Jena Engstrom

Jena Engstrom (born Liana Jeanne Moon on June 30, 1942 in Los Angeles, California) is an American former television actress. She appeared in more than three dozen episodes of various television series between 1960 and 1964.

Jena Engstrom
Jena Engstrom as Betty in April 19, 1961 episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet titled "Selling Rick's Drums"
Born	Liana Jeanne Moon (1942-06-30) June 30, 1942 Los Angeles, California, USA
Occupation	Former television actress
Years active	1960 - 1964
Parent(s)	Jean Engstrom

Career

Jena Engstrom[1] began acting after graduating from high school[2] and first appeared on television in the 1960 episode "Adopted" of the ABC crime drama, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor. She appeared in some thirty-seven television programs[1] before making her final appearance opposite guest star Robert Culp in the 1964 episode, "The Stallion", of NBC's The Virginian.[3] She played a girl who had a crush on Steve Douglas in an October 19, 1961 episode of My Three Sons.

Mother and daughter

Jena Engstrom[1] is the daughter of actress Jean Engstrom[1][4][5] (1920-1997)[4] whose television career (1955-1966)[4][5] overlapped her daughter's and whose career also included movie[4] and regional stage appearances.[5][6] Most on-line databases and this article have listed only two of the three TV shows in which they appeared together. The first of the two shows listed is the April 1961 episode of the CBS program Rawhide titled "Incident of the Lost Idol" in which they appeared as mother and daughter. They had only one brief scene together as the story was not about their relationship. The second show listed is the January 1962 episode "To Sell Another Human Being" of ABC's The New Breed, starring Leslie Nielsen,[5] in which mother Jean played a wealthy woman who with her husband (played by Richard Arlen) adopt a baby through an adoption mill. The police get involved when the baby's natural mother, played by daughter Jena, tries to get her baby back. The third television show in which they appeared together is an unidentified 30-minute religious program presented in 1961 in which they played mother and daughter. In this story a girl (Jena) has trouble relating to her parents until a session with teenagers at a church is recorded and the recording made available to the parents to listen to. Appearing in this show with Jean and Jena Engstrom are Robert Stevenson as Jena's father and Richard Evans as her boyfriend. This film, minus the opening and closing credits, has been posted on-line.[7]

Western series

Twenty-one of Jena Engstrom's thirty-seven roles were in television westerns. Some of her best acting opportunities occurred in this genre. She appeared three times each on Have Gun, Will Travel, and Wagon Train, as well as Rawhide, twice each on Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and Laramie, and once each on The Tall Man, Death Valley Days, Frontier Circus, and Outlaws, as well as her final performance as an actress in The Virginian.

In "The Education of Sarah Jane" episode of Have Gun, Will Travel, Engstrom appeared as Sarah Jane opposite guest star Duane Eddy in a story of the youngest members of feuding clans that have been killing one another for generations. For Paladin (Richard Boone) his task is to bring an end to the madness. In the "Milly" episode of Gunsmoke, she played Milly Glover, an impoverished teenager hoping to break herself and her younger brother (Billy Hughes) from their abusive and alcoholic father (Malcolm Atterbury). She tries to escape poverty through marriage to an older man, but the three men (James Griffith, Don Dubbins, and Harry Swoger) to whom she proposes reject her. She plots revenge. In the episode "Chester’s Indian", Engstrom plays Callie Dill, the repressed daughter of a storekeeper (Karl Swenson) who is helping a wrongfully detained Cheyenne brave (Eddie Little Sky) trying to return to his village. When Chester (Dennis Weaver) shoots and wounds the brave, Callie implores Chester to nurse him back to health. In 1962, in one of her three appearances on Rawhide, she had the title role of "The Child-Woman" in an episode also guest-starring Cesar Romero where in the storyline she plays a teenager willfully in the clutches of a domineering saloonkeeper. In 1961, she portrayed Laurie Manson in "The Incident of the Lost Idol". She retired from acting in 1964, not long after appearing on Wagon Train and in an episode of Perry Mason in which she plays Vera Janel in "The Case of the Illicit Illusion". Her final television appearance was on The Virginian in an episode broadcast in September 1964, "The Black Stallion". In that episode Engstrom portrays a rancher's daughter in love with an alcoholic veterinarian (Robert Culp), who has been drafted by The Virginian co-star Randy Boone to care for an abused stallion.

Illness

Jena Engstrom left acting in 1964, possibly because of health considerations. In 1963, she was cast in what was to have been a recurring role of Jennie in the series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, starring Kurt Russell,[8] but had to give up the role because of illness and was replaced by Donna Anderson.[9][10]

In June 1964, she was replaced again because of ill health by Davey Davison in the episode "Children of Calamity" of Richard Crenna's CBS drama series, Slattery's People.[11]

Confused credits

The acting credits of mother Jean and daughter Jena were confused at the time they were active in the business resulting in mixed credits in newspapers and problems with pay checks.[2] For a long time the credits were confused on many Internet databases, and while some errors still exist, many have been corrected.

DVDs

Several of the television series listed below have been released by their studios on DVDs that are available for sale or for rent.

Television Roles[1][12][13]

Note: "Episode" column: 2.9 indicates Season 2, Episode 9, etc.

AIR DATE	SHOW	EPISODE	EPISODE TITLE	CHARACTER	NOTES	DVD
Nov. 25, 1960	The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor	2.9	"Adopted"[14]	Ann Martin	1st of 2 appearances on this show.
Feb. 5, 1961	Shirley Temple Theatre	2.19	"The Fawn"[15]	Kathy
Feb. 25, 1961	Have Gun, Will Travel	4.23	"Fatal Flaw" [16]	Cassandra Langford	1st of 3 appearances on this show.	Yes
Mar. 14, 1961	The Red Skelton Hour	10.17	"Freddy and the Baby"[17]	Young Woman (Baby's Mother)		Yes
Apr. 19, 1961	The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet	9.30	"Selling Rick's Drums"[18]	Betty Hamilton		Yes
Apr. 28, 1961	Rawhide	3.24	"Incident of the Lost Idol"[19]	Laurie Manson	1st of 3 appearances on this show. Mother Jean Engstrom also appears in this episode.	Yes
Jun. 11, 1961	The Asphalt Jungle	1.11	"The Kidnapping"[20]	Karen Meriden
Sep. 23, 1961	Have Gun, Will Travel	5.2	"The Education of Sarah Jane"[21]	Sarah Jane Darrow	2nd of 3 appearances on this show.	Yes
Oct. 1, 1961	Bonanza	3.2	"Springtime"[22]	Ann	1st of 2 appearances on this show.	Yes
Oct. 12, 1961	My Three Sons	2.3	"The Crush"[23]	Mary Beth Jackson		Yes
Oct. 14, 1961	The Tall Man	2.6	"An Item for Auction"[24]	Mary Susan Naylack		Yes
Oct. 23, 1961	Death Valley Days	10.7	"Storm Over Truckee"[25]	Maggie Woolf	Billed as Jenna Engstrom.
Oct. 30, 1961	The Everglades	1.4	"Primer for Pioneers" [26]	Memory Jacks	The series is listed as "Everglades!" in the opening credits.
Nov. 1, 1961	Wagon Train	5.6	"The Jenna Douglas Story"[27]	Sue Thompson		Yes
Nov. 2, 1961	Outlaws	2.5	"The Night Riders"[28]	Louise Nichols
Nov. 25, 1961	Gunsmoke	7.9	"Milly"[29]	Milly Glover	1st of 2 appearances on this show.	Yes
Dec. 26, 1961	Laramie	3.13	"The Lawless Seven" [30]	Ginny Hawks	1st of 2 appearances on this show.	Yes
Jan. 16, 1962	The New Breed	1.16	"To Sell Another Human Being"[5]		Mother Jean Engstrom also appears in this episode.
Mar. 2, 1962	The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor	3.20	"Night Boat" [31]	Frances	2nd of 2 appearances on this show.
Mar. 14, 1962	Wagon Train	5.24	"The Amos Billings Story"[32]	Loan	2nd of 2 appearances on this show.	Yes
Mar. 17, 1962	Have Gun, Will Travel	5.26	"Alice" [33]	Maya Ferguson	3rd of 3 appearances on this show.	Yes
Mar. 23, 1962	Rawhide	4.24	"The Child-Woman"[34]	Posie Mushgrove	2nd of 3 appearances on this show.	Yes
Apr. 5, 1962	Frontier Circus	1.20	"Mighty Like Rogues"[35]	Betsy Ross Jukes		Yes
May 12, 1962	Gunsmoke	7.32	"Chester's Indian" [36]	Callie Dill	2nd of 2 appearances on this show.	Yes
Oct. 26, 1962	Rawhide	5.5	"Incident of the Four Horsemen"[37]	Amy Galt	3rd of 3 appearances on this show.	Yes
Nov. 5,1962	Stoney Burke	1.6	"A Matter of Pride"[38]	Meryle Hill		Yes
Nov. 13, 1962	Laramie	4.7	"The Sunday Shoot"[39]	Nancy Tilford	2nd of 2 appearances on this show.	Yes
Dec. 2, 1962	Bonanza	4.10	"The Deadly Ones"[40]	Molly Reed	2nd of 2 appearances on this show.	Yes
Jan. 11, 1963	Route 66	3.16	"You Can't Pick Cotton in Tahiti" [41]	Elva Dupree		Yes
Feb. 7, 1963	Dr. Kildare	2.18	"Good Luck Charm"[42]	Marcia Laverly		Yes
Apr. 17, 1963	The Eleventh Hour	1.27	"Try to Keep Alive Until Next Tuesday"	Marian Snyder		Yes
May 23, 1963	The Doctors and the Nurses	1.30	"Bitter Pill"[43]	Jean Wheeler	The show was called The Nurses during the first season.
Sep 15, 1963	The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters	1.1	"The Day of Leaving"[44]	Jennie	Jena Engstrom was replaced after this pilot episode because of illness
Feb. 7, 1964	77 Sunset Strip	6.20	"Queen of the Cats"[45]	Marian Armstrong	Final episode of this series.77 Sunset Strip
Mar. 30, 1964	Wagon Train	7.20	"The Santiago Quesada Story"[46]	Kim Case	3rd of 3 appearances on this show.	Yes
Apr. 9, 1964	Perry Mason	7.25	"The Case of the Ilicit Illusion"[47]	Vera Janel		Yes
Sep. 30, 1964	The Virginian	3.3	"The Black Stallion"[3]	Jodie Wingate	Episode also called "The Stallion"	Yes

References

1. "Jena Engstrom". IMDb. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
2. "The Name's Almost the Same for Jean and Jena Engstrom". San Antonio (Texas) Express and News, Page 10. January 13, 1963. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
3. "The Black Stallion" (2010). The Virginian: The Complete Third Season (DVD (Disc 1)). NBC Universal" The Media Group.
4. "Jean Engstrom". IMDb. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
5. Vernon, Terry (January 16, 1963). "Tele]Vues: Mother-Daughter Team On TV". The Long Beach (California) Independent, Page C-12. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
6. "Stage Actress Stars In Graham Production". The El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post, Section A, Page 3. November 27, 1965. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
7. "F-9483". 1961. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
8. Russell, Fred H. (April 4, 1963). "O'Herlihy Signs For Top Role In Series". The Bridgeport Post, Page 35. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
9. Scheuer, Steven H. (October 18, 1963). "TV Mailbag". The Hammond (Indiana) Times, Page C-4. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
10. "Jena Engstrom Recovers". The San Antonio (Texas) Express and News, Page 5. November 24, 1963. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
11. "Sub for Engstrom". The Los Angeles (California) Times, Page D15. June 19, 1964. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
12. "The Classic TV Archive". CTVA. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
13. "TV Guide". TV Guide. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
14. "Adopted" (1960). The Detectives (DVD (Disc 17)). magiclantern1973.
15. "The Shirley Temple Show: "The Fawn"". Pasadena (California) Independent Star-News: TV Week. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
16. Fatal Flaw (1961) (2010). Have Gun - Will Travel: The Fourth Season: Volume Two (DVD (Disc One)). CBS Television Studios.
17. "Freddy and the Baby" (1961) (2007). Red Skelton: America's Clown Prince (DVD (Disc 2)). Timeless Media Group.
18. "Selling Rick's Drums" 1961) (2008). Ozzie and Harriet: Best of Ricky and Dave (DVD (Disc 3)). Shout! Factory LLC.
19. "Incident of the Lost Idol" (1961) (2008). Rawhide: The Third Season: Volume 2 (DVD (Disc 3)). CBS DVD.
20. "The Classic TV Archive - US Crime Series: "The Kidnapping"". CTVA. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
21. "The Education of Sarah Jane" (1961) (2010). Have Gun - Will Travel: The Fifth Season: Volume One (DVD (Disc One). CBS Television Studios.
22. "Springtime" (1961) (2012). Bonanza: The Official Third Season: Volume 1 (DVD (Disc 1)). CBS DVD.
23. "The Crush" (1961) (2010). My Three Sons: The Second Season: Volume One (DVD (Disc 1)). CBS DVD.
24. "An Item for Auction" (1961) (2007). The Tall Man (DVD (Disc 2)). NBC Universal: Timeless Media Group.
25. "Episode Detail: Storm Over Truckee - Death Valley Days". TV Guide. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
26. "Primer for Pioneers" (1961). Television Classics Digital Collection: Everglades! (DVD (Disc 4)). A Magic Lantern Production.
27. "The Jenna Douglas Story" (1961) (2011). Wagon Train: The Complete Season Five (DVD (Disc 2)). NBC Universal: Timeless Media Group.
28. "The Night Riders" (1961). Outlaws (DVD (Disc 8)). avantgarde101.
29. "Milly" (1961) (2012). Gunsmoke: The Seventh Season: Volume 1 (DVD (Disc 3)). CBS DVD.
30. "The Lawless Seven" (1961) (2008). Laramie (DVD (Disc 3)). NBC Universal: Timeless Media Group.
31. "Night Boat". The Detectives (DVD (Disc 9)). magiclantern1973.
32. "The Amos Billings Story" (1962) (2011). Wagon Train: The Complete Fifth Season (DVD (Disc 6)). NBC Universal: Timeless Media Group.
33. "Alice" (1962) (2011). Have Gun - Will Travel: The Fifth Season: Volume Two (DVD (Disc 2)). CBS Television Studios.
34. "The Child-Woman" (2011). Rawhide: The Fourth Season: Volume 2 (DVD (Disc 3)). CBS DVD.
35. "Mighty Like Rogues" (1962) (2010). Frontier Circus: The Complete TV Series (DVD (Disc Five)). NBC Universal: Timeless Media Group.
36. "Chester's Indian" (1962) (2013). Gunsmoke: The Seventh Season: Volume 2 (DVD). CBS DVD.
37. "Incident of the Four Horsemen" (1962) (2013). Rawhide: The Fifth Season: Volume 1 (DVD (Disc 2)). CBS DVD.
38. "A Matter of Pride" (1962) (2005). Stoney Burke: Collector's Edition: Vol. 1 (DVD (Disc 2)). Audio Tape, Inc.
39. "The Sunday Shoot" (1962) (2009). Laramie: The Final Season (DVD (Disc 2)). NBC Universal: Timeless Media Group.
40. "The Deadly Ones" (1962) (2012). Bonanza: The Official Fourth Season: Volume 1 (DVD (Disc 3)). CBS DVD.
41. "You Can't Pick Cotton In Tahiti" (1963) (2009). Route 66: Complete Third Season: Volume One (DVD (Disc 4)). Roxbury Entertainment.
42. "Gloria Swanson with Kildare". Google.News: Sarasota (Florida) Herald Tribune, Page 39. February 7, 1963. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
43. "Mothers-To-Be Warned Abouth Pill Taking". Pittsburgh Press, P 67. May 23, 1963. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
44. "Episode Detail: The Day of Leaving -- The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters". TV Guide. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
45. "Episode Detail: The Queen of Cats -- 77 Sunset Strip". TV Guide. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
46. "The Santiago Quesada Story" (1964) (2008). Wagon Train: The Complete Color Season (DVD (Disc 10)). NBC Universal: Timeless Media Group.
47. "The Case of the Illicit Illusion" (2012). Perry Mason: Season 7: Volume 2 (DVD (Disc 3)). CBS DVD.