Deanna Lund — American actress best known for Land of the Giants

Early life and background

Lund was born in Oak Park, Illinois. Details of her early education and formative years contributed to a later move into acting and screen work. Like many performers of the period, she transitioned from modeling and local performance work to opportunities in television and film as the entertainment industry expanded in the 1950s and 1960s.

Career and screen roles

Her most enduring credit remains Land of the Giants (1968–1970), created by Irwin Allen, in which the storyline followed passengers stranded on a planet populated by enormous humans. Lund’s character, Valerie Ames Scott, combined elements of romance, resourcefulness, and dramatic tension that fit the show’s ensemble cast. Beyond that series, she worked steadily in television and occasional film projects, including guest appearances and roles that took advantage of her visibility from the series.

Selected credits

• Land of the Giants — Valerie Ames Scott (television series, 1968–1970)
• Various television guest appearances and feature work — film and TV through subsequent decades

Personal life, legacy and death

Lund remained a recognizable figure to fans of classic television and science-fiction programming; conventions and retrospectives of 1960s television often cite performers from series such as hers. She died at her home in Century City, California, on June 22, 2018, at age 81. The cause of death was reported as pancreatic cancer (pancreatic cancer), a disease that affects many and has increasingly become a focus of medical research and public awareness.