Sian Barbara Allen of 'Scream, Pretty Peggy' Dies at 78

Sian Barbara Allen, an actress whose early career was marked with horror hits and a flurry of TV appearances, died March 31 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She was 78.

Her sister confirmed her death to Variety, citing Alzheimer's disease as the cause.

Allen, born in Reading, Pennsylvania, made her TV debut on an episode of "O'Hara, U.S. Treasury" in 1971.

She experienced several early successes, including receiving a Golden Globe nomination for her work in the Patty Duke horror flick "You'll Like My Mother" (1972) and starring in the title role of the memorable made-for-TV horror movie "Scream, Pretty Peggy" (1973) opposite Bette Davis.

Her only other feature was the western "Billy Two Hats" (1974) with Gregory Peck.

Among her many episodic-TV gigs, she was unforgettably craven as an ambitious — and fatally opportunistic — makeup-industry wannabe on a 1973 episode of "Columbo" starring Vera Miles.

Other TV appearances included "Alias Smith and Jones" (1971), "Gunsmoke" (1971), "Bonanza" (1972), "The Waltons" (1973), "Kojak" (1974), "The Rockford Files" (1974), and playing Anne Morrow Lindbergh in the TV film "The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case" (1976).

At the dawn of the '80s, her acting work took a noticeable decline. She left the business after an episode of "L.A. Law" in 1990.

Allen is survived by her daughter, her two sisters, and other family members.