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Vera Miles Poster

Vera Miles

Biography

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Jump to: Overview (3)  | Mini Bio (1)  | Family (2)  | Trade Mark (1)  | Trivia (28)  | Salary (1)

Overview (3)

Born in Boise City, Oklahoma, USA
Birth NameVera June Ralston
Height 5' 3½" (1.61 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Born in Boise City, Oklahoma, Vera Miles attended school in Pratt, Kansas and Wichita, Kansas. The patrician beauty of Miss Miles won her the title of "Miss Kansas" in 1948, leading soon to small roles in Hollywood films and television series. Fame came to the forthright, spirited Miles when she attracted the attention of two master directors, Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford. Ford cast her in the classic western The Searchers (1956) and Hitchcock, who put her under personal contract and hailed her as his "new Grace Kelly", paired her with the great Henry Fonda in The Wrong Man (1956). Hitchcock cast Miles in the potentially star-making role of Judy Barton in Vertigo (1958), but Miles withdrew from the film when she became pregnant. Hitchcock gave Miles a supporting role in another masterpiece Psycho (1960), as did Ford when he cast her opposite John Wayne and James Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), She also starred in such films as Beau James (1957) opposite Bob Hope, The FBI Story (1959) opposite Stewart, Back Street (1961) opposite Susan Hayward and John Gavin and Sergeant Ryker (1968) opposite Lee Marvin, as well as showing her consistently remarkable and versatile talent on dozens of popular television movies and series including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962), The Twilight Zone (1959), The Outer Limits (1963), The Fugitive (1963), My Three Sons (1960), Bonanza (1959), Columbo (1971) and Murder, She Wrote (1984). In 1983, she reprised her role as "Lila Crane" in the film sequel Psycho II (1983), starring Anthony Perkins. Although, too often, the stunningly beautiful Miles' gifts were underutilized, before her retirement in 1995, hers was a most intriguing and enduring Hollywood career.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: alfiehitchie

Family (2)

Spouse Robert Jones (1973 - 1975)  (divorced)
Keith Larsen (16 July 1960 - 26 October 1971)  (divorced)  (1 child)
Gordon Scott (14 April 1956 - 2 March 1960)  (divorced)  (1 child)
Bob Miles (November 1948 - 1954)  (divorced)  (2 children)
Parents Thomas Ralston
Burnice Ralston

Trade Mark (1)

An unaffected, icy mid-period "Hitchcock blonde"

Trivia (28)

Mother of Debra Miles (b. 1950) and Kelley Miles (b. 1952) with Bob Miles; Michael Scott (b. 1957) with Gordon Scott; and Eric Larsen (b. 1961) with Keith Larsen.
Was a favorite actress of Alfred Hitchcock after Grace Kelly retired, but pregnancy prevented her from many starring roles.
Was a contestant on You Bet Your Life (1950) on April 4, 1951. She and her partner won $8 in the quiz, guessed the secret word ("hand") and incorrectly answered the De Soto-Plymouth $5,500 Question ("Who was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?").
In the late 1940s, she made a television commercial for Lustre Creme shampoo.
Had appeared in the trailer for The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953).
Her scenes as John Wayne's wife in The Green Berets (1968) were deleted from the movie before its release.
In Italy, a great number of her films were dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta or Micaela Giustiniani. She was occasionally dubbed by Miranda Bonansea, Renata Marini, Dhia Cristiani and most notably by Lydia Simoneschi in Psycho (1960).
By sheer coincidence, all three of Vera's handsome, strapping ex-husbands died within a short time span of each other. Her third husband, Keith Larsen died on December 13, 2006; first husband/stuntman and small part actor Bob Miles died on April 12, 2007; and bodybuilder second husband actor Gordon Scott, who played Tarzan in films, died on April 30, 2007.
In 1948, she placed third in the Miss America contest and after being crowned Miss Kansas.
In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), John Wayne pursued Miss Miles, but lost her to James Stewart. Six years later, his luck improved. Miles played Wayne's wife in Hellfighters (1968) and The Green Berets (1968), though her scenes in the latter were left on the cutting room floor.
Changed her name to Vera Miles (derived from her first married name) upon first arriving in Hollywood, due to there already being a Vera Ralston who was working there at the time.
Mother-in-law of Gabe Essoe. Ex-stepmother of Keith Larsen Jr..
Retired from acting in 1995 after 45 years in the motion picture industry; resides in Palm Desert, California.
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1652 Vine Street in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
She was cast as the wife of the U.S. President (played by Charles Durning) in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), a role involving two scenes only. Director Robert Aldrich praised her performance, but, as the film was running long, he cut both her scenes out completely.
She was portrayed by Jessica Biel in Hitchcock (2012).
Arguably best known for playing Marion Crane's sister in Psycho (1960), a role later played by Julianne Moore. Miles also appeared in the premiere episode of The Fugitive (1963), which was also later turned into a film with Moore.
Grandmother of Jordan Essoe and Joshua Essoe.
Along with Anthony Perkins and Virginia Gregg, she is one of only three actors to appear in both Psycho (1960) and Psycho II (1983).
In her senescence, she has made no secret of her contempt for the books about Alfred Hitchcock written by Donald Spoto, insisting that his repeated claims that she and Hitchcock had an antagonistic relationship are quite false and that she thought of Hitchcock "very fondly".
She was considered for the role of Judy Barton in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958), but she became pregnant and was unavailable. The role instead went to Kim Novak.
Is only 10 years older than Katharine Ross, who played her daughter in Hellfighters (1968).
Referenced in Sidney Lumet's The Morning After (1986).
Once in a fan letter response, she was questioned about if she had seen Hitchcock (2012) and if so what did she think of Jessica Biel's portrayal of her. In answer, Miles simply wrote back "Didn't, won't see".
Originally, she was considered for the role of Marion Crane in Psycho (1960) and Janet Leigh was intended for the role of Lila Crane. After a few screen tests, the actresses roles were reversed when they, and Hitchcock, agreed that it would be better for both them and the characters centered within the screenplay.
She has appeared in three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Searchers (1956), Psycho (1960) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).
As of the passing of Patricia Hitchcock in August 2021, Miles is the last surviving credited cast member from Alfred Hitchcock's horror classic Psycho (1960).
She is a lifelong Republican.

Salary (1)

Psycho (1960) $10,000

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