Hanley began her acting career in San Francisco, where she worked days as a secretary at an advertising agency for $50 a week while auditioning for roles in repertory theater.

[3] When she landed the lead female role of Robin in a touring company production of The Trials of Arvid "Tickles" Yastrzemski, her weekly salary doubled.

That was followed by credited appearances on numerous Screen Gems television series, including Gidget, The Farmer's Daughter, Love on a Rooftop, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie and The Flying Nun.

[5] According to the show's producers in an interview with L.A. Times TV critic Cecil Smith, it was inspired by the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and loosely based upon the true story of Asa Mercer's efforts in the 1860s to relocate single women from the East Coast to what was then the frontier logging outpost of Seattle.

[6] The series stars Barbara Eden as Stella Johnson, a door-to-door saleswoman and single mother living in the fictional town of Harper Valley, Ohio, who is trying to make ends meet and raise her daughter Dee following the loss of her husband.

The PTA of Harper Valley Junior High School, egged on by its socialite president, Flora Simpson Reilly (Anne Francine), takes a dim view of Mrs. Johnson's flouting of the small town's conventions.

[citation needed] With the support of community members and fans, Hanley and her sisters successfully led a drive to save the Ganahl-Hanley log cabin in Edmonds, Washington.