Early life and career
Talbott was born in Glendale, California, a city co-founded by one of her grandfathers. She began her career as a child actress in such films as Maytime (1937) , Sweet and Low-down (1944) and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (1945). Her sister, Lori Talbott, also became an actress. After leaving school, Talbott formed a dramatic group and played "arena"-style shows at various clubs. She stopped acting following her first marriage, and resumed after her divorce, working extensively in film and television.
Film roles
Talbott worked in film on a regular basis during the 1950s. She appeared in Crashout (1955), the Humphrey Bogart comedy We're No Angels (1955), Lucy Gallant (1955), and All That Heaven Allows (1955).
She later became known as a 'scream queen' after appearing in a number of horror films including The Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957), The Cyclops (1957), I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958), and The Leech Woman (1960).
Her final film role was as Bri Quince, the love interest in the 1966 Western film An Eye for an Eye.
Television roles
In 1955, Talbott appeared in TV Reader's Digest episode America's First Great Lady as Pocahontas.
On November 27, 1956, she starred as Maureen in a science fiction episode of the television anthology series Conflict entitled "Man From 1997". On October 1, 1957, she appeared as Linda Brazwell in the episode "Reluctant Hero" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western television series Sugarfoot, in which her character is involved in a range war with the elderly rancher that Sugarfoot (Will Hutchins) is working for.
Talbott's multiple television credits also includes the syndicated Adventures of Superman, The Range Rider and The Cisco Kid, the NBC western anthology series Frontier, and the syndicated western-themed crime drama, Sheriff of Cochise with John Bromfield. She appeared in the 1956 episode "The Singing Preacher" of the religion anthology series, Crossroads, and in the fourth episode of the first season of Gunsmoke that same year, entitled "Home Surgery", appearing later in the season episodes "Cody's Code", and "The Cousin."
Talbott was cast in the syndicated American Civil War drama Gray Ghost, the 1958 episode "Fatal Memory" on CBS's Wanted: Dead or Alive (returning for the 1960 episode "Tolliver Bender"), the 1959 episode "Have Sword, Will Duel" of the NBC western Cimarron City, and in the 1961 NBC western Whispering Smith in the role of Cora Gates. She guest-starred as Jenny in the 1958 episode "A Cup of Black Coffee" of the CBS crime drama Richard Diamond, Private Detective. She also guest-starred in several episodes of ABC's Zorro.
In 1960, Talbott made guest-starring appearances as Nora Lanyard and Lucinda Jennings in the episodes "Landlubbers" and "Devil in Skirts" of the NBC western series, Riverboat. She was cast as Sandy in "The Velvet Frame" of the ABC/WB drama, The Roaring 20s. She also appeared in the ABC western series, The Rebel. In 1961, she portrayed Maria Mosner in the episode "The Twenty-Six Paper" of the ABC adventure series, The Islanders. That same year she guest-starred in the episode "Buddy's Wife" of the CBS sitcom Bringing Up Buddy.
She appeared on CBS's Rawhide in the episodes "The Incident of the Calico Gun" (1959), "Incident of the Broken Word" (1960) and "Prairie Elephant" (1961). She appeared in the 1961 episode "Terror in the Afternoon" of the syndicated crime drama The Brothers Brannagan. Talbott made four guest appearances on the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason: defendant Eve Nesbitt in "The Case of the Angry Dead Man," Ann Gilrain in "The Case of the Crying Comedian" (both in 1961), co-defendant Bonnie Lloyd in the 1963 episode, "The Case of the Elusive Element," and Minna Rohan in the 1966 episode, "The Case of the Unwelcomed Well."
In 1965, Talbott was cast as Kate Melville, a temporary woman sheriff and the daughter of a sheriff who clashes with a judge over courtroom fairness and frontier justice in the episode "Kate Melville and the Law" of the syndicated series, Death Valley Days.
Personal life
Talbott was married four times; her husbands included Dr. Patrick Mullally, Gene Parrish and Dr. Steven J. Capabianco.
Death
On September 19, 2000, Talbott died in a hospital in Glendale, California, as a result of kidney failure. She was survived by her fourth husband, Dr. Patrick Mullally, and by two children, Mark Charles Parrish and Mea Mullally.
