Twilight Zone actress Christine White dies at 86

PUBLISHED: 13:49 EST, 20 May 2013 | UPDATED: 13:49 EST, 20 May 2013

Christine White, who played a calming wife on a classic 1963 Twilight Zone episode that featured a young William Shatner, has died at age 86.

White portrayed Julia Wilson in Nightmare at 20,000 Feet in which her husband Bob, portrayed by Shatner, becomes unnerved after seeing a gremlin on the wing of the mid-flight plane.

The tension mounts throughout the episode as Bob has just returned from a sanitarium following a nervous breakdown six months prior that also occurred on a plane.

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Christine White, who died in April at age 86, and William Shatner starred in The Twilight Zone classic from 1963

The situation becomes tense as the gremlin starts pulling wires from a wing panel and jumps out of view each time someone else looks out the window.

Show host Rod Serling told viewers early in the episode that Bob's destination on the flight was the 'darkest corner of the Twilight Zone.'

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White died on April 14 in a nursing home in Washington according to a death notice published earlier this month in The Carroll County Times in Maryland, according to a report by The New York Times.

Worried wife: Christine's character tried to keep her composure as her husband grew increasingly anxious at the site of the gremlin

White was born in Washington and moved to New York to pursue a career in theatre after graduating in 1947 with a degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She made it to Hollywood by the 1950s and appeared on TV shows and in the movies into the 1970s.

White had acting roles in Bonanza, Perry Mason, The Rifleman, The Untouchables and Father Knows Best during her career.

Remembering his co-star: Shatner, who went on to play Capt. James T. Kirk on Star Trek, kept Christine's family in his thoughts

Her survivors include numerous nieces and nephews.

White in the classic Twilight Zone episode does her best to soothe her increasingly agitated husband as the plane travels in stormy, lightning-filled weather.

Fearing for the safety of the plane's passengers, Bob lifts a sleeping policeman's gun and opens the emergency exit.

Working actress: Christine, shown on Perry Mason in 1958, appeared in more than 50 television shows and movies

He's nearly blown away, but fires and strikes the gremlin.

While Bob is being taken away on a gurney, Serling promises he won't be confined for long as the viewer sees the wing panel ripped by the gremlin.

Shatner, who went onto fame as Capt. James T. Kirk on television's Star Trek, posted a Twitter message on Sunday saying that he was thinking about White's family.

Christine White, Actress in a Classic ¿Twilight Zone,¿ Dies at 86

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I remember that classic TZ episode, the cabin crew thought she was imagining it, But when the plane landed, and they saw a massof wires ripped from the wing,.... Christine White...RIP.

- The Duke of Chelsea , London, United Kingdom, 21/5/2013 15:36

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RIP, Christine White. Great Twilight Zone episode for sure....... But, you don't even acknowledge the passing of the great Ray Manzarek, of The Doors, DM. Call yourselves a newspaper? Pfft. RIP, Ray. Thanks for the music....

- Ginistera , Bristol, United Kingdom, 21/5/2013 10:01

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i saw a gremlin on the wing of a plane once..

- Watts , Melbourne Australia, 21/5/2013 08:03

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Such an iconic episode of Twilight Zone

- News_Girl21 , Cheyenne, United States, 21/5/2013 03:30

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This my favourite Twilight Zone episode so I'm sad to hear of Christine White's passing. The Twilight Zone was an unbeatable TV show, and this episode a particularly iconic one which will always be fondly remembered.

- Charlotte , Folkestone, United Kingdom, 21/5/2013 02:32

Click to rate Rating 29

Rest in peace, Christine. You made brilliant history.

- Mick , Sydney, 20/5/2013 22:53

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I remember watching that episode, it was so scary .. not as scary as the doll one with Telly Savalas though. RIP Christine x

- Helen , Surrey, 20/5/2013 22:24

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Odd. Her biography sad she was born in 1932, making her 81.

- bluffer , Sacramento, 20/5/2013 22:22

Click to rate Rating 9

Poor thing - she looks so worried in that picture. Did the gremlin win? I hate nasty gremlins.