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Sara Lane's brief career in show business began in 1966 when she was cast as Elizabeth Grainger, an orphaned Wyoming frontier girl, in the long-running NBC western series The Virginian (1962). Starring alongside James Drury and Doug McClure, she appeared in approximately 105 episodes until the penultimate season ended in 1970.
Blonde and blue-eyed, she was born Susan Russell Lane in New York, the eldest of three children to Broadway and screen actors Rusty Lane and Sara Anderson. At nine months old, she appeared in a soap advertisement and an educational film about bathing babies. The family later moved to California, where Sara attended Santa Monica High School and, at age 12, appeared in a vitamin pill TV commercial. Producer/director William Castle spotted her photo in a newspaper covering her participation as a semi-finalist in a Miss Los Angeles Teen beauty contest, leading to a successful audition and a featured role as one of two teenage telephone pranksters in the Joan Crawford thriller I Saw What You Did (1965).
Sara approached acting cautiously, aiming to earn enough money to continue making clothes, jewelry, and raising quarter horses, of which she owned two. In 1965, she secured a guaranteed weekly income when Universal signed her as a contract player in their talent development program. The following year, she was cast by future Universal TV head Frank Price as the young 'lady of the house' at Shiloh Ranch on The Virginian. She debuted as Elizabeth Grainger in the fifth season premiere and continued through the eighth season (1969–70). Her casting was strengthened by her equestrian skills and comfort with horses—qualities her two predecessors lacked. Consequently, directors required fewer doubles or stunt riders for her scenes. She was fully committed to doing her own riding and, with approval from studio executives, performed selected stunts. This allowed writers to include more horseback scenes that showcased her character's connection to ranch life.
In the mid-1970s, Sara, now credited as Russell Lane, appeared in several low-budget films that have largely been forgotten. After retiring from acting in 1977, she and her husband co-founded Havens Winery in Napa Valley seven years later. The winery gradually earned a strong reputation for producing red wine blends. In 2010, the business was acquired by the Smith-Anderson Wine Group.
Susan Russell Lane passed away from breast cancer on March 3, 2023. She is survived by her husband of 43 years, Jon Scott, and their two children.
