Kathleen Hughes, 1928-2025

Sad news this evening: Actress Kathleen Hughes has passed away at the age of 96.

The personable and attractive Hughes was a fixture in many 20th Century-Fox and Universal Pictures films of the late '40s and '50s. She later worked extensively in television.

Hughes was immortalized in publicity stills for IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953), such as those above, which to this day turn up on greeting cards.

I was fortunate to see Hughes speak in person multiple times over the years. She appeared at the Loretta Young centennial tribute held in Glendale in January 2014. I photographed her here with director Randal Kleiser (center back) and Loretta's daughter-in-law Linda and son Chris Lewis. Chris passed on in 2021.

Just a few months later, in April 2014, I attended the memorial service for Kathleen's longtime husband, producer Stanley Rubin. He was eulogized by actresses Coleen Gray and Susan Clark, and the afternoon concluded with a screening of THE NARROW MARGIN (1952), which Rubin produced.

Hughes appeared at a Palm Springs sci-fest fest in October 2015 which was hosted by Alan K. Rode. On a social media site this evening Rode said that Kathleen was "a joy to be with."

At the sci-fi fest Hughes charmingly described her courtship with Rubin, agreeing to go out with him after being told he was "one of the nicest guys in Hollywood." She told us that when she opened the door on their first date and saw him she "would have married him on the spot."

Hughes and Rubin were married for 49 years, until his 2014 passing. Hughes is survived by three of their four children.

I've seen a majority of Kathleen Hughes' movies, including those in which she had bit parts. Reviews: ROAD HOUSE (1948), MOTHER IS A FRESHMAN (1949), IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING (1949), WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1950), I'LL GET BY (1950), TAKE CARE OF MY LITTLE GIRL (1951), SALLY AND SAINT ANNE (1952), IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953), THE GOLDEN BLADE (1953), THE GLASS WEB (1953), DAWN AT SOCORRO (1954).

Update: Here's a tribute by Alan K. Rode which was published in Variety.

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