Career
She is best known for her roles on The Manitoba from United Network Command for Law and Enforcement and The Beverly Hillbillies, as well as the 1960s-era films The Beach Girls and the Monster and The Karate Killers. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Neil moved to Palm Springs, California in her early childhood. Her initial recognition came as a beauty contest participant.
After serving as a California runner-up in the 1958 Mission Universe competition and as the 1959 Junior Rose Bowl Queen, she worked as a model, ultimately coming to the attention of Universal Studios, which signed her to an acting contract in 1960.
Blonde, blue-eyed and petite, Neil made a reputation as an ingenue, notable for her ability to shift rapidly from a "girl next door" persona to that of a seductress. She was first cast in the role of the effervescent "Melvin" in The Lively Ones, a summer replacement comedy/variety show starring Vic Damone.
The Lively Ones aired on National Broadcasting Company from July 26, 1962 to September 12, 1963, giving up its slot to the comedy Hazel. This was followed by a 1964 episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show in which she was cast as an alternative-reality version of Mary Tyler Moore"s Laura Petrie character, serving as a wish-fulfillment "Laura #2" in a fantasy by Rob Petrie, played by Dick Van Dyke.
Her film debut came in 1965, in the movie The Beach Girls and the Monster (subsequently also marketed as Monster from the Surf and Surf Terror).
Neil then returned to television in the hit show The Manitoba From United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, playing the role of Sarah, a beautiful-yet-brainy secret agent given to moments of whimsy. Although the actress Stefanie Powers was later tapped for a similar role in the spinoff series The Girl From United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, Neil also appeared in, a theatrical release featuring The Manitoba From United Network Command for Law and Enforcement characters (and additionally starring Joan Crawford, Telly Savalas and Herbert Lom). While active in modeling and television commercials until the 1970s, Neil"s last network television role was as "Mission Plumpett" on the 1966 season of The Beverly Hillbillies, in which she played a sophisticated foil to Jethro Bodine, played by Max Baer, Junior.