Beverly Powell Long

Beverly Powell Long, 81, born on April 18, 1933 in Manila, Philippines, passed away May 8, 2014. She resided in Studio City, California, at the time of her passing. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California.

BEVERLY LONG
Actress, Casting Director, Business Owner, Mother, Friend. These were the roles in which our beloved Beverly most excelled.

She was born in Manila, the Philippines, on April 18, 1933. Her father, Roe, was a submarine engineer for the U.S. Navy stationed at nearby Subic Bay Naval Base.

Her family, including mother Thelma and older sister Dorothe, moved back to the states when she was a child and she grew up in La Mesa, California, a few miles east of San Diego.

Beverly graduated from Grossmont High School in June 1950 and began acting at San Diego's Globe Theater, where she won a scholarship to the Geller Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles.

At 17 she joined the Hollywood Studio Club, where actress hopefuls such as Marilyn Monroe and Kim Novak were among her fellow residents.

Director Mabel Albertson was casting a new play at The Players Ring Theatre titled "Susan Slept Here" and she chose Beverly for the title role. The successful production launched Beverly's career in film and television. She became a series regular on "The Ruggles" and "Those Whiting Girls" and did several guest spots on "Father Knows Best" as Betty's best friend Judy.

In early 1955 director Nicholas Ray cast Beverly as a member of the high school gang in "Rebel Without A Cause." This groundbreaking, troubled-teens movie staring James Dean has attained status as a Hollywood classic and was voted for inclusion in the Library of Congress by the National Film Registry in 1990.

Beverly co-starred in Warner Bros.' "The Green-Eyed Blonde" in 1957 and in "As Young As We Are" for Paramount Pictures in 1958. She retired from acting in 1958 to start a family. Her son, Matthew, was born that year. Her second son, Ryan, was born in 1961 and her daughter, Holly, was born in 1967.

Beverly came back into show business in the early 1970s, first as a talent agent and later as a casting director. She founded Beverly Long & Associates in the 1980s and went on to win numerous awards for her casting, including a Clio.

Beverly was married to Robert Dorff from 1955 to 1971.

In addition to her son Matthew and daughter Holly, Beverly is survived by four grandchildren, Martina Dorff (born 1992), Jalen Harrington (born 1997), Samson Dorff (born 1998) and Hannah Schindler (born 1999).