Jill Townsend is Dulcey Coopersmith on Cimarron Strip

Though it only lasted for one season, Cimarron Strip was great show. But it was the presence of Jill Townsend as the lovely Dulcey Coopersmith, proprietor of the local inn, that really added to the noteworthiness of this 90 minute western. Played with such charm and grace, Jill Townsend really carved out a memorable spot in television history.

Jill Townsend on Space: 1999

In 1977, Jill Townsend made a very memorable guest appearance on the sci-fi TV show Space: 1999. This episode aired right before the second series of Poldark first aired. After that Jill Townsend pretty much retired from acting, only appearing in the horror movie The Awakening in 1980 and an appearance on the TV show Scarecrow and Mrs. King in 1985. However, her featured role on Space: 1999 really displayed her fundamental beauty and charm and was a nice way to cap off over a decade of great TV guest appearances.

Janet Julian in Ghost Warrior

In 1986, Janet Julian starred in Ghost Warrior, a movie about an ancient samurai frozen in ice who is awakened in 1980s Los Angeles. Also known as Swordkill, the movie features Janet Julian as the woman who understands the samurai and is the only person who really wants to help him. Ghost Warrior is a fun movie but not very well remembered today but well worth viewing if you have the time...or if you like Janet Julian. This, along with Choke Canyon which came out the same year, were her last 'big' movie roles and she would not appear in anything again until 1989 when she got a featured role on the TV show Falcon Crest. She did a few movies in the 1990s (including King of New York) but was not featured as heavily as she was in Ghost Warrior.


The following are some images of Janet Julian in Ghost Warrior aka Swordkill:

Janet Louise Johnson is Nancy Drew

Before she took the name Janet Julian, she was known Janet Louise Johnson. She had done two TV appearances in 1973 when she was a kid, but in 1978 she replaced Pamela Sue Martin on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. It was a fine choice but unfortunately it was not meant to be. Janet Louise Johnson only got to be in four episodes of the show at the end of its second season. The producers chose not to feature a Nancy Drew character at all in the third season and the show ended afterwards. Would the show have survived longer if they had kept Janet L. Johnson on the show? It certainly couldn't have hurt. Unfazed, Janet went on to do a bunch of television guest appearances, changed her professional name to Janet Julian around 1980 and found some success on TV and in movies.


The following images are of Janet Louise Johnson in the 1978 episode 'Mystery on the Avalanche Express' of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries:

Barbara De Rossi in Nosferatu a Venezia

In 1988, Barbara De Rossi appeared in the film Nosferatu a Venezia alongside actors Klaus Kinski, Christopher Plummer and Donald Pleasence. The movie is also known as Vampire in Venice and Nosferatu in Venice. Unfairly compared to its predecessor, the 1979 film Nosferatu the Vampyre, Nosferatu a Venezia is actually a fun, campy movie. The film apparently had a bit of a troubled production and it does show in the final product, but nevertheless the movie remains highly watchable. Barbara De Rossi is not in the movie all that much, but she does play a key role and gets her fair share of screen time.

Barbara De Rossi in La Piovra

In 1984, Barbara De Rossi appeared as a heroin-addicted countess in the Italian mafia miniseries La Piovra (translated to The Octopus in english). This was the first of three Rai (an Italian television company) miniseries she did between 1984-85 (followed by Quo Vadis? and Mussolini and I, both in 1985).

Here are a couple of images from La Piovra:

Jill Townsend

Jill Townsend is a wonderful actress from the 1960s and 70s. She is perhaps best known for her role as Dulcey Coopersmith on the 90 minute CBS western Cimarron Strip. I originally had sought out an episode of that show which featured Tuesday Weld in her final television guest appearance, but was pleasantly surprised to discover Jill Townsend when I sat down to watch it. I went on to check out some of her other small screen guest star roles and have been consistently satisfied. She did some really fun episodes of The Wild Wild West and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., and displayed some incredibly graceful aging in an episode of Space: 1999. Jill Townsend appeared in some other famous works, like Alfie Darling (the not so well remembered sequel to Alfie), Sitting Target (with Oliver Reed), The Awakening (with Charlton Heston) and the distinguished miniseries Poldark...but I haven't gotten around to watching them yet.