Kathleen Hughes, who was known for her role as the shocked blonde in the 1953 3D sci-fi classic “It Came From Outer Space,” died Monday. She was 96.
Her friend John Jigen Griffin-Atil reported her death.
The niece of playwright F. Hugh Herbert, she was born Elizabeth Margaret von Gerkan in Los Angeles. After signing with Fox in 1948, the studio changed her name and she and began acting in small roles including “Mother Is a Freshman” and “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College.”
After leaving Fox, she was cast by Paul Henreid in “For Men Only,” where she caught the eye of writer-producer Don McGuire, who helped her get a contract at Universal-International. Her next role, in director Jack Arnold’s “It Came From Outer Space,” would prove to be her most enduring, thanks to a publicity still that appeared on everything from birthday cards to advertising campaigns.
Kathleen Hughes in “It Came From Outer Space”
Everett Collection / Everett Collection
In 2019, Hughes spoke to Fox News about the iconic photo. “The one where I have my hands up in the air and I’m screaming? I had just finished working on that film. I went to the still gallery and as I walked in, the cameraman who was taking stills said to me, ‘Put your hands up in the air and scream.’ And I did [laughs]. It was an instant success. They loved it and the film just lives forever with that photo,” she said.
She went on to appear opposite Rock Hudson in adventure film “The Golden Blade,” where she gave him his first on-screen kiss. She re-teamed with Arnold for film noir “The Glass Web,” then starred in “Three Bad Sisters.”
In the 1960s and ’70s she appeared on numerous TV shows, with recurring roles in “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” and “Bracken’s World” and guest appearances on “Marcus Welby M.D.,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Mission: Impossible,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “M.A.S.H.” and “Here’s Lucy.”
Hughes was married to producer Stanley Rubin, who died in 2014, for 59 years. She is survived by a daughter, Angie, and sons Michael and John. She was predeceased by her son Chris.
