'The Waltons' Actress Sian Barbara Allen, Dies At 78

Sian Barbara Allen, a film and television actress remembered for her standout roles in the 1970s, died on March 31 at the age of 78. According to her family, the cause was Alzheimer’s disease. She passed away in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Allen gained recognition for her lead role in the 1973 television thriller Scream, Pretty Peggy, portraying Peggy Jones, a young housekeeper caught in a chilling mystery. The film also featured Ted Bessell and Bette Davis. That same year, Allen appeared on the beloved family drama The Waltons, playing Jenny Pendleton, a brief but memorable love interest of John-Boy Walton, portrayed by Richard Thomas.

Sian Barbara Allen’s career

In 1972, she starred opposite Thomas again in You’ll Like My Mother, a suspenseful drama also featuring Patty Duke and Rosemary Murphy. Her performance in the film earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising New Actress.

Allen’s film career continued with a role in Billy Two Hats (1974), sharing the screen with Gregory Peck and Jack Warden. In 1976, she portrayed Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the wife of aviator Charles Lindbergh, in the television movie The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case.

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on July 12, 1946, Allen was raised by her mother and grandmother. After graduating from Reading High School, she received a scholarship to study at the Pasadena Playhouse in California, setting the stage for her acting career.

Allen made her television debut in 1971 with guest appearances on series, including O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, Alias Smith and Jones, and Gunsmoke. Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, she became a familiar face on television, with roles in Columbo, The Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-O, Marcus Welby, M.D., and The Incredible Hulk.