Sara Lane's relatively brief fling with show biz began in 1966 when she was cast as the orphaned Wyoming frontier girl Elizabeth Grainger in the long-running NBC western series The Virginian (1962). Opposite her co-stars James Drury and Doug McClure, she went on to feature in some 105 episodes until the penultimate season concluded in 1970.

Blonde and blue-eyed, she was born Susan Russell Lane in New York, the oldest of three siblings, to Broadway and screen actors Rusty Lane and Sara Anderson. As a nine months-old toddler, she appeared in an advertisement for a brand of soap and in an educational film about 'bathing babies'. The family later relocated to California where Sara attended Santa Monica High School, and, aged 12, made a TV commercial for vitamin pills. Producer/director William Castle noticed her picture in a newspaper covering her participation as a semi-finalist in a Miss Los Angeles Teen beauty contest. This led to a successful audition and a featured role (as one of two teenage telephone pranksters who get more than they bargained for) in the Joan Crawford thriller I Saw What You Did (1965).

Sara's approach to acting as a profession was reticent. She persisted in order to, in her own words, earn enough money to keep "making clothes, making jewelry, and raising quarter horses" (she owned two). In 1965 she achieved the safety net of a guaranteed, weekly income when Universal signed her as a contract player within the studio's talent development program. The next year she was cast by the future head of Universal TV, Frank Price, as the new, young 'lady of the house' at Shiloh Ranch on The Virginian. There she made her debut as Elizabeth Grainger in year five's premiere episode and would continue through the eighth season, 1969 - 70. Sara's casting in the role was enhanced by her obvious skills as an equestrian and her display of being at ease around horses -- traits her two predecessors at Shiloh clearly lacked. Now directors didn't have to utilize as many Sara-doubles or stunt riders as before. She proved to be 'all in' for doing her own riding; and with an 'okay' from the front office, selectively performed her own stunts. This change benefited the writers as well - no longer having to eliminate or minimize scenes showing the ranch girl's reason(s) for being on horseback.

In the mid-70s, Sara appeared (now billed as Russell Lane) in several low budget productions that are best forgotten. After retiring from film work in 1977, Sara and her husband were co-founders seven years later of the Havens Winery in Napa Valley, which, over time, acquired a solid reputation for producing red wine blends. In 2010, the business was acquired by the Smith-Anderson Wine Group.

Susan Russell Lane died from breast cancer on March 3 2023 and was survived by her husband of 43 years Jon Scott and her two children.

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Sara Lane

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