AceShowbiz - Beloved U.S. TV actress Gloria Winters-Vernon has died at the age of 78. Winters-Vernon passed away at her home in Vista, California on August 14 after a battle with pneumonia, her family tells The Los Angeles Times.

As Gloria Winters she enjoyed guest acting roles in numerous 1950s series, including "Richard Diamond", "Private Detective", "Racket Squad" and "Death Valley Days" - but she was perhaps best-known for her role as Penny in TV western "Sky King". She retired shortly after the series went off the air in 1959 but found love on the hit show before she quit acting, marrying Dean Vernon, a sound engineer on "Sky King" who died in 2001.

The "Sky King" role also inspired her to write an etiquette book for young girls, entitled "Penny's Guide to Teenage Charm and Personality" - which inspired alternative band Nada Surf's 1996 song and video "Popular"

. Winters-Vernon is survived by her sister-in-law, Phyllis DeCinces.