(1951 - 1967) (divorced)
30 May 51
becomes the wife of William T. Walker, a former Detroit advertising executive, whom she calls "Bill." Walker was born into a family who had made a fortune in the automobile business. They marry at Walker`s ranch in Indio, California. After a two-month European honeymoon, they reside in Beverly Hills.
51
her new husband has a passion for travel and tells her to give up her career. She enjoys globetrotting at first, but soon tires of it. She would prefer to stay home for prolonged periods, involving herself with her hobbies and remaining close to her loved ones. Time in one place would also afford her the opportunity to act on a regular basis, something she really wants to do.
May 54
appears on Columbia`s Ford Theater. The installment, titled "Keep It in the Family," is a homespun comedy and pilot for the TV show "Father Knows Best." She and Robert Young star as the Midwestern parents of three, two girls and a boy. Both Young and Columbia expect that she will do the series, and she very much wants to, but her husband, Bill Walker, makes it clear that she should turn the show down. She accedes to this, and Jane Wyatt replaces her in the mother role.
September 67
she and William Walker sue one another for divorce, amid contentious circumstances