In The Farmer’s Daughter (TV 1963-66), Inger Stevens portrayed Katy Holstrum, a Swedish farm girl who left her home in Minnesota to become a housekeeper for a congressman in Washington. It ran on ABC until 1966. After the cancellation of The Farmer’s Daughter, Inger returned to the silver screen. In 1967, she starred opposite Walter Matthau in A Guide for the Married Man. In 1968, she appeared in films with such luminaries as Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark and Dean Martin. By 1970, she was ready to attempt a comeback on television with the detective drama series The Most Deadly Game. Alas, it was not to be. On the morning of April 30, 1970, Stephens was found lying face down on the kitchen floor of her Hollywood home. She died en route to hospital of “acute barbiturate intoxication,” a deadly combination of drugs and alcohol, according to Los Angeles Coroner Thomas Noguchi. She was 35 years old. Classic Images.
