Elaine Giftos (born 1942/1943)[1] is a retired American model, actress, and dancer.

Elaine Giftos
Giftos with Mike Farrell, 1970
Born1942 or 1943 (age 80–81)
EducationPittsfield High School
Occupations
  • Actress
  • dancer
  • model
Years active1969–2001
Known forNew York City Ballet
The Partridge Family
The Interns
Love, American Style
Spouse
(m. 1973; died 2005)
Websiteelainegiftoswright.com

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Giftos,[1] she attended Pittsfield High School.[2]

While working as a fashion model in New York, Giftos was selected by the Clairol company as Miss Ultra Smooth in 1964. In this role, she traveled around the United States promoting the company's soothing lotion for shaving women's legs.[3] Her work as a photographer's model resulted in photographs of her being used in Ingenue, Redbook, and Seventeen magazines.[4]

Trained by George Balanchine as a member of the New York City Ballet, Giftos performed on Broadway in Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968 and Pousse-Café,[5] then moved to California to pursue a career in movies and television.

Giftos' first television appearance was in an episode of I Dream of Jeannie ("Jeannie the Matchmaker") as a dating-service clerk. Other shows in which she appeared were Bonanza; My Three Sons; The Interns; Ironside; Adam-12; Streets of San Francisco; The Paul Lynde Show; Love, American Style; The Partridge Family in a recurring role as Reuben Kinkcaid's girlfriend Bonnie Kleinschmidt; Kolchak: The Night Stalker; The Bob Newhart Show; The Six Million Dollar Man; Otherworld; Barney Miller; Three's Company; Hawaii Five-O; Quincy, M.E.; Knight Rider; Magnum, P.I.; Murder, She Wrote; Tales of the Unexpected; War of the Worlds; Ally McBeal; Mars and Beyond and Family Law.[6]

Her movie credits include roles in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970); The Student Nurses (1970);[6] Gas-s-s-s (1970, as the female lead Cilla); No Drums, No Bugles (1972); Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972); The Wrestler (1974); Paternity (1981); Angel (1984); and The Trouble with Dick (1987).

Giftos was married to writer/producer Herbert Wright until his death in 2005.

Since 1989, Giftos Wright has provided consulting services for feng shui under the name The Wright Way of Feng Shui.[7][8]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "First Holroyd School Graduates". The Berkshire Eagle. Massachusetts, Pittsfield. June 14, 1960. p. 5. Retrieved November 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ "Bagpipers To Play in 'Brigadoon'". The Berkshire Eagle. Massachusetts, Pittsfield. April 25, 1960. p. 6. Retrieved November 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Merrill, Judith (October 26, 1964). "Smoothly Legging It to Success". The San Francisco Examiner. California, San Francisco. p. 32. Retrieved November 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Woo, William F. (November 1, 1964). "Beautiful Legs Can Take a Girl Far". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri, St. Louis. p. 117. Retrieved November 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "Elaine Giftos". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Elaine Giftos". TVGuide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  7. ^ Way2FengShui.com
  8. ^ LinkedIn profile

External links edit