Betty Anne Rees, a 1970s starlet and journeyman actress, has passed away at the age of 81.
According to her niece, Kathleen Loucks, the performer, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the early 1990s, died on June 3 at her home in Hemet, California.
She told The Hollywood Reporter that her aunt suffered ‘after a series of falls and a possible stroke.’
The Ohio native began her prime time career in Hollywood with an appearance on the TV series Shane in 1966, and went on to make guest appearances in a variety of popular television shows, including Mannix, Medical Center and Barnaby Jones.
She is perhaps best known for her role in The Unholy Rollers as a skater unhappy about a beautiful new athlete joining the team.
Betty Anne Rees, a B-movie starlet and journeyman actress from the 1970s who starred in The Unholy Rollers and Sugar Hill has passed away. She was 81
Rees starred as the antagonist opposite the 1970 Playboy Playmate of the Year’s Claudia Jennings.
The Roger Corman produced movie was co-written and directed by the late Vernon Zimmerman and edited by upcoming filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
The film was hastily put together after the success of the Raquel Welch lead roller derby project Kansas City Bomber, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Rees also got notice for her work in Sugar Hill, starring as the girlfriend of a racist mobster.
The mobster and Rees’ Celeste get their just desserts when after the title character Diana ‘Sugar’ Hill, played by Marki Bey, uses voodoo to raise her enslaved ancestors from the dead to avenge her boyfriend’s murder.
Other film included the spooky Deathmaster and the equally frightening The Photographer.
Rees starred as the secretary to Fred MacMurray’s Steve Douglas on three episodes of My Three Sons during its final season in 1971-72.
The actress’ last credit on IMDB is for an guest spot on The Incredible Hulk in 1978.
In 1972’s The Unholy Roller, Rees starred as a roller derby skater unhappy about about a beautiful new athlete played by the 1970 Playboy Playmate of the Year’s Claudia Jennings, joining the team
In 1974’s Sugar Hill, Rees starred as the girlfriend of a racist gangster, who gets what’s coming to her after the title character uses voodoo to call forth her enslaved ancestors to avenge the murder of her boyfriend
Rees graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1961 and attended the University of Miami, before moving to California and studying at the Pasadena Playhouse.
She made appearances on daytime dramas, including General Hospital and The Doctors.
After leaving the profession Rees used her creative skills to manage Gloria Marshall Figure Salons and design kitchens.
She was said to have invented a goofy 1980s gift for bosses called the Executive Teething Ring, according to the outlet.
She is survived by Loucks, her sister, Barbara, nephew, Brian, and her cats, Honey Bear and Lovey.
Both animals need to be rehomed. Anyone interested should contact Loucks at kloucks620@gmail.com.
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