Natalie Trundy (born Natalie Trundy Campagna, August 5, 1940 – December 5, 2019)[1] was an American stage, film, and television actress.

Natalie Trundy
Born
Natalie Trundy Campagna

(1940-08-05)August 5, 1940
DiedDecember 5, 2019(2019-12-05) (aged 79)
OccupationActress
Years active1953–1978
Spouses
Charles H. Hirshon
(m. 1959; annul. 1960)
(m. 1968; died 1973)
Carmine Roberto Foggia
(m. 1974; div. 1980)
Scott Cristle
(m. 1982; div. 1984)
Andres Lopez
(m. 1985)
Children2

Early years

edit

Trundy (pronounced "Troon-dee") was born in Boston, Massachusetts,[2] the daughter of an Italian father, Frank Campagna, and an Irish mother, Natalie (née Trundy) Campagna.[3] Her father was a wealthy insurance executive, and she had a younger sister named Beverly Marie Campagna.[4] When she was young, her father's work resulted in the family moving to New York City, where she attended Marymount School of New York.[2]

Stage

edit

Trundy performed on Broadway when she was 12 years old, earning the role of 15-year-old Nancy in A Girl Can Tell by convincingly (and unknown to the producers) acting older than her true age during the auditions.[4][5]

Film

edit

As an actress, she starred in the 1962 film Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. In May 1963, she was struck by a car, and suffered a ruptured disc in her back, disrupting the momentum of her acting career as she spent a year recovering in a back brace.[6]

Trundy's second husband Arthur P. Jacobs produced films and television through his APJAC Productions. APJAC produced the original Planet of the Apes movie series. In the early 1970s, Trundy played the telepathic mutant Albina in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the early 1970s human Dr. Stephanie Branton in Escape from the Planet of the Apes, and featured as the nearer-future chimpanzee Lisa, the mate of Caesar, in both Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Trundy's last film was 1974's Huckleberry Finn, also produced by APJAC Productions.

Television

edit

Newspaper columnist Erskine Johnson once described Trundy as a "sort of electronic Shirley Temple who sparkled on TV between the ages of 11 and 16," adding that she appeared, uncredited, "in nearly 200 live New York TV shows" in those early days of television.[4]

As Trundy and television matured, she made a number of credited appearances in network television series, including the 1960 episode "The Twisted Image" on Thriller, the 1960 episode "Denver McKee" on Bonanza, the 1963 episode "The Case of the Golden Oranges" on Perry Mason, the 1963 episode "Valley of the Shadow" on The Twilight Zone, as well as guest appearances on episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Silent Force and Wagon Train. Trundy last appeared in a 1978 episode of the series Quincy, M.E..

Producing

edit

After her second husband's death in 1973, Trundy assumed control of his company, APJAC Productions.[7]

Personal life

edit

Trundy was married five times. In September 1959, 19-year-old Trundy married 22-year-old trust fund millionaire Charles Hirshon, but the marriage was annulled in 1960.[8] Her second husband was movie producer Arthur P. Jacobs. Trundy had two children (born 1976 and 1977) during her six-year marriage to her third husband Carmine Roberto Foggia. She had a short marriage to Scott Cristle in the early 1980s and married Andres Lopez in 1985.[9][unreliable source?]

Filmography

edit
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1956 The Monte Carlo Story Jane Hinkley
1957 The Careless Years Emily 'Miley' Meredith
1960 Walk Like a Dragon Mrs. Susan Allen
1962 Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation Susan Carver
1970 Beneath the Planet of the Apes Albina
1971 Escape from the Planet of the Apes Dr. Stephanie Branton
1972 Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Lisa
1973 Battle for the Planet of the Apes
1974 Huckleberry Finn Mrs. Loftus

Selected television appearances

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Natalie Trundy, Actress in Four 'Planet of the Apes' Movies,' Dies at 79". The Hollywood Reporter. January 5, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Hopper, Hedda (February 25, 1962). "Is This the 'New Grace Kelly'?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  3. ^ Brown, Vivian (January 29, 1957). "Natalie Near Starry Goal At Sweet 16". The Eagle. Texas, Bryan. Associated Press. p. 3. Retrieved April 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ a b c Johnson, Erskine (March 10, 1960). "Former Child Star To Act Despite Husband's Millions". The Gastonia Gazette. North Carolina, Gastonia. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 9. Retrieved April 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "Natalie Trundy". Playbill Vault. Playbill. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  6. ^ Official Natalie Trundy website, natalietrundy.com; accessed March 13, 2017.
  7. ^ Kleiner, Dick (August 21, 1973). "'Huck Finn' Rolls on". Standard-Speaker. Pennsylvania, Hazleton. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 17. Retrieved April 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ "Natalie Trundy Seeks Divorce". The Bridgeport Post. Connecticut, Bridgeport. United Press International. March 8, 1960. p. 42. Retrieved April 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ "Natalie Trundy – The Private Life and Times of Natalie Trundy. Natalie Trundy Pictures". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
edit