NORMA EVERHARDT - Leading Lady of 1958's "The Return of Dracula"

Actress Norma Everhardt, who was best known as the leading lady in the 1958 horror film "The Return of Dracula", died of a stroke in a New York City hospital on September 16, 2011. She was 82.  Everhardt was born in Oakhurst, New Jersey, in 1929. She began her career as a model while in her teens with John Robert Powers. She relocated to Hollywood in 1951, where she was soon appearing in films and television. She was featured in small roles in the films "Sailor Beware" (1952) and "Jumping Jacks" (1952). She was featured in 1953’s "Problem Girl", before marrying French actor Claude Dauphin in 1955. She subsequently starred in the cult classics "Live Fast, Die Young" (1958) and "The Return of Dracula" (aka "Curse of Dracula") (1958) as Rachel Mayberry, opposite Francis Lederer as the Vampire Count. Everhardt was also seen on television in episodes of "Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok", "Captain Gallant of the Foriegn Legion", "Whirlybirds", "Telephone Time", "State Trooper", "Dragnet", "The Lawless Years", "The Best of the Post", and "Hogan’s Heroes". She largely retired from the screen in the 1960 and remained married to Dauphin until his death in 1978.