Born in Boise City, Oklahoma, Vera Miles attended school in Pratt, Kansas and Wichita, Kansas. The patrician beauty of Miss Miles won her the title of "Miss Kansas" in 1948, leading soon to small roles in Hollywood films and television series. Fame came to the forthright, spirited Miles when she attracted the attention of two master directors, Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford. Ford cast her in the classic western The Searchers (1956) and Hitchcock, who put her under personal contract and hailed her as his "new Grace Kelly", paired her with the great Henry Fonda in The Wrong Man (1956). Hitchcock cast Miles in the potentially star-making role of Judy Barton in Vertigo (1958), but Miles withdrew from the film when she became pregnant. Hitchcock gave Miles a supporting role in another masterpiece Psycho (1960), as did Ford when he cast her opposite John Wayne and James Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), She also starred in such films as Beau James (1957) opposite Bob Hope, The FBI Story (1959) opposite Stewart, Back Street (1961) opposite Susan Hayward and John Gavin and Sergeant Ryker (1968) opposite Lee Marvin, as well as showing her consistently remarkable and versatile talent on dozens of popular television movies and series including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962), Twilight Zone (1959), The Outer Limits (1963), The Fugitive (1963), My Three Sons (1960), Bonanza (1959), "Columbo" and Murder, She Wrote (1984). In 1983, she reprised her role as "Lila Crane" in the film sequel Psycho II (1983), starring Anthony Perkins. Although, too often, the stunningly beautiful Miles' gifts were underutilized, before her retirement in 1995, hers was a most intriguing and enduring Hollywood career.
Movie | Psychos | Lila Crane | 2014-02-24 |
Movie | The Psycho Legacy | Self (archive footage) | 2010-10-19 |
Movie | Separate Lives | Dr. Ruth Goldin | 1995-09-08 |
Movie | The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro | Sophie Kubacki | 1989-02-13 |
Movie | International Airport | Elaine Corley | 1985-05-25 |
Movie | Into the Night | Joan Caper | 1985-02-22 |
Movie | Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues | Kate Keller | 1984-04-23 |
Series | Murder, She Wrote | Unknown | 1984-09-30 |
Series | Crazy like a Fox | Unknown | 1984-12-30 |
Movie | The Initiation | Frances Fairchild | 1984-12-07 |
Movie | Travis McGee | Julie Lawless | 1983-05-18 |
Movie | Psycho II | Lila Loomis | 1983-06-03 |
Movie | BrainWaves | Marian Koonan | 1983-08-05 |
Series | Hotel | Unknown | 1982-08-21 |
Series | Matt Houston | Unknown | 1982-09-26 |
Movie | Mazes and Monsters | Cat | 1982-12-27 |
Series | Magnum, P.I. | Unknown | 1980-12-11 |
Movie | The Horror Show | (archive footage) | 1979-02-06 |
Series | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | Unknown | 1979-09-20 |
Movie | And I Alone Survived | Irene Elder | 1978-11-27 |
Series | How the West Was Won | Unknown | 1977-02-06 |
Movie | Fire! | Martha Wagner | 1977-05-08 |
Movie | Run for the Roses | Clarissa Stewart | 1977-06-01 |
Series | McNaughton's Daughter | Grace Coventry | 1976-03-24 |
Movie | Smash-Up on Interstate 5 | Erica | 1976-02-02 |
Movie | Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys | Mrs. Horton | 1976-04-22 |
Series | Ellery Queen | Unknown | 1975-09-11 |
Movie | Live Again, Die Again | Marcia Carmichael | 1974-02-16 |
Series | Movin' On | Unknown | 1974-05-08 |
Series | Little House on the Prairie | Unknown | 1974-09-11 |
Movie | The Castaway Cowboy | Henrietta MacAvoy | 1974-08-01 |
Movie | The Strange and Deadly Occurrence | Christine Rhodes | 1974-09-24 |
Movie | One Little Indian | Doris | 1973-06-20 |
Movie | Runaway! | Ellen Staffo | 1973-09-29 |
Movie | Jigsaw | Lilah Beth Cummings | 1972-03-26 |
Series | The Streets of San Francisco | Unknown | 1972-09-23 |
Movie | Molly and Lawless John | Molly Parker | 1972-12-01 |
Movie | Baffled! | Andrea Glenn | 1972-12-17 |
Movie | A Great American Tragedy | Gloria Wilkes | 1972-10-18 |
Movie | In Search of America | Jenny Olson | 1971-03-23 |
Series | Cannon | Unknown | 1971-09-14 |
Series | Alias Smith and Jones | Unknown | 1971-01-05 |
Series | Columbo | Viveca Scott | 1971-09-15 |
Movie | A Howling in the Woods | Rose Staines | 1971-11-05 |
Movie | The Wild Country | Kate Tanner | 1970-12-16 |
Movie | It Takes All Kinds | Laura Ring | 1969-06-12 |
Series | Medical Center | Unknown | 1969-09-24 |
Series | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Unknown | 1969-09-23 |
Movie | Kona Coast | Melissa Hyde | 1968-05-01 |
Movie | Sergeant Ryker | Ann Ryker | 1968-02-01 |
Series | Hawaii Five-O | Unknown | 1968-09-20 |
Movie | Hellfighters | Madelyn Buckman | 1968-11-27 |
Series | Ironside | Unknown | 1967-03-28 |
Movie | The Spirit Is Willing | Kate Powell | 1967-07-07 |
Series | Judd for the Defense | Unknown | 1967-09-08 |
Series | Mannix | Unknown | 1967-09-16 |
Movie | Follow Me, Boys! | Vida Downey | 1966-12-01 |
Series | ABC Stage 67 | Unknown | 1966-09-14 |
Movie | One of Our Spies Is Missing | Madame Raine De Sala | 1966-12-01 |
Movie | Those Calloways | Lydia (Liddy) Calloway | 1965-01-28 |
Series | Run for Your Life | Unknown | 1965-09-13 |
Series | The F.B.I. | Unknown | 1965-09-19 |
Series | I Spy | Rachel | 1965-09-15 |
Movie | A Tiger Walks | Dorothy Williams | 1964-04-12 |
Movie | The Unknown | Kassia Paine | 1964-05-04 |
Movie | The Hanged Man | Lois Seeger | 1964-11-18 |
Series | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Madame Raine De Sala | 1964-09-22 |
Series | The Fugitive | Unknown | 1963-09-17 |
Series | Burke's Law | Unknown | 1963-09-20 |
Series | Arrest and Trial | Unknown | 1963-09-15 |
Series | The Outer Limits | Unknown | 1963-09-16 |
Series | Mr. Novak | Unknown | 1963-09-24 |
Series | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Unknown | 1963-10-04 |
Series | Kraft Suspense Theatre | Unknown | 1963-10-10 |
Movie | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Hallie Stoddard | 1962-04-13 |
Series | The Virginian | Unknown | 1962-09-19 |
Series | Sam Benedict | Unknown | 1962-09-15 |
Movie | The Lawbreakers | Angela Walsh | 1961-08-15 |
Series | The Asphalt Jungle | Unknown | 1961-04-02 |
Movie | Back Street | Liz Saxon | 1961-10-11 |
Movie | A Touch of Larceny | Virginia Killain | 1960-02-04 |
Movie | Psycho | Lila Crane | 1960-06-22 |
Movie | Five Branded Women | Daniza | 1960-03-15 |
Series | My Three Sons | Unknown | 1960-09-29 |
Series | Route 66 | Unknown | 1960-10-07 |
Series | Riverboat | Unknown | 1959-09-13 |
Series | Rawhide | Unknown | 1959-01-09 |
Movie | Web of Evidence | Lena Anderson | 1959-04-28 |
Movie | The FBI Story | Lucy Ann Hardesty | 1959-10-01 |
Series | The Detectives | Unknown | 1959-10-16 |
Series | The Twilight Zone | Millicent Barnes | 1959-10-02 |
Movie | Beau James | Betty Compton | 1957-06-07 |
Movie | 23 Paces to Baker Street | Jean Lennox | 1956-05-18 |
Movie | The Searchers | Laurie Jorgensen | 1956-05-16 |
Series | The Steve Allen Show | Unknown | 1956-06-24 |
Movie | Autumn Leaves | Virginia Hanson | 1956-08-01 |
Movie | The Wrong Man | Rose Balestrero | 1956-12-22 |
Series | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | Unknown | 1956-10-05 |
Movie | Tarzan's Hidden Jungle | Jill Hardy | 1955-02-16 |
Movie | Wichita | Laurie McCoy | 1955-07-03 |
Series | The Millionaire | Unknown | 1955-01-19 |
Series | Gunsmoke | Unknown | 1955-09-10 |
Series | The 20th Century Fox Hour | Unknown | 1955-10-05 |
Series | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Elsa Spann | 1955-10-02 |
Movie | Pride of the Blue Grass | Linda | 1954-04-04 |
Series | Climax! | Unknown | 1954-10-07 |
Movie | The Charge at Feather River | Jennie McKeever | 1953-07-11 |
Series | General Electric Theater | Unknown | 1953-02-01 |
Series | City Detective | Unknown | 1953-09-07 |
Movie | So Big | Girl (uncredited) | 1953-10-31 |
Movie | For Men Only | Kathy | 1952-01-11 |
Movie | The Rose Bowl Story | Denny Burke | 1952-08-24 |
Series | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Unknown | 1951-10-05 |
Movie | Two Tickets to Broadway | Showgirl (uncredited) | 1951-11-20 |
Movie | When Willie Comes Marching Home | Laughing Sergeant's Date (uncredited) | 1950-02-17 |
Series | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Unknown | 1950-09-10 |
Movie | The Screen Writer | Young Actress (uncredited) | 1950-09-13 |
Series | Lux Video Theatre | Unknown | 1950-10-02 |