R.I.P. Sheila Mathews Allen.

Sheila Mathews Allen, actress and wife of film and TV producer Irwin Allen, passed away on November 15, 2013, at the age of 84. 

Per an online posting from Variety, Sheila Mathews met Irwin Allen in 1960, and appeared in a number of Allen’s television and theatrical productions, including the following:

LOST IN SPACE: "Return from Outer Space" (1965)

LOST IN SPACE: "The Space Vikings" (1967)

LOST IN SPACE: "Princess of Space" (1968)

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA: "The Blizzard Makers" (1964)

LAND OF THE GIANTS: "Deadly Lodestone" (1969)

LAND OF THE GIANTS: "Wild Journey" (1970) Also starring Bruce Dern and Yvonne Craig! The series' next-to-final episode -- and one of the five best!

MOVIES: Both "The Poseidon Adventure", and "The Towering Inferno" plus more. 

And, outside the Allen Arena, a recurring character in THE WALTONS and a part in FALCON CREST. 

She also sang opera, which was very likely the reason THIS EPISODE OF LOST IN SPACE came into existence. 

Mathews and Allen were wed in 1974, and remained together until Irwin Allen’s death in 1991.  Since that time, she served as the president of Irwin Allen Productions.  As such, she nicely kept Irwin Allen’s various properties in the public eye with more items than you might think, including:

Comic books and graphic novels. 

The 1998 big-screen adaptation of LOST IN SPACE. 

Softcover and hardcover reprints of 1960s comics material.

A Sci-Fi Channel documentary.

A box set of CDs of music from the Allen TV series. 

DVD sets of all of Irwin Allen’s TV series, and most (if not all) of his theatrical films…

And nice little tchotchkes like THIS PIECE OF 2013 MERCHANDISE.

   

One hopes that whomever succeeds Sheila Mathews Allen, as the custodian of “All Things Allen”, will continue to both promote and protect her husband’s legacy.  

Rest in Peace, Ms. Shelia Mathews Allen!