MARGARET GARLAND BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER SPACE CADET

She was born in 1921, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Her real name was Margaret Ledbetter, and her father was Brigadier General Louis A. Ledbetter. Her mother's maiden name was Margaret Garland. On her mother's side, she was the great-grand-daughter of a Choctaw Indian chief, Samuel Garland. She was also related to two other Choctaw chiefs, Peter Pitchlyn and William Harrison. Her paternal grandfather, W. A. Ledbetter, was a member of the original Oklahoma State Constitutional Convention.

Margaret was one of three girls born to General and Mrs. Ledbetter. These were Helen Letitia Ramirez (21 August 1916 -- 4 March 2001), Margaret (born 1921), and Marcheta (born before or after Margaret by a year or so).

Her grandmother, Mrs. W. A. Ledbetter, called her "Nookie." She and her sister Marcheta, known as "Skittie," were inseperable in high school, and took part in all the theatrical productions that the school, Central High, put on. She was champion orator, and a commencement speaker. As a senior, her accomplishments were listed as Student Council Representative, Junior and Senior Play, Golden Key Club (a very select dramatic club with members nominated by teachers), President of the Dramatic Club, Inter-Student Council, Les Beaux Arts Club, and Red Skirts Pep Cub. The image is that of a perky, talented, energetic and popular young lady!

In 1937 she enrolled in the nearby college, Oklahoma A & M, in Stillwater, as a drama major. She left college after a couple of years to tour with a travelling company of players, performing all over the U.S. and Canada. As an actress, she apparently adopted her mother's maiden name: Margaret Garland-- her mother seems to have died before Margaret left Oklahoma. Her sister Marcheta married a man named Ralph Williams, and together they ran a large ranch, the Madill, in which Margaret later invested some of her earnings. During WWII, Ralph Williams served as a Captain in the 45th Division.

In 1939, Margaret moved to New York City, where she appeared in a number of plays on and off Broadway. There she met William Hammerstein, the son of the famous Oscar Hammerstein II, and married him on December 18, 1941. At this time her father was commanding at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. William Hammerstein was in the Naval Reserve and called into active duty soon after his marriage to Margaret.

During the war years, Margaret served in the American Red Cross in England, France and Germany. She also worked as a stage manager and master of ceremonies for live shows put on by the Red Cross for servicemen. Her father, as Col. Louis Ledbetter (formerly, then later, Brigadier General) became the Commanding Officer of a Prisoner of War Internment Camp in 1944. He later returned to and retired as the Adjutant General of the Oklahoma National Guard.

After the war she appeared on Broadway in such plays as I REMEMBER MOMMA and ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS. She was also heard in radio dramas and soap operas broadcast from New York. She was appearing regularly on TV in the period 1948-50, in a variety of roles. In 1949, her father was apparently retired and living with Margaret's oldest sister Letitia in Oklahoma City. He seems to have died within a year or so of that date, before having a chance to see many of Margaret's network appearances carried on Oklahoma TV.

Margaret was nevertheless well-remembered "back home" and was appointed an honorary Colonel on the Staff of Oklahoma's Governor Turner during a luncheon of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation in Feburary of 1949. But, potentially far more important for Margaret's career, she appeared as herself in the Louis de Rochemont March of Time film, ON STAGE. There, she represents a typical, young American mid-Western actress who is experiencing all the trials and tribulations associated with finding steady work as an actress. This theatrical short subject was released in March of 1949. It was in effect a public Hollywood screen test for Margaret, and she would have expected it to give a giant jump-start to her career in television and film. Whatever offers materialized could not have been too tempting, considering that a little more than a year later she wound up in a three-a-week children's TV series!

In the summer of 1950 she accepted the part of Dr. Joan Dale, just about the only visible faculty member at Space Academy, on TV's TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET. She continued with the show until the end of its ABC run, in September 1952. She also did non-continuing parts on other TV and radio programs during the period. Although the character of Dr. Dale continued to appear sporadically during the DuMont run of SPACE CADET, August 1953 to May 1954, the part was played by actress Pat Ferris. [Ferris, with hair pulled tightly back, plays the role in a fairly conventional "no-nonsense schoolmarm" style.] Dr. Dale was not mentioned at all in the short final season of the program, broadcast on NBC, December 1954 to June 1955. Margaret Garland also played the role of Joan Dale on the short-lived ABC radio version of TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET (January-July 1952).

It is difficult to overstate how important the character of Dr. Dale, as embodied by Margaret Garland, was to the dynamics of the TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET adventures. She and Captain Strong clearly served as mother/father figures for the (teenage) cadets, while Commander Arkwright (Carter Blake) was the equivalent of a stern, no-nonsense high-school principal. She was also the only faculty member of Space Academy we ever saw teaching in the classroom, and it was her tough exams that generally threatened to flunk out Astro. [By the way, Alfie Higgins of course made the highest grade on these exams, with Roger Manning in strong second place.] She was also the scientific genius behind any technological innovation that the scriptwriters decided the Solar Guard needed to get them to new arenas of adventure, whether she supplied "a new rocket fuel" or a "hyperdrive" capable of taking Solar Guard cruisers to the nearest stars in a matter of days. [A personal note: that "new rocket fuel" always baffled me as a kid, because it had earlier been made clear that the Solar Guard cruisers didn't use fuel. They squirted an inert "reaction mass" (water?) through a nuclear reactor to produce the superheated exhaust!] Many times Dr. Dale was depicted voyaging through space in her trusty rocket scout Orion, fearlessly testing her latest techological breakthrough for space flight. Her part was clearly intended to bring more girls into the viewing audience... but, based on what we have heard from old Space Cadets, more than one 11-to-13-year-old male viewer fell in love with the spunky, lovely blonde Joan Dale.

Many of the TCSC script writers seemed to be confused as to what kind of doctoral degree Dale had; although spoken of constantly as "a great astrophysicist," she also seemed to function as the Solar Guard's medical expert. In fact, in her last appearance as portrayed by Margaret Garland, on the final ABC TV broadcast of TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET, September 26, 1952, it is her medical skill that saves the life of the dying Roger Manning, who has contracted a deadly disease. After this broadcast, both Margaret Garland and Jan Merlin left Space Academy behind, as they thought, forever. But Jan was persuaded to come back for one more short season, when the series was picked up for bi-monthly Saturay 30 minute broadcasts on DuMont.

It is not easy to play an omnicompetent character convincingly, especially one that the scriptwriters never bother to develop, and it is a testimony to Margaret Garland's skill as an actress, honed by more than 15 years of previous experience on stage, in radio and on the small screen, that she is always completely believable in the part of "Professor-Doctor" Joan Dale.

Frankie Thomas and Jan Merlin have always wondered what became of her, but were unable to get any word of her wereabouts. It seems clear she left show business in the Fall of 1952, for whatever reason, and it has also become clear that she currently does not hold many warm memories of these days.

What we know about her later life is pretty skimpy-- after 1952, she spent a number of years living in France, then returned to the US and took up nursing as a career, becoming a therapist at a large hospital. She is currently retired and living in Manhattan.

Efforts to locate and interview her have ended in dismal failure over the years. However, in the summer of 2002, through tireless and very energetic efforts, Phil Nelson, a longtime fan of the great live early 1950s space adventure programs, finally did manage to get in telephone contact with her, and has maintained the contact to date. She is currently also corresponding with Jan Merlin, but she politely declines to be interviewed, and we hope fans will respect her wishes. We are delighted to find that she is alive and well (except for a touch of arthritis). Thanks to Phil for almost all of the information collected about Margaret and used in this writeup.

Return to TOM CORBETT.