Madlyn Rhue

American character actress Madlyn Rhue was one of television's most prolific actresses and has starred in everything from sitcoms to soap operas to drama series and films for nearly 40 years. Her beautiful looks, natural red hair and brown eyes got her the attention of television producers and she found herself guest starring on such series as Rawhide (1959), Cheyenne (1955), Star Trek: The Original Series (1966), Hawaii Five-O (1968), Charlie's Angels (1976) and Fantasy Island (1977).

She did several theatrical motion pictures, most notably Operation Petticoat (1959), He Rides Tall (1964), Kenner (1968) and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).

Both Rhue and her former husband, Tony Young, were guest stars on Star Trek: The Original Series (1966). He was with France Nuyen in Star Trek: The Original Series: Elaan of Troyius (1968) and she was Ricardo Montalban's character's (Khan Noonien Singh), love interest in Star Trek: The Original Series: Space Seed (1967).

Besides playing Ricardo Montalban's love interest in Star Trek: The Original Series: Space Seed (1967), she also played his wife in Bonanza: Day of Reckoning (1960).

During her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Carl Reiner/David Brenner/Madlyn Rhue/Burt Mustin (1974), she said she is half Jewish, half Catholic.

However, the disease never got her down; she continued to work in numerous television films and was co-starring on such series and soap operas as Executive Suite (1976), Fame (1982) and Days of Our Lives (1965) and had a recurring role on Murder, She Wrote (1984).

In 1977, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which she battled for nearly 25 years.

The last television series Rhue appeared on was Murder, She Wrote (1984), in which she played the recurring character of a librarian. Series star Angela Lansbury reportedly had heard that Rhue was in danger of losing her Screen Actors Guild medical coverage because she was short of meeting the annual earnings requirement. Lansbury created the librarian character for Rhue and brought her in every three or four episodes so she could meet the requirements.

After landing the role in Houston Knights (1987), she placed a full-page ad in Variety magazine headlined "See the new Madlyn Rhue".

After going public with her multiple sclerosis, she was asked to participate in a National Multiple Sclerosis Society ad campaign. She initially turned it down, telling the Los Angeles Times that she had thought that the organization wanted her to do what she called "poor me" ads. She changed her mind after learning that the campaign would feature people with MS doing everything from scuba diving to skydiving. The 1988 ad showing Rhue in her wheelchair noted that she "can't walk so well anymore, but she can still perform." It was headlined "Even with MS, Madlyn Rhue is on a roll".

By 1997, Rhue was unable to work, and she spent her last years at the Motion Picture and Television Country Home retirement center in Woodland Hills, California.

Passed away one year after her former husband Tony Young, who died from lung cancer on February 26, 2002.