Marian Bell, 72; Tennis Champ, Actress Had TV and Film Roles

Marian McCargo Bell, a television and movie actress and the wife of former Rep. Alphonzo Bell Jr., has died. She was 72.

Bell died Wednesday of pancreatic cancer at an assisted living facility in Santa Monica.

As Marian McCargo, Bell appeared in “The Undefeated,” a 1969 western starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson. She also had roles in “Dead Heat on a Merry Go Round” (1966), “Doctor’s Wives” (1971), and “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell” (1969). Among her numerous television credits are “Perry Mason,” “Hawaii 5-0,” “Hogan’s Heroes,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” and “Falcon Crest.”

Bell, who was born in Pittsburgh, attended West Hills College in Boston, where she met her first husband, Richard Cantrell Moses, who later became an advertising executive in Los Angeles.

A former tennis champion and Wightman Cup winner, Bell defeated Mo Connelly at Forest Hills, N.Y., in 1950. Decades later, she won California’s State Senior Tennis Championship in doubles.

When she and Bell (R-Beverly Hills) married in 1970, she had four sons by her previous marriage and he was a widower with three sons. She became an active political wife who campaigned for her husband, including during his unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1976.

She is survived by her husband, sons Rick, Graham, Harry and Billy Moses, and Matt, Bob and Tony Bell, all of Los Angeles; her brother, Grant McCargo of Sewickley, Pa., and 18 grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Forest Lawn, Glendale. Instead of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 1111 S. Arroyo Parkway, Suite 400, Pasadena, CA 91105.