Grace Lee Whitney

Grace Lee Whitney

Known for: Acting
Biography: 1930-04-01
Deathday: 2015-05-01 (85 years old)

Check on Amazon

Biography

Grace Lee Whitney (April 1, 1930 - May 1, 2015) was an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Janice Rand on the original Star Trek television series and subsequent Star Trek films. Born Mary Ann Chase, she was adopted by the Whitney family, who changed her name to Grace Elaine. She started her entertainment career as a "girl singer" on Detroit's WJR radio at the age of fourteen. After she left home, she began to call herself Lee Whitney, eventually becoming known as Grace Lee Whitney. In her late teens, she moved to Chicago where she opened in nightclubs for Billie Holiday and Buddy Rich, and toured with the Spike Jones and Fred Waring Bands.


Whitney debuted on Broadway in Top Banana, playing Miss Holland. Following the successful run of the show, she joined the cast in Hollywood, where she recreated the role in the 1954 movie of the same name. In Los Angeles, Whitney auditioned for and was cast in the starring role of Lucy Brown in the national tour of The Threepenny Opera.


Whitney made more than a hundred television appearances following her television dramatic debut in Cowboy G-Men in 1953; The Real McCoys, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, Bat Masterson, The Rifleman, 77 Sunset Strip, Bewitched, Batman, and The Untouchables. During the 1950s and early 1960s, Whitney was also on live television shows including You Bet Your Life, The Red Skelton Show, The Jimmy Durante Show and The Ernie Kovacs Show. Whitney was cast as a member of the all-female band in Billy Wilder's comedy Some Like It Hot. She shared several scenes with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe, including the famed "upper berth" sequence. She had uncredited roles in House of Wax, Top Banana, The Naked and the Dead, and Pocketful of Miracles.


Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry cast Whitney in the role of Yeoman Janice Rand, the personal assistant to Captain James T. Kirk, in 1966. Whitney appeared in eight of the first fifteen episodes, after which she was released from contract. She had claimed that, while still under contract, she was sexually assaulted by an executive associated with the series. Later, in a public interview, she stated that Leonard Nimoy had been her main source of support during that time. She went into more details about the assault in her book The Longest Trek, but refused to name the executive, saying in the book, "This is my story, not his." Whitney returned to the Star Trek franchise in the 1970s after DeForest Kelley saw Whitney on the unemployment line and told her that fans had been asking for her at fan conventions. Whitney reprised her role as Janice Rand, who had received a promotion to chief petty officer in Star Trek: The Motion Picture). She also appeared in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, with another promotion, as Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand. Five years later, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the franchise, she returned in the 1996 Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback", along with George Takei. She also reprised her role in two internet Star Trek episodes.


In the 1970s, she appeared in The Bold Ones, Cannon, and Hart to Hart. In 1998, she appeared in an episode of Diagnosis: Murder, which reunited her with her Star Trek colleagues George Takei, Walter Koenig and Majel Barrett.

Advertisement

Filmography

all 49

TV Shows 34

Movies 15

self 3

Self
Bring Back... Star Trek

Bring Back... Star Trek (2009)

Movie
Self
Bring Back...

Bring Back... (2005)

TV
Commander Janice Rand
Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Voyager (1995)

TV
6.25
Encounter Group Abductee
Diagnosis: Murder

Diagnosis: Murder (1993)

TV
6.46
Excelsior Communications Officer (Janice Rand)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Movie
5.64
Commander Rand
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Movie
5.42
Commander Janice Rand (Woman in Cafeteria)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Movie
5.61
The Kid with the 200 I.Q.

The Kid with the 200 I.Q. (1983)

Movie
CPO Janice Rand
Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Movie
5.82
Hart to Hart

Hart to Hart (1979)

TV
6.32
Cannon

Cannon (1971)

TV
6
Suzette
The Name of the Game

The Name of the Game (1968)

TV
The Outsider

The Outsider (1968)

TV
Velma
Way Down Cellar

Way Down Cellar (1968)

Movie
Mannix

Mannix (1967)

TV
6.38
Cimarron Strip

Cimarron Strip (1967)

TV
Rango

Rango (1967)

TV
Yeoman Janice Rand
Star Trek

Star Trek (1966)

TV
7.9
Neila
Batman

Batman (1966)

TV
5
Eileen
Mona McCluskey

Mona McCluskey (1965)

TV
Maggie
The Big Valley

The Big Valley (1965)

TV
6.2
Billie / Millie
Run for Your Life

Run for Your Life (1965)

TV
Texas Rose
The Man from Galveston

The Man from Galveston (1963)

Movie
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963)

TV
Tangerine O'Shea
Temple Houston

Temple Houston (1963)

TV
Carla Duveen
The Outer Limits

The Outer Limits (1963)

TV
7.4
Sally Burns
Arrest and Trial

Arrest and Trial (1963)

TV
Kiki
Irma la Douce

Irma la Douce (1963)

Movie
7
Dawn
The Eleventh Hour

The Eleventh Hour (1962)

TV
Nina / Heather
The Virginian

The Virginian (1962)

TV
Tracey Phillips
A Public Affair

A Public Affair (1962)

Movie
Queenie's Broad (uncredited)
Pocketful of Miracles

Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

Movie
Surfside 6

Surfside 6 (1960)

TV
Blonde Lady Sitting on Caboose / Saloon Girl
Overland Trail

Overland Trail (1960)

TV
Susie
The Detectives

The Detectives (1959)

TV
Fran
The Untouchables

The Untouchables (1959)

TV
5.29
Rosella (uncredited)
Some Like It Hot

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Movie
6.59
Natasha
77 Sunset Strip

77 Sunset Strip (1958)

TV
Louise Talbot
Bat Masterson

Bat Masterson (1958)

TV
The Rifleman

The Rifleman (1958)

TV
6.67
The Walter Winchell File

The Walter Winchell File (1957)

TV
Ellen
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (1956)

TV
Pearl
Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke (1955)

TV
6
Saloon Girl (as Ruth Whitney)
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955)

TV
Miss Holland (uncredited)
Top Banana

Top Banana (1954)

Movie
Audrey Henderson
General Electric Theater

General Electric Theater (1953)

TV
Verna
Death Valley Days

Death Valley Days (1952)

TV
Cecelia Mullen
The Texan Meets Calamity Jane

The Texan Meets Calamity Jane (1950)

Movie
self (archival)
To the Journey - Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager

To the Journey - Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager

Movie

Ratings

Average 6.52
Based on 941 Thousand movie and tv ratings over time
1950
1959
1963
1962
2009
Advertisement
Grace Lee WhitneyGrace Lee WhitneyGrace Lee WhitneyGrace Lee Whitney

Information

Known For
Acting

Gender
Female

Birthday
1930-04-01

Deathday
2015-05-01 (85 years old)

Birth Name
Mary Ann Chase

Birth Place
Ann Arbor, United States of America

Citizenships
United States of America

Also Known As
Amazing Grace, Gracie, Mary Ann Chase


This article uses material from Wikipedia.
Advertisement
William Shatner
Grace Lee Whitney
William Shatner worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
4 Movies
6 TV Shows
DeForest Kelley
Grace Lee Whitney
DeForest Kelley worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
4 Movies
6 TV Shows
Gene Roddenberry
Grace Lee Whitney
Gene Roddenberry worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
5 Movies
4 TV Shows
George Takei
Grace Lee Whitney
George Takei worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
5 Movies
4 TV Shows
Walter Koenig
Grace Lee Whitney
Walter Koenig worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
4 Movies
5 TV Shows
Dabbs Greer
Grace Lee Whitney
Dabbs Greer worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
9 TV Shows
H.M. Wynant
Grace Lee Whitney
H.M. Wynant worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
Claude Akins
Grace Lee Whitney
Claude Akins worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
Leonard Nimoy
Grace Lee Whitney
Leonard Nimoy worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
4 Movies
4 TV Shows
R. G. Armstrong
Grace Lee Whitney
R. G. Armstrong worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
Hal Baylor
Grace Lee Whitney
Hal Baylor worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
William Boyett
Grace Lee Whitney
William Boyett worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
Morgan Woodward
Grace Lee Whitney
Morgan Woodward worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
Stephen McNally
Grace Lee Whitney
Stephen McNally worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
John Hoyt
Grace Lee Whitney
John Hoyt worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
Ken Mayer
Grace Lee Whitney
Ken Mayer worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
Frank Ferguson
Grace Lee Whitney
Frank Ferguson worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
1 Movie
7 TV Shows
Leo Penn
Grace Lee Whitney
Leo Penn worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
Larry Pennell
Grace Lee Whitney
Larry Pennell worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
8 TV Shows
James Doohan
Grace Lee Whitney
James Doohan worked together with Grace Lee Whitney in:
4 Movies
3 TV Shows
  • Grace Lee Whitney
    Grace Lee Whitney
  • Filmography
  • Information
  • Related Persons
Social Media
X
Facebook
Pinterest
Telegram
Download
iOS Application
Made in Ukraine 🇺🇦
Copyright © MovieFit 2018 – 2024
All external content remains the property of its respective owner.