Madlyn Rhue
Rhue in 1961
Born	Madeline Roche (1935-10-03)October 3, 1935 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	December 16, 2003(2003-12-16) (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1958–1996
Spouse	Tony Young ​ ​ (m. 1962; div. 1970)​

Madlyn Soloman Rhue (néeMadeline Roche),^[1] (October 3, 1935 – December 16, 2003) was an American film and television actress.

Rhue was born in Washington, D.C.,^[2] graduated fromLos Angeles High School, and studied drama atLos Angeles City College.^[3]

Rhue debuted in show business at age 17 as a dancer at theCopacabana night club in New York City.^[4] At that time she decided to create astage name for herself by adapting the title of the film13 Rue Madeleine (1947).^[1] From the 1950s to the 1990s, she appeared in some 20 films, includingOperation Petticoat (1959);The Ladies Man (1961);A Majority of One (1961);It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963);Kenner (1969); andStand Up and Be Counted (1972).

Rhue guest-starred in dozens of television series, beginning withCheyenne (1955). She playedRicardo Montalbán's wife in a 1960 episode ofBonanza, "Day of Reckoning". That year, she also played the title role of Marian Ames in thePerry Mason episode "The Case of the Wayward Wife" and appeared inRoute 66 Season 3 Episode 9.

Later in the 1960s, her appearances includedStagecoach West (1961),Rawhide (1963),The Defenders (1965) in "Whipping Boy" as Christine Knox and the classicStar Trek episode "Space Seed" (1967) where she once again appeared opposite Ricardo Montalbán (who playedKhan Noonien Singh) playing his love interest Lt. Marla McGivers.^[5]

Rhue played regulars Marjorie Grant inBracken's World (1969–70)^[6] and Hilary Madison inExecutive Suite (1976–77).^[6]: 316 Other guest appearances includedHave Gun – Will Travel,Gunsmoke (S5E15). "Tag You're It".The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (as Consuela Sandino in episode "The Dark Pool"),Route 66 (as Ara Rados in the episode, "Every Father's Daughter"),The Untouchables,The Rebel,Perry Mason,The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,The Fugitive,Ironside,The Wild Wild West,Mannix,Hawaii Five-O,Mission: Impossible,Longstreet,Fantasy Island,Charlie's Angels (as Georgia in "Angels on the Street" in 1979) andFame (as Angela Schwartz). She also appeared in the television movieGoldie and the Boxer, and made appearances on the game showMatch Game during 1974–1976.

In the early 1960s, Rhue was injured in an automobile accident that resulted in lost teeth and a cut lower lip. She was hospitalized before returning to acting.^[7]

In 1962, Rhue married actorTony Young^[8][9] and acted with him in the WesternHe Rides Tall. They divorced in 1970.^[8]

In 1977, Rhue was diagnosed withmultiple sclerosis.^[3] She continued to work, including a role inDays of Our Lives, but by 1985, Rhue's legs had become so weak from the multiple sclerosis that she could only get around by wheelchair.^[3] Once becoming a wheelchair user, Rhue described feelings of fear and anxiety over being unable to land on-screen work in the entertainment industry for a period of 11 months. Regarding the matter, she was quoted as stating, "It became apparent that I would have to invent a giant accident to explain the wheelchair or start telling the truth."^[3]

Despite being reliant on a wheelchair, Rhue managed to resume her entertainment career and was praised by media outlets for not allowing her health issues to disrupt her career. She played intermittent roles that did not require her to walk or stand, sometimes incorporating the wheelchair as part of the character. For example, she played a wheelchair-usingballistics expert on the CBS police-basedlegal drama,Houston Knights.^[3] She also played a judge role in thescripted court show,Trial by Jury, lasting only the 1989–90 television season. She performed the role in a wheelchair, unseen to viewers as she presided from the judge's bench. Her part as a female judge was uncharacteristic for court shows, the genre dominated by men performing the judge role to that point.^[1] She also performed a recurring role inMurder, She Wrote, said to be her last television role.^[3][10]Angela Lansbury created a role for her when she heard that Rhue was at risk of losing her health insurance because she could no longer work enough hours.^[3]

Contrary to rumors, her illness apparently had nothing to do with her not reprising theStar Trek role of Lt. Marla McGivers in the filmStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). At the time of the film's production start in late 1981, Rhue was still mobile and appearing in television roles, but hiding her diagnosis for fear of it impacting her career. DirectorNicholas Meyer stated that he wrote McGivers out of his drafts of the film (with a line referencing the character's death) in order to give the Khan character additional motivation for seeking vengeance.^[11]

In 1991, in her last movie, she played a wheelchair-using character in the made for television thrillerA Mother's Justice.

Rhue eventually became completely incapacitated by multiple sclerosis and died from pneumonia at the age of 68 at theMotion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital inWoodland Hills in Los Angeles, California.^[3]

Rhue adhered to Judaism outside of her marriage to Young, during which she partook in Catholicism.^[12] She was also a registeredRepublican who supported the administrations ofGerald Ford,Ronald Reagan, andGeorge H. W. Bush.^[12]

• Madlyn Rhue atIMDb 
• Madlyn Rhue atMemory Alpha

• 1935 births
• 2003 deaths
• 20th-century American actresses
• 20th-century American Jews
• 21st-century American Jews
• 21st-century American women
• Actresses from Los Angeles
• Actresses from Washington, D.C.
• American film actresses
• American television actresses
• Deaths from pneumonia in California
• Los Angeles City College alumni
• Los Angeles High School alumni
• People with multiple sclerosis
• California Republicans
• Washington (state) Republicans
• Jewish American actresses
• American Roman Catholics

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