Editing Cathey Paine

{{Cast Data
| image=
| size= 200px
| character= [[CORA|C.O.R.A.]]
| series= TOS
| born_month= 01
| born_day= 27
| born_year= 1951
| nationality= US
| imdb= 0656826
| sortkey= Paine, Cathey
}}

'''Cathey Paine''' (born '''Cathey Lynn Paine''', January 27, 1951, [[w:Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge, Louisiana]];<ref group="external" name="morningadvocate_paine_birth_1951">{{cite news|title=Births: Our Lady of the Lake|newspaper=Morning Advocate|location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana|date=1 February 1951|page=19|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/morning-advocate-cathey-lynn-paine-birth/199610087/#:~:text=Walter%20Reeves%20Paine%2C%20jr.|accessdate=14 June 2026}}</ref> also credited as '''Cathy Paine''') is an American actress who provided the uncredited voice of the Colonial flight computer [[CORA|C.O.R.A.]] in the [[Original Series]] episode "[[The Long Patrol]]." Her credited screen work spans American film and television from 1974 to 1991, including the role of [[w:Manson Family|Manson Family]] member [[w:Leslie Van Houten|Leslie Van Houten]] in the 1976 television film ''[[w:Helter Skelter (1976 film)|Helter Skelter]]''.<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_name_filmography">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0656826/#:~:text=Helter%20Skelter|title=Cathey Paine - Actress, Additional Crew|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=13 June 2026}}</ref>

== Career ==

Before her screen career, Paine studied at Wendy Ward Charm School, a modeling and deportment program operated through [[w:Montgomery Ward|Montgomery Ward]] stores. In 1968 she was named Miss Baton Rouge, Louisiana through the program and placed as a finalist in the associated national teenage beauty competition.<ref group="external" name="saen_paine_wendyward_missbr_1969">{{cite news|title=Who knows... maybe you, too, could be a teen beauty queen [advertisement]|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=12 October 1969|page=150|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-charm-school/199609991/#:~:text=Cathey%20Paine|accessdate=14 June 2026}}</ref>

Paine began appearing in episodic American television in 1974, with guest roles on ''[[w:Happy Days|Happy Days]]'', ''[[w:Marcus Welby, M.D.|Marcus Welby, M.D.]]'' and ''[[w:The Rookies|The Rookies]]''.<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_name_filmography" /> Further guest appearances followed on the crime series ''[[w:Cannon (TV series)|Cannon]]'' (1975), ''[[w:Police Woman (TV series)|Police Woman]]'' (1976) and ''[[w:Kojak|Kojak]]'' (1977).<ref group="external" name="tvguide_paine_credits_list">{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/cathey-paine/credits/3000190586/#:~:text=22%20Credits|title=Cathey Paine - List of Movies and TV Shows|publisher=TV Guide|accessdate=13 June 2026}}</ref>

In 1976 she played Leslie Van Houten in ''Helter Skelter'', a two-part television dramatization of the [[w:Tate–LaBianca murders|Tate–LaBianca murders]] directed by [[w:Tom Gries|Tom Gries]] and adapted from the book by prosecutor [[w:Vincent Bugliosi|Vincent Bugliosi]].<ref group="external" name="swank_helter_skelter_gries_van_houten">{{cite web|url=https://www.swank.com/college-campus/details/14018-helter-skelter#:~:text=Leslie%20Van%20Houten%3A%20Cathey%20Paine|title=Helter Skelter|publisher=Swank Motion Pictures|accessdate=13 June 2026}}</ref><ref group="external" name="tcm_paine_filmography_van_houten">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/146583%7C0/Cathey-Paine#:~:text=Leslie%20Van%20Houten|title=Cathey Paine|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|accessdate=13 June 2026}}</ref> IMDb lists ''Helter Skelter'' among her best-known credits.<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_name_filmography" /> The same year she appeared as Mae Lee Cleghorne in the miniseries ''[[w:Once an Eagle|Once an Eagle]]''.<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_name_filmography" />

Her feature and television-film work of the late 1970s included Tina Elliott in the disaster film ''[[w:Avalanche (1978 film)|Avalanche]]'' (1978), Lois in the horror film ''[[w:The Fifth Floor (film)|The Fifth Floor]]'' (1978), and Yvonne Arthur in the television film ''Image of Death'' (1978).<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_name_filmography" /> She continued in episodic television into the 1980s and early 1990s, with appearances on ''[[w:Quincy, M.E.|Quincy, M.E.]]'' (1979, billed as Cathy Paine),<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_quincy_alt_name">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0656826/#:~:text=as%20Cathy%20Paine|title=Cathey Paine - Actress, Additional Crew|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=13 June 2026}}</ref> ''[[w:CBS Afternoon Playhouse|CBS Afternoon Playhouse]]'' (1980, as Ellen Gibbs across five episodes), ''[[w:B. J. and the Bear|B.J. and the Bear]]'' (1981), ''[[w:The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo|The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo]]'' (1981), ''[[w:Murder, She Wrote|Murder, She Wrote]]'' (1984), ''[[w:L.A. Law|L.A. Law]]'' (1986, as Wendy Bryant) and ''[[w:The New Lassie|The New Lassie]]'' (1991).<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_name_filmography" /> Her later feature credits were Mall Administrator in ''[[w:Prime Risk|Prime Risk]]'' (1985) and Janet Henderson in ''Back to Freedom'' (1988).<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_name_filmography" />

=== Voice work ===

For "[[The Long Patrol]]", first broadcast on ABC on 15 October 1978, Paine voiced [[CORA|C.O.R.A.]] (Computer, Oral Response Activated), the voice-activated flight computer fitted to the prototype reconnaissance Viper ''Starchaser'' that [[Starbuck (TOS)|Starbuck]] test-flies in the episode.<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_cora_long_patrol">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0519754/characters/nm0656826/#:~:text=Cathey%20Paine|title=Battlestar Galactica: The Long Patrol (TV Episode 1978) - Cathey Paine as C.O.R.A.|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=13 June 2026}}</ref><ref group="external" name="imdb_long_patrol_episode_premise">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0519754/#:~:text=voice-activated%20computer|title=Battlestar Galactica: The Long Patrol (TV Episode 1978)|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=13 June 2026}}</ref> The performance was not credited on screen.<ref group="footnotes" name="uncredited_voice_roles" />

The following year she supplied another uncredited computer voice in a [[w:Glen A. Larson|Glen A. Larson]] science-fiction series, playing [[Buckwiki:Raphael Argus|Raphael Argus]]' ship's computer in the ''[[Buck Rogers in the 25th Century]]'' episode "[[Buckwiki:The Plot to Kill a City, Part 1|The Plot to Kill a City, Part 1]]."<ref group="external" name="imdb_paine_buck_rogers_ship_computer">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078579/characters/nm0656826#:~:text=Ship%27s%20Computer|title=Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV Series 1979–1981) - Cathey Paine as Raphael Argus' Ship's Computer|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=13 June 2026}}</ref>

=== Later career ===

Following her last screen credit in 1991, Paine transitioned to a career in financial services. By 2015 she was a financial advisor with Lincoln Financial Advisors in [[w:Westlake Village, California|Westlake Village, California]], and was selected as one of Barron's Top 500 Women Financial Advisors in the United States, attending the Barron's Top Women Advisors Summit in [[w:Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach, Florida]] that December.<ref group="external" name="prweb_paine_barrons_lincoln_2015">{{cite web|url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/cathey_paine_of_lincoln_financial_advisors_among_top_500_financial_advisors_in_u_s_selected_to_attend_barron_s_top_women_advisors_summit/prweb13144514.htm#:~:text=Lincoln%20Financial%20Advisors|title=Cathey Paine, of Lincoln Financial Advisors, Among Top 500 Financial Advisors in U.S. Selected to Attend Barron's Top Women Advisors Summit|publisher=PRWeb|date=28 December 2015|accessdate=14 June 2026}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

Paine was born Cathey Lynn Paine on January 27, 1951, in [[w:Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], the daughter of Walter Reeves Paine Jr. and Evelyn Louise Bates.<ref group="external" name="morningadvocate_paine_birth_1951" />

== References ==

=== External Sources ===
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