Bernadette Withers (February 5, 1946 – October 25, 2019) was an actress best known for playing Ginger on Bachelor Father, Janis on Karen, and Valerie in The Trouble with Angels. Some sources claim that actress Jane Withers was her aunt, but since Jane Withers had no siblings she did not have any nieces.
Acting career As a child Bernadette Withers began acting in small uncredited film roles, including a child at an audition in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), and parts in Stranger at My Door (1956) and All Fall Down (1962).Harris M. Lentz III, Obituaries in the Performing Arts: 2019, page 437, McFarland, Incorporated, 2020 She went on to play Valerie in The Trouble with Angels (1966).John Willis, Screen World 1967, page 30, Biblo-Moser, 1983
Withers found guest-starring roles in numerous television series. On Leave It to Beaver she played Kitty in Wally’s Glamour Girl (Season 4, Episode 10),Michael B. Kassel, Mass Culture, History and Memory and the Image of the American Family, page 257, Michigan State University, Department of History, 2004 and on Wagon Train she played Alma Hardy in The Jonas Murdock Story (Season 3, Episode 27). She was also in Buffalo Bill, Jr., Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
From 1957 to 1962 Withers had the recurring role of Ginger, Kelly’s best friend, in Bachelor Father. During the program’s five seasons Ginger had two different sets of parents, and three last names – Farrel, Loomis and Mitchell.Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 – Present, 1st Edition, pages 43 and 44, Ballantine Books, 1979 During the 1964 television season she had the recurring role of Janis on Karen.Samantha Bleikorn, The Mini Mod Sixties Book, page 123, Last Gasp, 2002
Later life After her acting career ended Withers became a partner in a software company. She was married twice, and had two children.Kathy Garver and Fred Ascher, X Child Stars: Where Are They Now?, page 60 (E-Book), Taylor Trade Publishing, 2016 She died in Dana Point, California, on October 25, 2019.
References