Nancy Kovack Revisited

Nancy Kovack

    Nancy Kovack (born Nancy Kovach; March 11, 1935) is a retired American film and television actress.

    Born in Flint, Michigan, Kovack is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Kovack. Her father was the manager of a General Motors plant. She enrolled at the University of Michigan when she was 15 years old and graduated by age 19. She was an active participant in beauty contests, winning eight titles by the time she was 20.

    Kovack became interested in acting when she went to New York City to attend a wedding.

    After working as a model, she became one of the Glee Girls for Jackie Gleason.

    She has appeared on a number of TV series including Star Trek, Bewitched (playing Darrin Stephens' ex-fiancée and Samantha's nemesis, Sheila Summers), Batman (episodes 5 and 6), I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart, Perry Mason, 12 O'Clock High, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Invaders (season 2 episode 16 Task Force), Burke's Law, Family Affair (1968 episode titled "Family Plan") and "Hawaii Five-O" (the 1969 episode "The Face of the Dragon"). She appeared in a key role as a sexy, native witchdoctor and femme fatale in one of the most sobering of the original Star Trek episodes, "A Private Little War". In 1969 she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for an appearance on Mannix.

    In addition to her guest appearances on television programs, Kovack was hostess of the game show Beat the Clock.

    As her profile increased, Kovack began to gain roles in Hollywood movies, most notably as the high priestess Medea in Jason and the Argonauts (1963). She also had parts in Diary of a Madman (1963) with Vincent Price, The Outlaws Is Coming (1965) with The Three Stooges, Sylvia (1965), The Great Sioux Massacre (1965), The Silencers (1966) with Dean Martin, Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966) with Mike Henry, Frankie and Johnny (1966) with Elvis Presley, and Carl Reiner's directorial debut Enter Laughing (1967).

    On Broadway she appeared in The Disenchanted. Her last film role was in Marooned (1969), a science-fiction drama. Credited as Nancy Mehta, she played the murder victim in the made-for-TV movie/series pilot Ellery Queen (also known as Too Many Suspects; 1975).

    Besides her acting in the United States, Kovack starred in three films that were made in Iran.

    In 1969, Kovack married conductor Zubin Mehta, then music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and later music director of the New York Philharmonic. Until 2006, the Mehtas spent some months of the year in residence in Munich, Germany, where Mr. Mehta was the Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Mehta is currently Music Director for life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Main Conductor for Valencia's opera house. Mehta is also the chief conductor of the Maggio Musicale festival in Florence, Italy.

    Susan McDougal (known for being a part of the Whitewater controversy) worked as Kovack's personal assistant in the early 1990s. After her employment ended, Kovack took legal action against McDougal for alleged embezzlement. McDougal was acquitted in 1998 on all twelve charges. A suit by McDougal in 1999 for malicious prosecution ended in a settlement.