Gretchen Wyler died of complications of breast cancer on 27 May 2007. Born as Gretchen Patricia Wienecke on 16 February 1932 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, she made her Broadway debut in 1951’s Where’s Charley?, and on television in 1956 on The Colgate Comedy Hour.
Her genre appearances include one episode of Mr. Merlin (1981) and one of Probe (1988).
In 1972, she became the first woman to sit on the Board of Directors of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In 1991, she founded The Ark Trust, which honors members of the major news and entertainment media who raise public consciousness about the vast spectrum of animal issues, and which merged with the Humane Society in 2002. She served as Vice President of the Hollywood branch of the Human Society from that merger until her retirement last year.