Biography
Vitina, born Dolores Vitina Marcus in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, was the daughter of Frank Marcus and Rose, with Sicilian and Hungarian roots. During her teenage years, she studied ballet, learned violin, and briefly modeled for the Huntington Hartford Agency. At 17, she enrolled in classes at Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio. Taking her Sicilian grandmother’s first name, she debuted on screen as Dolores Vitina, one of sixteen dancers in The June Taylor Dancers on The Jackie Gleason Show (1952). Her film debut came shortly after in the crime drama Never Love a Stranger (1958).
From 1959 to 1970, Vitina appeared in numerous classic TV shows, often cast as Native Americans due to her exotic, sultry appearance. She appeared in Have Gun - Will Travel (1957) as Della White Cloud, an Apache princess, as well as in Death Valley Days (1952), Rawhide (1959), Gunsmoke (1955), and The Virginian (1962). Portraying a 'female Tarzan,' she captured Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) in a 1964 episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. set in Africa. As Kublai Khan’s daughter, she was courted by James Darren in The Time Tunnel (1966). After meeting producer Irwin Allen around 1959 or 1960, Vitina frequently appeared in his fantasy and sci-fi productions. Her characters often faced threats from dinosaurs, phantoms, and giant spiders, sometimes painted gold or famously green. Notably, she romantically pursued the cowardly Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris) in the Lost in Space (1965) episode “The Girl from the Green Dimension.” Her portrayal of Athena, also known as 'The Green Lady,' remains her most memorable role and personal favorite.
Retiring from acting in 1970, Vitina relocated to Las Vegas. She initially worked as a cocktail waitress before becoming a real estate broker under her married name, Vitina Graham.
