5 Overlooked Mariette Hartley TV Roles Every Western Fan Should Remember

BARQUERO, Mariette Hartley, 1970 — Everett Collection

Mariette Hartley is a very versatile actress. She won an Emmy for The Incredible Hulk, appeared in one of the most memorable late episodes of Star Trek, starred opposite James Garner in those famous Polaroid commercials, and turned up in everything from Peyton Place to M*A*S*H.

But since Hartley turns 86 on June 21, it is a good time to look back at a part of her career that sometimes gets overshadowed. Before many viewers knew her from sci-fi, sitcoms, commercials, or TV movies, Hartley spent plenty of time in the world of classic TV Westerns. Her early film work also included Sam Peckinpah‘s Ride the High Country, so it makes sense that television kept calling when a Western needed a strong guest star.

Here are five classic TV Westerns you may have forgotten that featured Mariette Hartley.

Gunsmoke

Everett Collection

Hartley did not just pop up once on Gunsmoke. She appeared on the long-running CBS Western several times, with roles spread across the 1960s and 1970s. One of her early appearances came in “Cotter’s Girl,” where she played Clarey, a young woman who takes an interest in Marshal Matt Dillon. She later returned in other roles, which was common in that era of television.

Bonanza

Everett Collection

Hartley also made several trips to the Ponderosa on Bonanza. She played multiple characters on the NBC Western, including Jennifer Carlis in the 1970 episode “Is There Any Man Here?” That episode gave Ben Cartwright a rare romantic problem when Jennifer decides she wants to marry him. Hartley brought a charm that made the story feel more playful and explained why TV producers kept bringing her back in different roles.

The Virginian

Everett Collection

Hartley appeared twice on The Virginian, another major Western of the 1960s. She played Kate Andrews in “Felicity’s Spring” and Maria Peterson in “The Drifter.” Her appearances came during the same period when she was building a reputation as a dependable guest star who could move easily between Westerns, dramas, and anthology shows.

Death Valley Days

Death Valley Days was a different kind of Western, built around stories from the Old West rather than one fixed group of characters. Hartley appeared in several episodes, including “The Red Shawl,” “Lady with a Past,” and “Dress for a Desert Girl.” That anthology format gave her different kinds of roles to play. In “Dress for a Desert Girl,” she played Cynthia Fallon, a pioneer woman whose longing for something as simple as a store-bought dress becomes part of a larger story about isolation and hardship.

Daniel Boone

20th Century Fox Film corp./Everett Collection

Hartley’s Western résumé also includes Daniel Boone, the Fess Parker series that mixed frontier adventure with family-friendly historical drama. She appeared as Millie Boyd in “Valley of the Sun” and later as Sister Cecilia in “An Angel Cried.” By the time she showed up on Daniel Boone, Hartley had already done a lot of Western television.

What is Mariette Hartley doing now?

SILVER SKIES, from left, Mariette Hartley, Todd Williams, 2016

Roar Productions/Everett Collection

Hartley has continued acting well beyond her classic TV years. She hosted the educational documentary series Wild About Animals from 1995 to 2015, later appeared as Lorna Scarry on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and played Patricia Clark, the mother of Connie Britton’s Abby Clark, on 9-1-1 in 2018.

In recent years, Hartley also co-wrote and starred with her husband, actor Jerry Sroka, in the romantic comedy Our Almost Completely True Story, which was based on their lives and released in 2022. She has continued to be recognized for a career that spans film, television, stage, and advocacy, including her longtime work raising awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.