Did you know two actresses played Janet Tyler in this popular Twilight Zone episode?

When the character's face is revealed, we see a young Donna Douglas. However, Maxine Stuart was the one in bandages.

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The Twilight Zone had a lot of popular episodes throughout the series, and one of them was "Eye of the Beholder." The season two episode revolves around a young woman in a hospital bed with bandages around her head.

She and the doctors await the "finished product" of her surgical procedure as a last attempt to make her look "normal."

There was nothing normal about this episode, but it wouldn't be classic Twilight Zone if it were. The doctors and nurses have unusual facial structures, and the young character feels like an outsider as the bandages unravel and her face differs from theirs.

In the end, the character, Janet Tyler, says, "Mr. Smith, why do we have to look like this?"

Donna Douglas, the actress we saw when the bandages came off, spoke those words, but did you know that Douglas wasn't the only actress that played the starring role in the episode? While wrapped up, another actress played the part: Maxine Stuart.

Both are credited for the role at the end of the episode and on IMDb. We've all heard of Douglas, one of the stars of The Beverly Hillbillies, but if you aren't familiar with Stuart, there are many reasons why you should check out her decades-long resume.

She saw success with the 1953 TV remake of Elaine Sterne Carrington's radio series When A Girl Marries.

It was called Follow Your Heart and 111 episodes were produced. Stuart is likely best known for the Twilight Zone character, but she starred in the 1980 film Private Benjamin. She could also be seen on several of The Young and the Restless episodes, NYPD Blue, The Fugitive and Cannon.

The next time you watch this episode and hear, "If I'm still terribly ugly, well, is there any other alternative? Could I please be put away?" remember that Stuart and Douglas both played the classic part.

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16 Comments

ncadams27 14 months ago
When this show first aired, the TV Guide listing stated the actress who played the role didn’t wish to be identified. Didn’t say there were two different ones.
Runeshaper 14 months ago
Great episode! I wonder why 2 actresses played that role? Maybe 1 actress couldn't finish the act so the other stepped in?
justjeff Runeshaper 14 months ago
I presume that Maxine Stuart was chosen for her speaking voice, but they needed a "young girl's face" at the show's climax - so Donna Douglas was the unbandaged patient...
Runeshaper justjeff 14 months ago
Ah! Makes sense if that was the case.
justjeff Runeshaper 14 months ago
Here's a picture of Maxine. She's an attractive woman, but probably did not fit the age of the character in the TZ episode - yet had a more appropriate speaking voice (at the time) than Donna Douglas...
Runeshaper justjeff 14 months ago
Thanks for the photo and info!
justjeff Runeshaper 14 months ago
Always glad to contribute!
Spaceseed 22 months ago
Funny. Always suspected, since episode first aired, that voices were different.
cperrynaples 22 months ago
I knew this fact 40 years ago! Maxine Stewart had many credits to her name, and I'm going to check them now!
cperrynaples cperrynaples 22 months ago
She was on The Young And The Restless years ago! Strange quirk on her Wikipedia page: It credits her with TZ, but not only did they not identify this episode, but it says "Citation needed" in parathesies! DUH! Go to the Twilight Zone page, look up this episode, and click on her name! How much more citation do you need...LOL!
LoveMETV22 cperrynaples 22 months ago
Even The IMDb page likes the use of parenthesis (under bandages), but @ least the episode is credited. The only Twilight Zone page listed with a search is a non-secure website HTTP vs HTTPS, don't visit non-secure webpages ( preference), but to each their own....LOL!
cperrynaples LoveMETV22 22 months ago
Yes, but true TZ fans already knew what she did! Fun Fact: Producers planned to dub Donna with Maxine's voice at the end, but Donna did it herself!
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cperrynaples 22 months ago
Yes, thanks for remembering Detective Munich!
justjeff 22 months ago
We lost Stella Stevens as well...
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