Olive Deering

Olive Deering
Olive Deering in 1943
Born	Olive Corn (1918-10-11)October 11, 1918 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	March 22, 1986(1986-03-22) (aged 67) New York City, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Cancer
Resting place	Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1947–1973
Spouse(s)	Leo Penn (1947-1952; divorced)

Olive Deering (born Olive Corn; October 11, 1918 – March 22, 1986) was an American actress of film, television, and the stage, active from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. She was a life member of The Actors Studio, as was her elder brother, Alfred Ryder.

Deering was the daughter of Zelda "Sadie" (née Baruchin; born c. 1889) and Max Corn (born c. 1887), a dentist. Her parents were Russian Jews. She began attending the Professional Children's School when she was 11.

Her first stage role was a walk-on bit in Girls in Uniform (1933). She appeared onstage in Moss Hart's Winged Victory, Richard II (starring Maurice Evans) and Counsellor-at-Law (starring Paul Muni). She received for her performance in the Los Angeles production of Tennessee Williams's Suddenly Last Summer. Other stage appearances included No For An Answer, Ceremony of Innocence, Marathon '33, The Young Elizabeth, They Walk Alone, and Garden District.

In 1940, Deering and Ryder co-starred in Medicine Show on Broadway. In 1980, Deering and Ryder appeared in The Harold Clurman Theater's production of "The Two-Character Play." Although Williams maintained an apartment across the street in the Manhattan Plaza, he did not attend a performance. Deering received good notices for the play.

The films she appeared in included Shock Treatment and Caged. In 1948, director Cecil B. DeMille cast her as Miriam, the Danite girl who loves Samson, in his film Samson and Delilah. In his autobiography, DeMille wrote that Deering was "one whose talent and dedication to her art should carry her very far in the theater, whether on screen or stage." DeMille cast her again, this time in the role of the real biblical Miriam, the sister of Moses, in The Ten Commandments (1956).