Just one actress dated Sheriff Andy, Hoss, The Rifleman and Maverick

She went from scream queen to femme fatale — with a stop in Mayberry.

In her finale days as a teenager, Betty May Adams reigned as Miss Little Rock. Three years later, she was in Hollywood, where a movie studio decided she should be named "Julia." Adams was not a fan of her new stage name, but she used it in a string of B-Westerns throughout the early 1950s.

Showing off her skills as a swimmer and screamer, Julia Adams gained wide fame as the Gill-man's object of desire in Creature from the Black Lagoon. The 1954 Universal horror classic pitted her as the Fay Wray for a new generation. 

Shortly thereafter, still uncomfortable with her first name, Adams had the studio change it to Julie. She just preferred the sound of that "e."

Adams in ''The Courtship'' with Hoss on 'Bonanza'

Just as she altered her moniker, Adams transitioned from movies to television. That's where the Westerns were headed in droves. Swapping Creature for cowboys, the Arkansas beauty queen found herself again and again in the role of the love interest.

In the series premiere of Yancy Derringer, she was the former belle of Yancy. She appeared alongside historical figures like Doc Holliday (Zane Grey Theater) and Custer (Cheyenne).

But the onetime damsel in distress transformed into a femme fatale. She was more of a black widow to Bart Maverick in "The White Widow." She was the scheming old flame of Lucas McCain in "Nora," a season-two episode of The Rifleman.

Her gold-digging character set her sights on Hoss in the Bonanza tale "The Courtship." She appeared a handful of times on Perry Mason, sometimes as the accused. Years later, she would be running an eerie clinic that hosts David Banner on The Incredible Hulk ("Life and Death ").

With all those devious roles, it's a wonder she ended up in such as sweet spot as a gal pal of Andy Taylor in Mayberry. She and the Sheriff flirt as they attempt to talk Rafe Hollister into taking his tetanus shot in "The County Nurse." Her character, Mary Simpson, was one of the fleeting girlfriends of Andy between Ellie and Helen. The character turns up twice, but a different actor (Sue Ane Langdon) filled the role in "Three's a Crowd."

Later in her career, Adams would land a recurring role as another Simpson, Eve Simpson, an eccentric Realtor on Murder, She Wrote. While she never truly played the lead — except, perhaps, as the wife of Jimmy Stewart in the short-lived, forgotten The Jimmy Stewart Show — Adams is the only TV star who can claim to have dated Andy Taylor, Lucas McCain, Hoss Cartwright and Bart Maverick. 

Watch Bonanza "The Courtship" on Saturday, June 27, at 2PM | 1C on MeTV!

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14 Comments

RickTallent 45 months ago
As a veteran broadcaster, I find this trivia so very interesting. Stories like this would make a great tv show or special.......something to consider as I am confident following the careers of many of the old studio actors/actresses would follow similar paths.
horribleHDanny 45 months ago
All I can say is the Creature and all those guys knew beauty when they saw it,even when she turned out to be not so good for her date!!
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daDoctah 45 months ago
She was also in an episode of "Mannix" whose cast was re-united 24 years later on "Diagnosis: Murder" when Mannix decided to look back into an old case with some loose ends.
MaryMitch daDoctah 45 months ago
That was a fun episode - from the original Mannix episode they also recruited Pernell Roberts (his last credited screen role) and Beverly Garland. Unfortunately they didn't get Dawn Lyn, who played the young girl.
med61861 45 months ago
Not sure of the amount of money though
med61861 45 months ago
I think she insured her legs for a million dollars ??
Jeffrey 45 months ago
I never knew her real name was Betty May Adams. When did she die? And how old was she?
February 3rd 2019. Age: 92.
Stoney 45 months ago
Creature from the Black Lagoon...one of the greatest "creature features" ever!
Nadya92129 45 months ago
Something about her eyebrows. She always looked worried.
ETristanBooth 45 months ago
The Jimmy Stewart Show is not forgotten. I have the box set. However, I never realized that the woman playing his wife was also Mary Simpson.
cperrynaples 45 months ago
How could you forget she was the only PM client found guilty of murder? Yes, Perry got a reversal, but who can forget his reaction to the jury verdict?
Wiseguy cperrynaples 45 months ago
Who said they forgot anything? They can't list everything.
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