Nancy Kovack


Nancy Kovack is a retired American film and television actress.

Biography

In 1936, Nancy Kovack was born in Flint, Michigan. Her father, Michael A. Kovack, was the manager of a General Motors plant.
With an IQ of 152, the highly intelligent and driven Kovack graduated high school early, entering the University of Michigan at the age of 15 and graduating in 1954, when she was just 19.
Kovack began to proactively plan her career, starting to raise her profile by working as a model, ultimately becoming one of the Glee Girls for Jackie Gleason.
In 1958, Kovack appeared in the original Broadway production of The Disenchanted.
As her profile increased, Kovack began to gain roles in Hollywood films, such as Strangers When We Meet with Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak.
One of Kovack's most notable early film roles was as the high priestess Medea in Jason and the Argonauts.
File:Jason and the Argonauts Nancy Kovack 1.png|thumb|Kovack as Medea in Jason and the Argonauts.
Kovack continued to build her career with roles in Diary of a Madman with Vincent Price, The Outlaws Is Coming with The Three Stooges, Sylvia with Carroll Baker, The Great Sioux Massacre, The Silencers with Dean Martin, Tarzan and the Valley of Gold with Mike Henry, Frankie and Johnny with Elvis Presley, and Carl Reiner's directorial debut, Enter Laughing.
Kovack spent years in Iran, and starred in three films that were made there, returning to the United States in 1968.
Kovack appeared on a number of television series including Bewitched, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart, Perry Mason, 12 O'Clock High, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Invaders, Burke's Law, Family Affair, The Name of the Game, and Hawaii Five-O.
Kovack notably appeared in a key role as a native medicine woman and femme fatale in one of the original Star Trek episodes, "A Private Little War".
In 1969, Kovack was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for an appearance on Mannix. In addition to her guest appearances on television programs, Kovack was hostess of the game show Beat the Clock.
Kovack's last film role was in Marooned, a science-fiction drama starring Gregory Peck and Gene Hackman. Credited as Nancy Mehta, she played the murder victim in the TV movie/series pilot Ellery Queen.
In 1969, Kovack married Indian conductor Zubin Mehta, who was music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and later the music director of the New York Philharmonic. Until 2006, Kovack and Mehta spent some months of the year in residence in Munich, Germany, where Mehta was the music director of the Bavarian State Opera.
Kovack left Hollywood primarily due to her marriage to conductor Zubin Mehta in 1969. She chose to prioritize her marriage and focus on her life with him rather than pursue her acting career.
As of 1978, Kovack was reportedly a Christian Scientist.
In the early 1990s, Susan McDougal worked as Kovack's personal assistant. After her employment ended, Kovack took legal action against McDougal for alleged embezzlement. McDougal was acquitted in 1998 on all twelve charges. A suit by McDougal in 1999 for malicious prosecution ended in a settlement.

Filmography

  • Strangers When We Meet – Marcia
  • Cry for Happy – Camille Cameron
  • The Wild Westerners – Rose Sharon
  • Diary of a Madman – Odette Mallotte
  • Jason and the Argonauts – Medea
  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour – Karen Osterman
  • 12 O’Clock High – Lt. Irene Cooper
  • Bewitched – Sheila Sommers, Clio Vanita
  • The Outlaws Is Coming – Annie Oakley
  • Sylvia – Big Shirley
  • Honey West – Nicole
  • The Great Sioux Massacre – Libbie Custer
  • I Dream of Jeannie – Rita Mitchell
  • The Silencers – Barbara
  • Frankie and Johnny – Nellie Bly
  • Tarzan and the Valley of Gold – Sophia Renault
  • Diamond 33
  • Batman – Queenie
  • Town's Hero
  • Enter Laughing – Linda aka Miss B
  • Shab-e-fereshtegan, aka Night of the Angels
  • Star Trek: The Original Series - Nona
  • Family Affair - Michelle Reid
  • Marooned – Teresa Stone
  • Hawaii Five-O - Dr. Alexandria Kemp
  • Mannix
  • The Invisible Man - Carolyn Klae
  • ‘’Cannon’’ -Charlotte Frawley