Broadway and television actress Mercedes Shirley died Jan. 29 of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, CA, Variety reported.

Ms. Shirley, who was also known as Mercedes Pender, was 71.

Among her Broadway credits were Desperate Hours with Paul Newman and Karl Malden, Heartbreak House with Beatrice Arthur and The Father with Raymond Massey and Grace Kelly.

She also appeared in stock stagings of A Streetcar Named Desire with Dennis Weaver and Period of Adjustment with Robert Vaughn.

Ms. Shirley appeared in numerous TV roles in the 1950s, 60s and beyond, on such shows as “Playhouse 90,” “Bonanza,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Father Knows Best,” “Mod Squad” and “Trapper John, M.D.” She won Drama-Logue Awards for L.A.-area productions of The Dresser in 1996 and Deathtrap in 1994.

Her next project was to be directing Madame Butterfly by David Belasco at the Secret Rose Theater, Variety reported.

Ms. Shirley taught at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and the Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles.

She is survived by her husband, Robert Pender and two sons.

-- By Kenneth Jones