and a quantity of ammonia in an attempt to take her own life. On another occasion she narrowly missed being killed in a fiery plane crash. In an interview some years ago, Miss Stevens said that in addition to these near‐catastrophes, she often felt depressed over “many other sorrows, including the fact I came from a broken home, my marriage was a disaster, and I am constantly feeling lonely.” The actress was born Oct. 48, 1934 in Stockholm. When she was 13, her father, Per Stensland, brought her to this country to live with him, following the breakup of his marriage. At the time Mr. Stensland was studying on a Fulbright scholarship at Harvard, but he later remarried and moved to Manhattan, Kansas. Unhappy there, she ran away to Kansas City at 16, and worked as a waitress and then as a $60‐a‐week dancer in a burlesque show. Her father found her, however, and made her return home. After graduation from high school, she came to New York, where she met Anthony Soglio, an agent who put her under contract and changed her last name to Stevens. They were married in 1955, but separated after four months, and in 1958 they were divorced. Miss Stevens did not remarry. While working in television commercials and as a chorus girl at the Latin Quarter, Miss Stevens took acting lessons from Lee Strasberg of the Actors Studio. Soon she was being seen on such television series as “Studio One,” “Kraft Theater.” and “Playhouse 90.” Miss Stevens appeared in New England stock company productions of “The Women” and “Glad Tidings.” She made her Broadway stage debut in “Debut” in 1957, but the play folded quickly. It did, however, bring her to the attention of Hollywood, and the following year she made her first film, “Man on Fire.” Her co‐star was Bing Crosby, with whom she had a highly publicized romance. He later married Kathryn Grant. Among her other films were “Cry Terror,” “The World, the Flesh and the Devil,” “The Buccaneer,” “Five Card Stud,” and “Guide for the Married Man.” Her latest was “A Dream of Kings,” with Anthony Quinn. In 1963 Miss Stevens replaced Barbara Bel Geddes as star of the Broadway play “Mary, Mary.” That same year she began a three‐year stint on TV as star of the American Broad casting Company's “The Farmer's Daughter.” Bad luck always plagued her, Miss Stevens said. She collapsed, along with 11 others filming “Cry Terror” in the Hudson Tubes, suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Her jaw was dislocated while filming a “Zane Grey Theater” TV show. In 1959, after a depressing New Year's Eve party, she attempted suicide. And in 1961, she was the last passenger to leave a jet that crashed on landing at Lisbon and exploded half‐minute after her exit. “I know there's got to be some reason I survived,” she said. “I hope to leave something behind me, some contribution. You know, I'm rather fortunate to be here at all.” In recent years Miss Stevens had been busy making films, and was scheduled to begin new TV series in the fall. She took an active interest in the California Council for Mentally R******* Children, of which she was chairman. She shared her home in Laurel Canyon with a woman friend, Lola McNally, who found her body. Miss Stevens is survived by her father, mother and a brother, Karl.

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