In her heyday, Elaine Stewart worked alongside such screen legends as Gene Kelly, Kirk Douglas, Karl Malden, and Richard Widmark. She passed away after a long illness at the age of 81.
Stewart was a model from Montclair, New Jersey before moving to Hollywood to pursue acting. She quickly nabbed a role alongside Douglas in the 1952 film "The Bad and the Beautiful." This led to a string of roles in classic 50s film such as "Brigadoon," "Night Passage," and "The Adventures of Hajji Baba." She also appeared on the TV series "Perry Mason" and "Bat Masterson."
After marrying game show creator Merrill Heatter in 1964 (her second marriage), Stewart began a second career as a game show personality. He co-hosted the show "Gambit" beside TV icon Wink Martindale, and later teamed with future "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek for the night time game show "High Rollers."
Stewart was born Elsy Steinberg and was once featured on the cover of "Life" magazine. She is survived by Heatter and their two children.
