You wanted to know . . . if Annette Gorman was a murder victim

Annette Gorman, 1963 press photo

A reader wanted to know to if Annette Gorman was the same person as Stephanie Gorman, a murder victim.  The answer is NO.

Annette Gorman is an actress born on September 5, 1947 in New York City, USA.  From 1959 until 1961, she made ten appearances on the long-running television anthology series, The Magical World of Disney.  She also played the role of Pamela Harrington in Five Finger Exercise, a 1962 feature film starring Rosalind Russell, Jack Hawkins and Maximilian Schell.

In addition, Annette appeared as Pauline in a 1962 episode of the TV sitcom Mr. Ed entitled "Ed, the Matchmaker" (Season 2, Episode 26, Air Date: April 29, 1962).  That same year, she guest-starred in episodes of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis  ("Flow Gently Sweet Money," Season 4, Episode 9, Air Date: November 21, 1962) and Leave it to Beaver.

In the Leave it to Beaver episode entitled, "Beaver's Autobiography" (Season 6, Episode 13, Air Date: December 20, 1962), Annette portrayed Betsy Carter, the brainiest girl in Beaver Cleaver's (Jerry Mathers) class.  In the episode, Beaver enlists Betsy to help him flesh out the required words for an assignment to write his autobiography.  When she discovers that Beaver is just using her, she makes up a ridiculous life story to embarrass him.

Annette had role in a 1964 episode of Karen, a short-lived sitcom created by Joe Cnnnelly and Bob Bob Mosher, who also created Leave it to Beaver.  She played Bonnie in an episode of the series called "Father Daughter Dance" (Season 1, Episode 7, Air Date: November 16, 1964).  That is Annette's last television credit.  She had an uncredited bit part as a teen girl in the 1966 feature film Batman: The Movie, starring Adam West and Burt Ward.  Her eighth and last screen acting credit is a small role as Mamie's New Girl.in A Time for Dying, a 1969 Western.

After A Time for Dying, Annette Gorman seems to have left her career.  I have not been able to discover any recent information about her online, nor have I been able to find the reason why she stopped acting.  As far as I can determine, Annette is still alive and is nearing her 72nd birthday (September 5th, 2019).  Perhaps she just wants her life to be private.

Annette, if you are willing and able, I would greatly appreciate an email from you.  Readers of TV Banter and Leave it to Beaver fans would enjoy hearing from you.


STEPHANIE GORMAN  

Stephanie Gorman

Unfortunately, Annette Gorman has been confused with another actress, the late Stephanie Gorman, who was born on June 11, 1949 in Los Angeles, California.  Stephanie sang "America, America" in Pollyanna, the 1960 Disney film starring Hayley Mills.  She also played a teenage dance extra in the 1963 comedy/musical Bye Bye Birdie, staring Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke and Ann-Margret.

Stephanie Gorman was an honours student at Hamilton High School in West Los Angeles. She was a promising young actress who met a tragic death at the age of 16.  On August 5, 1965, Stephanie was brutally raped and murdered by an intruder who broke into her Los Angeles home while the rest of her family was out.  Her body was discovered by her elder sister, Cheryl, 19, and her father, Ed, a prominent attorney, when they returned home.  The killer was never apprehended, although Cheryl has made efforts to help solve the case.  Stephanie Gorman's murder has been chronicled on the documentary TV series James Ellroy's L.A.: City of Demons


SOURCES: Homicide Special: A Year with the LAPD's Elite Dectective Unit, by Miles Cowan; International Movie Data Base (IMDb.com); Wikipedia


- Joanne