Naomi Ruth Stevens[1] (November 29, 1925 – January 13, 2018[2]) was an American character actress of film and television from the 1950s through the 1980s. She appeared in almost 100 roles over the years, usually depicting mothers, landladies, gossips, or neighbors.[citation needed]
Stevens began entertaining in vaudeville at age 2. She had expanded into radio, film, and theater by age 5.[3] She appeared on a radio program on KNX in Los Angeles and was featured in Paramount Pictorials.[4] Stevens attended the Grace Waugh Bowman School of Theatricals.[1]
Her most frequent characterizations were Italian, Jewish, Latin, or East European, and usually with a comic touch. She appeared in many television series and in such feature films as Valley of the Dolls; Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell; and The Apartment (as Mrs. Dreyfuss, the supportive "Jewish mother" type to Shirley MacLaine's character, Fran Kubelik). She portrayed Sgt. Bella Archer in the ABC crime drama Vegas (1978).[5]: 1138 She made guest appearances on numerous television series. Her last role was on Days of Our Lives as Mrs. Nazareo in 1989. On old-time radio, Stevens portrayed Daphne Royce on Brenthouse[6]: 51-52 and Irene Barbour on One Man's Family.[6]
^ abcTerrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 278–279. ISBN978-0-7864-6477-7.
^ abTerrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 260. ISBN978-0-7864-4513-4.
