Leigh Snowden

American actress

Leigh Snowden

Snowden in a promotional picture for Tightrope! (1960)

Born|

Martha Lee Estes

(1929-06-23)June 23, 1929

Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.

Died| May 16, 1982(1982-05-16) (aged 52)

North Hollywood, California, U.S.

Occupation(s)| Film, television, stage actress
Years active| 1954–1961, 1971
Spouses|

James W. Snowden, Sr.

(m. 1952; div. 1955)​

Dick Contino

(m. 1956)​

Children| 5

Leigh Snowden (June 23, 1929 – May 16, 1982) was an American actress in motion pictures and television.

## Early life[edit]

Snowden was born Martha Lee Estes in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.[1] When her father died when she was three, Estes and her mother moved to Covington, Tennessee. When she was 16, Estes married her classmate, James Snowden, and moved with him to San Francisco, California, when he joined the military.[2] After the birth of two children, a girl and boy, Leigh and James Snowden got an uncontested divorce with Leigh gaining custody of the children.[citation needed]

## Early career[edit]

After her divorce, Snowden moved to Los Angeles, California, and worked in modeling and in small parts on television. She got her big break into show business on a Jack Benny Christmas show that was televised from the San Diego Naval Base. When Snowden walked across the stage in front of an audience of 10,000 sailors, the sailors cheered and whistled so enthusiastically that 11 Hollywood studios contacted her the next day. The event led to the newspaper headline "Sailors' Whistles Blow Blonde into Film Studio".[3] Snowden chose Universal Pictures because of the training provided by its film school; she began voice and acting classes with Mara Corday, Pat Crowley, Clint Eastwood, James Garner, and John Saxon.[3]

Snowden appeared in the films All That Heaven Allows, The Square Jungle, The Creature Walks Among Us, Outside the Law, I've Lived Before, and Hot Rod Rumble in addition to television appearances.[citation needed] Her last performance in movies was as Evie in The Comancheros (1961). Her last TV roles came in episodes of This Is Alice (1958) and Tightrope (1960).

In 1956, Snowden met accordionist Dick Contino at a party given by actor Tony Curtis. In September, after a three-month acquaintance, Snowden and Contino were married.[3] Contino's family, who were Catholic, originally objected to the marriage because Snowden was divorced, but they relented and attended the civil ceremony in a Beverly Hills hotel.[4][5] Snowden and Contino had three children together, in addition to her two children from her first marriage. Snowden left acting after her marriage and the birth of their first child. She sometimes appeared with him as a singer, in his nightclub acts.[1]

## Return to acting[edit]

In 1971, Snowden appeared in the role of Maggie in the Fresno Community Theater production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. She professed a love of the stage, though she claimed to be nervous about having to appear in her slip during most of the play's second act.[3]

## Death[edit]

Snowden died of cancer, aged 52, on May 16, 1982 in North Hollywood, California.[6]

## Filmography[edit]

### Film[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1955  | Kiss Me Deadly | Cheesecake  |
1955  | Francis in the Navy | Nurse Appleby  |
1955  | All That Heaven Allows | Jo-Ann Grisby  |
1955  | The Square Jungle | Lorraine Evans  |
1956  | The Creature Walks Among Us | Marcia Barton  |
1956  | Outside the Law | Maria Craven  |
1956  | The Rawhide Years | Miss Vanilla Bissell  |
1956  | I've Lived Before | Lois Gordon  |
1956  | Riddles in Rhythm | Leigh  | Short film
1957  | Hot Rod Rumble | Terri Warren  |
1961  | The Comancheros | Ada Belle  | Uncredited

### Television[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1954  | The Jack Benny Program | Beautiful Girl  | Episode: "The Life of Jack Benny"
1955  | Studio 57 |  | Episode: "The Will to Survive"
1955  | The Mickey Rooney Show | Mona Sanders  | Episode: "Star Struck"
1955  | Lux Video Theatre | Haney Benson / Diane Baxter  | 2 episodes
1955–1959  | The Bob Cummings Show | Chorus Girl / Cynthia / Doris  | 3 episodes
1958  | This Is Alice | Betty Lou  | 3 episodes
1959  | The Lineup | Helen  | Episode: "Vengeful Knife"
1960  | Tightrope! | Candy  | Episode: "Three to Make Ready"
1960  | Bachelor Father | Elaine Baker  | Episode: "Where There's a Will"
1961  | The Detectives | Susie  | Episode: "One Lucky Break"

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Weaver, Tom; Schecter, David; Kronenberg, Steve (February 6, 2017). The Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1580-6.
2. ^ "How Leigh Snowden Broke into Movies (June 3, 1956)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
3. ^ a b c d Hale, David (March 14, 1971). "Actress Leigh Snowden: She was a Hollywood 'Glamour Puss'". The Fresno Bee The Republican. pp. 4–G. Retrieved August 3, 2017 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Contino and Leigh Snowden honeymoon". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. September 19, 1956. Retrieved August 3, 2017 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Dick Contino to wed Leigh Snowden today". The Logansport Press. 1956-09-18. p. 4. Retrieved 2017-08-03 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Obituaries". United Press International. Retrieved August 3, 2017.

## External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Leigh Snowden.

* Leigh Snowden at IMDb
* Leigh Snowden at AllMovie

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* United States

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced