Amanda Blake (Beverly Louise Neill)  
(February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989)

Actress Amanda Blake is best known for the role of the
red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on
the western CBS-TV series Gunsmoke (1955 – 1975)

Along with her fourth husband, Frank Gilbert, she ran
one of the first programs for breeding cheetahs in
captivity.         

In 1968, Blake was inducted into the Hall of Great
Western Performers at the National Cowboy and
Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. She
was the third performer inducted, after Tom Mix
and Gary Cooper, selected in 1958 and 1966,
respectively.

Blake died of liver failure brought on by viral hepatitis
at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California

       
          

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