TERRY BURNHAM
(sometimes known as Markie/Young Helen Foley)

Elizabeth Teresa "Terry" Burnham was born August 8, 1949 in Los Angeles to Guy Burnham (1916-1998), a draftsman-engineer, born in Honduras, who worked with Aerospace, and Elizabeth Teresa "Betty" Symons (1916-1993). She was one of the finest child actors working in the late 50s and early 60s in TV and film. The role she is best known for came in TZ's first season on April 29, 1960 with Rod Serling's episode "Nightmare as a Child", opposite Janice Rule and Shepperd Strudwick. Although she shared no scenes with Strudwick in the episode, she appeared with him later that year in the Boris Karloff "Thriller" episode "The Mark of the Hand". In "Nightmare as a Child", however, she stole the show - and chances are that the part was written specifically for her; no other young actress could have made the story work as well as it did. To quote one of her fans, "Terry was the Holy Grail of TZ." She outperformed Rule and Strudwick, who give unmemorable performances. Terry's promising career as a starlet began in 1953 at age 4, and continued until 1971, at which point she left showbiz for reasons unknown. It is unknown if she studied acting formally or not, but she began her career mostly in commercials, which she continued to do throughout the sixties. She also appeared on such shows as "Wagon Train", "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" , "Hawaiian Eye", "My Three Sons", and also in several films. From what little that can be deciphered, Terry lived almost all of her life in Long Beach, California. In talking with several people who knew her, she was reportedly a very nice person and was involved in any number of extracurricular activities including the Lakewood Folk Music Association, where she played the guitar and sang. Her parents handled most of her personal affairs, especially those related to her career. The following publicity photos and newspaper article were graciously provided to The Twilight Zone Museum by a collector who acquired a great number of photos and publicity material from Terry's days in Hollywood. Terry passed away on October 7, 2013 in Long Beach at the age of 64 following cardiac arrest. Her work in TV and film will always be very highly regarded by her loyal followers around the globe.


CLICK HERE to read page 1 of the article about Terry that appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News on February 2, 2016 and CLICK HERE to read page 2.



Elizabeth Teresa Burnham, circa 1952.




Terry at movie studio








"Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color"




Terry, circa 1965


High school graduation photo, 1967


Terry Burnham in the late 1970s






From Long Beach newspaper, 5/14/1967


Publicity Shot, circa 1968







CLICK TO SEE MORE PHOTOS!