The evil Sheila Devore
Sheila Devore (Patricia Barry; 1922-2016) was the main villainess from "A Wig for Miss Devore," episode 2.19 of Thriller (airdate January 29, 1962).
Sheila Devore was an aging actress who was shown with studio bookkeeper Herbert Bleake discussing her plan for her comeback: playing notorious evil witch Meg Payton in her next project. To get in character, Sheila has Herbert order Meg's wig for her to wear, and once she wears it, she becomes youthful in appearance and finds herself back in the public eye. After ejecting gossip writer Arabella Foote (due to her bitterness over Arabella's attempts to dig up dirt on her), Sheila meets studio head/former lover Max Quinke, who pleaded with Sheila to remove her wig after their romantic embrace, with Sheila acquiescing.
Afterwards, Sheila turned heel by attacking Max and drowning him in the fountain, with the scene showing that Sheila's hands were withered and monstrous. Following Max's murder, Sheila phoned director George Machik regarding Max, falsely claiming that Max attacked her before the pair decided to phone police and set up the murder as self-defense. Later in the episode, George announced his plans to marry Sheila, doing so to avoid testifying against her, and later that following evening, Sheila celebrated the fact that George inherited Max's share of their partnership. After another romantic embrace, the evil Sheila removed her wig and revealed her monstrous form before shoving George over the balcony and to his death.
Herbert, meanwhile, had learned that the wig was cursed and turned Sheila into a deranged murderess, but in response to Herbert's warnings, Sheila vocally embraced her heel persona--while threatening to kill him regarding Herbert's knowledge of her murderous actions. During the episode's climax, Arabella confronted Sheila, as she had learned about the wig's power from Herbert, and she accused her of killing George and Max before demanding that Sheila remove the wig. After Sheila refused, Arabella snatched the wig off of her, seeing Sheila's monstrous form before she ended up killed by the villainess.
After killing Arabella, Sheila--with her face covered--ran out of the building, though as she was doing so, a pillar ended up falling on her. The villainess pleaded with Herbert to not allow any lights to shine on her, only for a pair of headlights to turn on and place an unwanted spotlight on her hideous form before Sheila fatally succumbed to her injuries.
Trivia[]
- Patricia Barry appeared earlier in the series as villainess Rachel Judson during Season One, and later appeared as the evil Lana Layne on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
A Wig for Miss DeVore - Boris Karloff's B&W thriller