Penny Edwards (1928-1998) Pretty Penny Edwards began her film career at age 18 in the Shirley Temple film That Hagen Girl (1947; with Ronald Reagan). She made a few more screen appearances, usually in bit parts, until she signed with Republic in 1950. There, she often starred in low-budget westerns, such as Sunset in the West (1950) and Utah Wagon Train (1951). Edwards married in 1952 and called a halt to her film career to focus on raising a family. In 1957, she came out of retirement for three films, including Ride a Violent Mile, and she took guest roles in popular TV programs, such as The Alaskans and Perry Mason through the early 1960s. Edwards passed away at age 70 from lung cancer in 1998. Jack Elam (1918-2003) Character actor Jack Elam broke into films as an accountant; while doing the books for Hopalong Cassidy Productions, he also appeared in small roles in William Boyd's films. Soon, he left accounting behind and began working steadily as an actor, often in westerns such as Ride Clear of Diablo (1954; with Audie Murphy) and The Night of the Grizzly (1966; with Clint Walker). While known primarily for appearing in westerns, Elam acted in a variety of film genres, including the noirish Kansas City Confidential (1952; with John Payne), the actioner Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955; with Gordon Scott), and the juvenile delinquent flick The Girl in Lovers Lane (1959; with Brett Halsey). Elam retired from acting in the early 1990s and passed away in October 2003 at the age of 84. Faye Emerson (1917-1983) Beautiful Faye Emerson was a Warner Bros. contract player in the 1940s, where she acted in a number of B movies. But by the late 1940s, Emerson set her sights on television, where she served as an actress, hostess, and game show panelist. In the early 1960s, she cooled her career. Emerson passed away in 1983 from cancer at the age of 65. Among Emerson's husbands were Elliott Roosevelt (the son of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt), to whom she was married from 1942 through 1950, and Skitch Henderson, to whom she was married from 1950 through 1957. Dale Evans (1912-2001) Born in Texas in 1912, Dale Evans suffered two early, unhappy marriages before beginning her career on radio in the early 1930s, after she moved to Kentucky and became a locally popular singer. Her radio career eventually escalated to the point where movie executives began to take notice of the pretty young singer, and in 1942 she was signed by 20th Century Fox. Her first film role was a small part in Orchestra Wives (1942). Fox dropped her option soon afterward, but Evans then signed with Republic Pictures in 1943. Republic immediately cast her in a string of westerns, in which Evans proved to be popular. In 1944, Evans first appeared with Roy Rogers in The Yellow Rose of Texas, and the on-screen chemistry between the two led Republic to cast them in a string of films. Rogers' wife passed away in 1946; Evans divorced her third husband in 1945, and soon Dale Evans and Roy Rogers became an off-screen item as well, marrying in 1947. The couple later starred in their TV series The Roy Rogers Show from 1951 through 1957. Afterward, with their growing business interests, they retired from the screen, making only occasional appearances in their later years. Rogers passed away in 1998, and Evans died in 2001 at the age of 88. Jason Evers (1922-2005) Native New Yorker Jason Evers was born in January 1922. Using his real name Herbert Evers, he started acting while in his teens and worked his way up to Broadway productions quickly in the early 1940s. Service during World War II interrupted Evers' career, which didn't gain further momentum until the early 1960s. A lucky break for Evers came in 1959 when he was cast in the low-budget horror flick The Brain that Wouldn't Die (1962; with Virginia Leith). Although the cult-classic film sat on the shelf for three years before its 1962 release, it's arguably the picture that Evers is best known for. For the remainder of his career, he acted in films on occasion, such as Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion (1967; with Ron Ely), The Green Berets (1968; with John Wayne and Aldo Ray), and The Illustrated Man (1969; with Rod Steiger). Additionally, Evers logged many hours on television, working on his own series and appearing as a guest star on many others, including Star Trek, Mannix, and Mission: Impossible, from the early 1960s through the late 1980s. He more or less retired from acting in the 1980s, with the exception of Basket Case II (1990; with Kevin Van Hentenryck). Sadly, Jason Evers passed away in March 2005 at the age of 83. The above photo is from The Brain that Wouldn't Die. Jinx Falkenburg (1919-2003) Exotic beauty Jinx Falkenburg was a top model before making a splash in films in the 1940s in such films as Two Latins from Manhattan (1941) and The Gay Senorita (1945). However, after just a few years of appearing in films, Falkenburg married and retired from the screen. She did, however, pop up on TV game shows from time to time in the 1950s and 1960s. Falkenburg passed away in August 2003 at the age of 84, just one month after her husband Tex McCrary died. Margaret Field (1922-2011) Beautiful Margaret Field acted in several films and in many television programs during her career, which extended from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. While she was best known as the mother of actress Sally Field and the one-time wife of actor Jock Mahoney, Field had a successful acting career in her own right. For several years, she toiled mostly in uncredited roles despite a contract with Paramount, until her first starring role in the science fiction flick The Man From Planet X (1951; with Robert Clarke. After eight years and two children with first husband Richard Field, the couple divorced in 1950. While shooting an episode of the early TV western The Range Rider, Field met series star Jock Mahoney, and they married shortly thereafter. Throughout their turbulent marriage, Field continued to act, mostly on television programs such as Perry Mason and Twilight Zone, but with a son and two daughters to raise, she began working less frequently in the mid 1960s. She passed away from lung cancer on November 7, 2011, at the age of 89. She was survived by two daughters, a son, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Coleman Francis (1919-1973)Actor-director-producer Coleman Francis acted in and directed a handful of extremely low-budget films in the late 1950s through the late 1960s. On about the same level as the so-bad-they're-good films of Edward D. Wood Jr., Francis's films were cheaply made and mostly terrible, yet loads of fun to watch. Of his three directorial efforts, The Skydivers (1963) is his best film, and all three---The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961; with Tor Johnson, The Skydivers, and Red Zone Cuba (1966)---aired on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the earlier days of the series. He also acted in other films directed by such B-movie legends as Russ Meyer and Ray Dennis Steckler, including Motor Psycho (1965) and Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters (1965). Francis was found dead in the back of a car in Hollywood at the age of 53.Arthur Franz (1920-2006) Character actor Arthur Franz was born in New Jersey in February 1920. Developing a taste for acting as a teenager, his intended career was interrupted when he entered the armed services during World War II. Following the war, he resumed his acting career and had quite a bit of success on stage and in radio but did not act in his first film until the 1948 drama Jungle Patrol, in which he has a sizeable role. From there his film career took off, with Franz starring in numerous B movies and being cast in strong supporting roles in big-budget films. Today, he's best remembered in such B's as Invaders from Mars (1953; with Hillary Brooke), Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956; with Dana Andrews), Back from the Dead (1957; with Peggie Castle), and The Atomic Submarine (1959; with Brett Halsey and Joi Lansing). His work in television began in the early 1950s, where he was a frequent guest star on such popular programs as Climax! and Perry Mason. His television appearances increased in number in the 1960s, while his film output dwindled. After more than three decades as a busy character actor in films and television, he called it a day after the release of That Championship Season (1982; with Bruce Dern and Robert Mitchum). Married four times, his most famous wife was actress Doreen Lang, to whom he was married from 1957 until her death in 1999. Sadly, Arthur Franz passed away in June 2006 at the age of 86; he was survived by his fourth wife, two daughters, and a son. The above photo is from Battle Taxi (1955; with Sterling Hayden and Marshall Thompson). Jane Frazee (1918-1985) By the age of six, Jane Frazee was appearing in a vaudeville act with her sister. Eventually, the act had great success on radio, and this landed Frazee and her sister screen tests at Universal. Production executives immediately signed the talented girl but rejected her sister. Although Frazee was blessed with a good singing voice, acting talent, and beauty, she never really found the success in films she deserved. In the early 1940s, Frazee married silent screen actor Glenn Tryon, who was nearly 30 years her senior, but the married quickly dissolved. Frazee went into real estate in the 1950s and eventually left the film industry. After suffering a stroke, she passed away in 1985 at the age of 67. Jonathan Frid (1924-2012) Stage actor Jonathan Frid was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on December 2, 1924, where his father ran a successful construction business. Frid's desire to be an actor came to him as a young boy. Following a stint in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II, he attended McMaster University in his native Hamilton, Ontario, graduating in 1948. He then attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and afterward moved to the U.S. in the early 1950s. Wanting to teach, he earned an MFA in directing from Yale in 1957. He continued acting in stage plays both on and off Broadway into the 1960s. In 1967, after being cast as Barnabas Collins in the ABC gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, he gave up his plans to teach acting, enjoying a long and successful run as the complex, tormented vampire until the show's end in 1971. Wildly popular in the late 1960s, Frid was never entirely comfortable with his newfound fame and, following the show's demise, acted in just a small number of films, including the made-for-TV horror movie The Devil's Daughter (1973; with Shelley Winters) and horror film Seizure (1974; with Martine Beswick). Preferring the stage to film and television, Frid continued his stage career until his 1994 retirement, when he moved back to Ontario. He passed away on April 13, 2012 (Friday the 13th), from natural causes at the age of 87 and left no survivors. The above photo of Frid is from Dark Shadows. Leo Gorcey (1917-1969) Born to Vaudevillian parents in 1917, Leo Gorcey practically grew up onstage. As a teenager, he was spotted in a play by a talent scout. When the play, Dead End, was made into a movie a couple of years later, Gorcey went to Hollywood where he worked steadily, mostly in film series such as The Dead End Kids, The East Side Kids, finishing his career in The Bowery Boys comedies. He more or less retired from the screen in the late 1950s, taking on cameo roles from time to time. Gorcey passed away in June 1969, just one day shy of his 52nd birthday. Gloria Gordon (1937-1996) Child actress Gloria Gordon made only a few films in the 1940s and 1950s before retiring from acting to marry and start a family. She passed away in 1996 at the age of 59. Susan Gordon (1949-2011) The daughter of cult film director Bert I. Gordon, Susan Gordon carved out a successful career as a child actress in the 1950s and 1960s. Acting in her father's films, as well as for other directors and on television, Gordon made an impact in Attack of the Puppet People (1958; with John Agar), The Man in the Net (1959; with Alan Ladd and Carolyn Jones), and Tormented (1960; with Richard Carlson). She also appeared as a guest star in such popular TV series as The Twilight Zone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and My Three Sons. Her final film was the fun horror flick Picture Mommy Dead (1966; with Don Ameche, Martha Hyer, and Zsa Zsa Gabor). At the age of 18, Gordon gave up her acting career. Sadly, she passed away after a battle with cancer on December 11, 2011, at the age of 62. She was survived by her father and mother, husband, children, and grandchildren. Tom Graeff (1929-1970)While Tom Graeff's name isn't known to most film enthusiasts, most 'B' movie fans have seen his lone film, the 1959 flick Teenagers From Outer Space, which Graeff wrote, produced, directed, and even acted in. (Graeff used the moniker 'Tom Lockyear' in his lone screen appearance---his full name was Thomas Lockyear Graeff.) Shot in 1957, Graeff's science fiction epic starred his lover, David Love. David Love (real name: Charles Robert Kaltenthaler) was born in Los Angeles in 1934. The film was once featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 as episode #404. Graeff worked only one other film; he served as editor for the 1965 science fiction film The Wizard of Mars. He passed away in San Diego, California, at the age of 41 in 1970. Love is rumored to have passed away as well, but I cannot find further information.Bonita Granville (1923-1988) Petite Bonita Granville was born into a showbiz family and quickly became a child star. After a few years in films, she was given her own series in the form of the low-budget Nancy Drew mysteries produced by Warner Bros. in the late 1930s. Into the 1940s as Granville grew into a young woman, Granville was not able to carry her child-star status into adulthood. By the late 1940s, Granville walked away from acting, concentrating instead on her marriage, children, and role as producer of the Lassie TV series. Sadly, Granville died in 1988 at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer. Anne Gwynne (1918-2003) Gorgeous Anne Gwynne rivaled Evelyn Ankers as the leading scream queen in 1940s Universal Studios horror flicks such as The Black Cat (1941; with Bela Lugosi), House of Frankenstein (1944; with John Carradine), and Weird Woman (1944; with Lon Chaney Jr. and Evelyn Ankers). Starting out as a swimsuit model, Gwynne was quickly noticed and signed to a long-term contract by the studio. During World War II, her cheesecake photos made her a favorite pin-up of GI's. Following the war, Gwynne married, and along with the decline in monster films, her film career slid. She then went into the then-new television medium, acting alongside John Howard in the 1947 DuMont series Public Prosecutor. By the late 1950s, Gwynne had retired from the screen. She passed away in March 2003 at the age of 84. Jean Hagen (1923-1977) Pretty Jean Hagen's early career was quite successful; Hagen made a big splash in the film noir thriller The Asphalt Jungle (1950; with Sterling Hayden). She also starred in the MGM musical Singin' in the Rain (1952) as Lena LaMont, the hilariously talentless silent picture actress who is eventually upstaged by Debbie Reynolds. From there, she moved to TV as Danny Thomas' first wife in Make Room for Daddy (1953-1961). Unfortunately, Thomas and Hagen didn't see eye-to-eye, and she left the show in 1956. Hagen cooled her career afterward, taking time out to raise her son and daughter. On occasion she acted in such films as American International's Panic in Year Zero (1962; with Ray Milland and Frankie Avalon) and Dead Ringer (1964; with Bette Davis). She sporadically appeared in other films and TV shows until her death from throat cancer in 1977. Ross Hagen (1938-2011) Born in Williams, Arizona, actor Ross Hagen got his big break in the mid 1960s with guest roles on such television shows as The Big Valley and The Fugitive before moving into B movies. He tackled tough-guy roles in such drive-in cult favorites as The Hellcats (1968), The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968; with Jeremy Slate, Diane McBain, and Patty McCormack), and The Devil's 8 (1969; with Christopher George, Fabian, and Leslie Parrish). When his mainstream acting career began to falter, Hagen moved into direct-to-video films in the 1980s, some of which he directed, including B.O.R.N. (1988; with P.J. Soles, William Smith, and Russ Tamblyn) and Click: The Calendar Girl Killer (1990; with Troy Donahue). He acted in a number of films for Fred Olen Ray as well, such as Commando Squad (1987; with William Smith, Sid Haig, and Marie Windsor) and Invisible Dad (1998; with Karen Black). Sadly, Ross Hagen passed away after a bout with prostate cancer on May 7, 2011, at the age of 72 and was survived by two children. He was preceded in death by his second wife, actress Claire Polan (1937-2003). Alan Hale, Jr. (1918-1990) Known to TV viewers as Skipper on Gilligan's Island (1964-1967), Hale made more than 100 films and dozens of TV appearances before his death from cancer at age 71. He acted in a number of films aired on Mystery Science Theater 3000, such as The Giant Spider Invasion (1975; with Barbara Hale), Angels Revenge (1979; with Susan Kiger), and The Crawling Hand (1963; with Allison Hayes and Peter Breck). In addition, he made other drive-in films such as Thunder in Carolina (1960; with Rory Calhoun) and starred in several TV series in the 1950s. Huntz Hall (1919-1999) Although Huntz Hall made more than 80 Bowery Boys and East Side Kids films, his real life was little like the characters of Sach and Glimpy that he portrayed in films. Hall practically grew up in the theater and was classically trained. He got his first big break when he was discovered by Broadway actor Martin Gabel (the second husband of game show queen Arlene Francis) in the mid 1930s. But when the Bowery Boys series of films ended in 1958, Hall began running afoul of the law. He was arrested several times for brawling, drunk driving, and marijuana possession. He took up acting, on an occasional basis, again in the mid 1960s, and even did a stint in a stage show as a transvestite, which was highly successful. Hall managed his money very well and became wealthy from his investments. Sadly, Hall passed away in January 1999 at the age of 79. The above photo is from the 1955 film Dig That Uranium. Valda Hansen (1932-1993)An attractive starlet with several film credits, Hansen appears in Ed Wood's Night of the Ghouls (1958; released in 1988) as well as a few other films, mostly released in the 1970s. Hansen passed away from cancer at the age of 60.Rondo Hatton (1894-1946) Rondo Hatton spent his formative years in Tampa, Florida. Upon graduating from high school, Hatton entered the military and eventually fought in World War I. He was gassed in 1917 and was given a medical discharge. His health ravaged, Hatton returned to Tampa and found work as a newspaper reporter. Tragically, the poison gas triggered a pituitary gland disease termed "acromegaly," which began to horribly disfigure Hatton. He was spotted for films in the mid 1930s, and soon Hatton and his wife left for Hollywood. By the early 1940s, Hatton was finding regular work in Universal horror films such as The Spider Woman Strikes Back and The Pearl of Death. But Hatton's disease was also progessing, and he passed away in early 1946 at the age of 51. |
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