K.T. Stevens

K. T. Stevens
K. T. Stevens, YANK magazine, 1944
Born	Gloria Wood (1919-07-20)July 20, 1919 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	June 13, 1994(1994-06-13) (aged 74) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Cancer
Occupation	Film and television actress
Years active	1921-1994
Spouse(s)	Hugh Marlowe (1946-1968, divorced)
Children	Chris Marlowe Jeffrey Marlowe

K. T. Stevens (July 20, 1919 – June 13, 1994), born Gloria Wood in Los Angeles, California, was an American film actress.

The daughter of director Sam Wood, Gloria Wood made her first film appearance when she was just two years old in her father's second 1921 silent film, Peck's Bad Boy.

As an adult, she changed her name to K. T. Stevens to distance herself from her father's fame. She initially called herself Katherine Stevens, which people often shorted to "Katie," leading to the final version with the initials "K.T."

Stevens gained theatrical experience by doing in Skowhegan, Maine. Her Broadway credits include The Land Is Bright, Yankee Point, Nine Girls and Laura.

Stevens appeared in a number of films in the 1940s and 1950s, including The Great Man's Lady (1942) with Barbara Stanwyck, Address Unknown (1944), Port of New York (1949) with Yul Brynner, and Harriet Craig (1950) with Joan Crawford. She also appeared as Phyllis in the 1969 hit movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.

Stevens acted on episodic television in such series as Crossroads, The Rebel, The Brothers Brannagan, and appeared on the daytime soap operas General Hospital as part of the original cast (1963-1965), portraying Peggy Mercer who was engaged to Dr. Steve Hardy, Julie Olson's mother-in-law Helen Martin (1966-1967, 1969) on Days of Our Lives and most memorably, The Young and the Restless (1977-1981) as the veiled facially burned Vanessa Prentiss who plotted against Lorie Brooks to keep her from marrying her son, Lance, then plotted to have Lorie accused of her murder after she committed suicide. In the episode "New Neighbors" of the CBS sitcom, I Love Lucy, she played opposite Hayden Rorke as television actors who Lucy Ricardo mistakenly believes are foreign secret agents.