Maura McGiveney; TV Actress

Maura McGiveney, an actress active in film and television during the 1960s and ‘70s, has died at a convalescent hospital in Sherman Oaks.

A featured player in such TV series as “Hawaii Five-0,” “The Virginians,” “The Hollywood Palace,” “Perry Mason,” “Adam 12” and dozens more, she was 51. She died of cirrhosis of the liver last Saturday, said her companion, Worley Thorne.

Miss McGiveney was born in London to Owen McGiveney, the famous “quick change” actor who portrayed several Dickens characters almost simultaneously on stage. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and first came to Hollywood for film work.

She was a comedian and singer, and perhaps her best-remembered role will be as a bit of television trivia.

In 1969 George Schlatter tried to capitalize on his success as producer of “Laugh-In” with a similar program he titled “Turn-On.” It was telecast Feb. 5, 1969, and featured several variety performers, including the curvaceous Miss McGiveney as “The Body Politic.”

It featured a satire of the Pope and several sexually oriented skits. “Turn-On” so provoked the ABC affiliates that they refused to carry a second broadcast, and sponsor Bristol-Myers canceled it after a single performance.

Earlier, Miss McGiveney had earned a Golden Globe nomination from the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. as Most Promising Newcomer of 1966 for her work in the film farce “Do Not Disturb” and appeared on stage in “The Second City” and “The Fantasticks,” among other productions.

Besides Thorne, a television and film writer, she is survived by her mother, Elizabeth, and two brothers.