Who Was Carla Balenda? Know About The Last Surviving Actresses From Golden Age Of Hollywood As She Passes Away At 98

Carla Balenda, one of Hollywood's most popular actresses in the 40s and 60s has passed away at the age of 98. Read on to know more about her!

By Marita Pinto

Published on Jul 23, 2024 | 11:14 AM IST | 46.9K

Image Courtesy: Getty Images

Trigger Warning: This article contains references to an individual's death.

Carla Balenda, who co-starred in the RKO Pictures thriller Sealed Cargo with Dana Andrews and Claude Rains, died at 98. According to her grandson Jim Martin who informed The Hollywood Reporter, Balenda, passed away on April 9 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills from natural causes.

Carla Balenda, the last surviving actress from Golden Age of Hollywood passes away

Balenda was one of the most popular film and television actresses with a career spanning from the 1940s through the 1960s. Balenda also appeared as Mickey Rooney's girlfriend in the NBC sitcom Hey Mulligan.

Read further to know more about Balenda's illustrious career and life.

Who was Carla Balenda?

Early life

Carla Balenda was born in Carthage, New York, on November 22, 1925. She performed in summer stock theater while attending high school in Baldwin, Long Island. At seventeen, she moved to Hollywood and signed a contract with Columbia Pictures. She starred in movies including Rustlers of the Badlands (1945), Eadie Was a Lady (1945), and Swing in the Saddle (1944).

Career

She also appeared in two syndicated television series: The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu (1955–1956), starring Glen Gordon, as a nurse; and from 1958–1963, she returned to CBS’ Lassie as Miss Hazlitt, Timmy’s (Jon Provost) instructor.

Carla Balenda featured with Gig Young in the films Sealed Cargo (1950) and Hunt the Man Down (1950). She later collaborated with Elliott Reid on The Whip Hand (1951), Outlaw Women (1952) with Marie Windsor, Prince of Pirates (1953) with John Derek, and Phantom Stallion (1954) with Slim Pickens.

Before quitting acting in the 1960s and becoming associated with The Dolls, a charity, she returned to Bliss in 1957 and appeared in episodes of shows including Wagon Train, The Gray Ghost, The Real McCoys, The Rebel, Perry Mason, and others.

Personal life

She married William Rutter, a publisher of legal study guides, in 1965 until he died in 2012. She was earlier married to John Martin, her high school love, from 1944 until their 1959 divorce.

Carla Balenda is now survived by her three children Paul, Joanna, and Charles; 14 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

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