Actress Kasey Rogers of 'Bewitched' Dies at 80

LOS ANGELES – Kasey Rogers, an actress who was a regular on television shows like "Bewitched" but was best known for an appearance in Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train," has died. She was 80.

Rogers died July 6 at USC University Hospital from a stroke, said her companion, Mark Wood.

Using the name Laura Elliott, Rogers played Farley Granger's estranged wife, Miriam, who is strangled by the psychotic character in "Strangers on a Train."

"For decades, no one realized Laura Elliott and Kasey Rogers were the same woman," Wood told The Los Angeles Times. "All of a sudden, Hitchcock fans were coming out of the woodwork. They wanted to know what happened to Laura Elliott."

Born Imogene Rogers on Dec. 15, 1925, in Morehouse, Mo., Rogers moved with her family to Burbank as a child. She earned the nickname Casey, a reference to "Casey at the bat," because of her hitting prowess in grade-school baseball. Later she changed the C to a K.

Rogers played leads in junior high school and high school plays. She was spotted by a talent agent, leading to a screen test and contract at Paramount during the late 1940s and early '50s.

Among her films are "Special Agent," "Denver and Rio Grande," "Silver City" and "Two Lost Worlds."

On television, she appeared in numerous series, including "Wanted: Dead or Alive," "Bat Masterson," "Cheyenne," "Maverick," "Perry Mason," "77 Sunset Strip," "Adam-12" and "Bewitched."

Twice married and divorced, Rogers is survived by her brother, four children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A funeral will be held Friday at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in the Hollywood Hills.