LINDA HARDISTY UPDATE: An Obituary Surfaces

A photo of Linda Hardisty, published in the 1970 yearbook of Boise State College.

Earlier today, I made phone calls to public libraries in Battle Ground, WA, and Boise, ID, in an effort to gather more information about the passing of Linda Hardisty.

As detailed in this blog post, Linda Hardisty spent time in Japan and guested on two episodes of the popular television series Ultra Seven, produced by Tsuburaya Productions. Many Ultra-fans were curious to find out what became of the beautiful young lady who made a splash on the show.

The library in Boise qucikly found and sent me her obituary, which was published in the September 7, 1986, edition of The Idaho Statesman. Given all that we know about Linda's background at this point, it clearly matches the background of the Linda Hardisty pictured above.

If the public library in Washington State sends any relevant information my way, I will update this blog post accordingly.

UPDATE (8/12): I have received a more in-depth obituary published in The Columbian (based in Vancouver, WA) on September 1, 1986.

UPDATE (12/22/2022): After going through some of my old correspondences, I came across my brief notes on my telephone conversation with Linda's last surviving sister in August 2015. During our conversation, she informed me that Linda died of a perforated ulcer. At the time I spoke with her, Linda's sister seemed open to doing an interview, but she ended up changing her mind much later on in the process. Because I was expecting to publish a full interview with her eventually, I never revealed Linda's cause of death. Since that interview will almost certainly never happen, I've decided to share that information here.

A Tribute to Ultra Seven Actress Linda Hardisty, 1947-1986

American actress Linda Hardisty, as she appeared in the popular Japanese TV series Ultra Seven (1967-68). Screen capture by Brian Bankston. 

One of the more elusive American actresses who worked in Japan during the 1960s was Linda Hardisty. Her best known credit in the West was playing one of the nurses in The Green Slime (1968), but in Japan she is rather famous in Ultra Seven fan circles for her role as Dorothy Anderson in episodes 14 and 15 of the celebrated series from Tsuburaya Productions.

For many years, Ultra Seven fans in Japan have been attempting to find Linda in an effort to bring her to Japan to reunite her with the cast of the show and to introduce her to her Japanese fans. In particular, actress Yuriko Hishimi (Ultra Seven's Anne Yuri) expressed interest in seeing her old colleague again. Ultra Seven fan Yasushi Shiroi recruited me to help find her, but it had seemed nearly impossible for a long time.

Earlier today, I received a promising tip that would seem to lead me directly to Ms. Hardisty. After giving it a go on my own, I recruited super sleuth Mike Barnum (a contributor to Scarlet Street and other excellent genre publications) to help in the search. Unfortunately, what Mike was able to find turned out to be the worst possible news.

Linda Lee Hardisty, born on June 5, 1947, in Boise, Idaho, died on August 28, 1986, in Battle Ground, WA. She was 39. In 1970, she earned a Bachelor's degree in English from Boise State College (which is now Boise State University). Thus far, no obituary or cause of death has been uncovered, but we are still searching.

In fact, that remains all that's known about her. If anyone has information that he or she could share, please contact me. Any additions or corrections would be most welcome. If you were related to Linda, please contact me.

Linda died much too young, but her memory lives on with Ultra-fans around the world. RIP, Linda Hardisty.

UPDATE (7/31): Actress Yuriko Hishimi uncovered (or came into possession of) this yearbook photo from Boise State College. It is undoubtedly the same Linda Hardisty who appeared in Ultra Seven.

UPDATE (8/5): This obituary confirms her identity. 

UPDATE (12/22/2022): After going through some of my old correspondences, I came across my brief notes on my telephone conversation with Linda's last surviving sister in August 2015. During our conversation, she informed me that Linda died of a perforated ulcer. At the time I spoke with her, Linda's sister seemed open to doing an interview, but she ended up changing her mind much later on in the process. Because I was expecting to publish a full interview with her eventually, I never revealed Linda's cause of death. Since that interview will almost certainly never happen, I've decided to share that information here.