Sara Lane's brief foray into the world of show business began in 1966 when she was cast as the orphaned Wyoming frontier girl Elizabeth Grainger in the long-running NBC western series The Virginian, which premiered in 1962. She appeared opposite her co-stars James Drury and Doug McClure in a total of 105 episodes until the penultimate season concluded in 1970.
Born Susan Russell Lane in New York, Sara was the oldest of three siblings to Broadway and screen actors Rusty Lane and Sara Anderson. As a nine-month-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 at the age of 12, she 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, which led to a successful audition and a featured role in the Joan Crawford thriller I Saw What You Did in 1965. Sara's approach to acting was reticent, as she persisted in order to earn enough money to pursue her hobbies, including making clothes, making jewelry, and raising quarter horses.
In 1966, Sara was signed by the future head of Universal TV, Frank Price, to play the female lead in season five of The Virginian. Her casting was aided by her skills as an equestrian, which allowed her to perform many of her own stunts. After retiring from film work in 1977, Sara and her husband co-founded the Havens Winery in Napa Valley, which acquired a solid reputation for producing red wine blends.
Sara Russell Lane passed away on March 3, 2023, at the age of 75, after a battle with breast cancer. She was survived by her husband of 43 years, Jon Scott, and their two children.
