Kathleen Beller on Barnaby Jones



In the late 1970s, Kathleen Beller was working constantly on television and in feature films. The actress made guest appearances on a number of shows and one such appearance was on a 1977 episode of the popular TV series Barnaby Jones.




In the episode "Run Away to Terror," Kathleen Beller plays the daughter of a millionaire who decides to run away from home. After she accidentally hits a guy with her car she decides to take refuge at the Garden of Elysium, a new age/hippie commune somewhere outside of Los Angeles. Playing on the fear of cults that prevailed during this time period, this cult turns out to be not so nice. They decide to keep the girl hostage until her wealthy father pays a 200,000 dollar ransom. Of course, Barnaby Jones has already been hired to investigate...and I think you can guess how this turns out!

Kathleen Beller, around 21 at the time, plays an 18 year old. The actress would often be called upon to play younger characters until the early '80s. She does does a great job here, looking lovely and easily conveying disillusionment and innocence of the angry, stupid rich girl she is portraying.