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1-50 of 237
- Writer
- Editor
- Editorial Department
Katherine Hilliker was born on 25 April 1885 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She was a writer and editor, known for Sunrise (1927), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Kivalina of the Ice Lands (1925). She was married to H.H. Caldwell, Douglas (Bill) Hilliker and Douglas H. "Bill" Hilliker. She died on 6 December 1965 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.- Director
- Editor
- Additional Crew
Former propman Howard Bretherton was one of the legion of unknown directors who made the films--mostly westerns--that generations of kids trudged to see at the Saturday afternoon matinées. Bretherton's long career as an action/western director began in the late 1920s and ended more than 25 years later. In between he ground out scores of cowboy flicks, action/adventure yarns, serials, and just about anything anyone would hire him for. He made films the way "B" picture producers wanted them made--fast, with a minimum of fuss and within budget. The fact that Bretherton was also an editor--a skill he passed on to his son, David Bretherton, who was an editor for more than 40 years--who could cut "in the camera" must have added to his desirability in the eyes of producers. Bretherton was one of the directors of the long-running "Hopalong Cassidy" series, and also spent a lot of time at Warner Bros. cranking out many of that studio's gritty little action pictures. Unlike many of his fellow "B" directors who turned to series television toward the end of their careers, Bretherton stayed mostly in features until his retirement in 1952, with only the occasional venture into episodic TV.- Actress
Henrietta Goodwin was born on 30 April 1890 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She was an actress. She was married to Murray Kinnell. She died on 19 November 1978 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.- Eugene Walsh was born on 26 March 1891 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Dropped from the Clouds (1917), The High Cost of Starving (1917) and The Stolen Actress (1917). He was married to Mildred V. McCauley. He died on 25 November 1965 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
Although his family heritage was based in Maine, Paul Wing was born in Tacoma, Washington to Dr. Peleg Benson Wing (1861-1932) and his wife Ida M. (Porter) on August 14, 1892 (some conflicting records indicate 1891). Married 18-year old Martha Gillis Thraves (1894-1981) in Pohatan Courthouse, VA on Christmas Day, 1912. Paul served in the military during WWI and became a mid-level Paramount Studios executive during the 1920s-30s and relocated to Hollywood. He received screen credit for The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) but spent most of his career as an unbilled line producer for the studio. His film resume is undoubtedly highly incomplete. Both of his daughters, Madison (Pat Wing Gill) and the ravishing Martha (Toby Wing Merrill) became chorus girls in the 1930s. Paul was an amateur pilot and survived a serious plane crash in 1935. Wing, a career reservist, re-entered the military prior to WW2 and, as a major, was captured by the Japanese in the Philippines, surviving the infamous Bataan Death March (he is mentioned in "No Uncle Sam: The Forgotten Bataan" by Anton F. Bilek, Michael S. Levy and Gene O'Connell). He was rescued from the Canabatuan Prison Camp in a daring maneuver by U.S. Army Rangers. He died on May 30, 1957 in Portsmouth, VA.- Clements Ripley was born on 26 August 1892 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was a writer, known for Jezebel (1938), Gold Is Where You Find It (1938) and A Devil with Women (1930). He was married to Katherine M. Ball. He died on 22 July 1954 in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
- Florence Deshon born to Samuel and Florence C. Danks of Austrian and English descent. She began as a stage actress and appeared opposite Mary Boland in 'My Lady's Dress and in the comedy 'Seven Chances' prior to making her screen debut in 1915's 'The Beloved Vagabond' directed by Edward Jose for Pathe, Florence starred in 24 silent melodrama and crime movies but perhaps her best known was 'The Desired Woman' directed by Paul Scardon and co-starring Harry T. Morey for the Vitagraph Film Company in 1918 and her final film as Sally McTurk in John Francis Dillon's 'The Roof Tree' with William Russell for the Fox Film Co in 1921. She moved to Greenwich Village, New York in hope to resume her film career but on the 4th February she was found unconscious on the third floor of her apartment building, a window was open in her bedroom but illuminating gas flowed from a opened jet, a newspaperwoman, Minnie Morris, found Deshon, an Ambulance took her to Hospital, but attempts to revive her were unsuccessful, she died the following afternoon, adding that the only mystery was why 'with the apartment especially wired for electricity, Miss Deshon should have used the single gas jet in the room and forgotten to turn it off, some say she had no reason to kill herself and that her death was accidental, the New York Medical Examiner concluded her death was accidental but rumors persisted that she might have committed suicide because of grief.
- Animation Department
- Director
- Producer
Ben Sharpsteen was born on 4 November 1895 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Dumbo (1941), Pinocchio (1940) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). He died on 20 December 1980 in Santa Rosa, California, USA.- Actress
During the Golden Age of Hollywood there were an array of character actors who came out and perfected their craft alongside some of the era's most popular stars. Within that category is one Edith Evanson.
She was born on April 28, 1896 in Tacoma, Washington, the daughter of a Protestant minister. In the the 1910s she was educated at the historic Stadium High School in which she appeared in various drama productions. In the 1910s and 1930s she appeared in various stage productions through a stock company.
In 1939 she came to Hollywood to begin work as a supporting actress in motion pictures; she made her debut the following year in The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (1940). She soon made a name for herself in films often appearing as spinsters, landladies, wealthy widows, maids, town gossips, middle-aged secretaries, and snobs.
During her film career she appeared in such classics as Citizen Kane (1941), Woman of the Year (1942), Reunion in France (1942), The Strange Woman (1946), Rope (1948), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960). With the advent of TV, she expanded in her career and made guest appearances on such programs as Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre (1955), The Loretta Young Show (1953), Lassie (1954), Bachelor Father (1957), and, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955).
In her later years work became harder to find due to old age and she retired from acting in 1974 following a guest role in the TV show Apple's Way (1974). Upon retirement she moved to Riverside Country, California, where she lived until her death from natural causes on November 29, 1980, aged 84. As she had no close family, she left money to her church, to the Democratic National Committee, and to the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.- Marvin Loback was born on 21 November 1896 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Double Trouble (1927), Once Over (1928) and The Big Shot (1929). He died on 18 August 1938 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Edward John Crosby was born on 29 July 1900 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was married to Margaret Mae Mattes and Hazel Burke Nieman. He died on 19 December 1973 in Spokane, Washington, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Roy Brooks was born on 1 January 1901 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Number, Please? (1920), Never Weaken (1921) and High and Dizzy (1920). He died on 30 January 1976 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Graves was born on 29 March 1902 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. Mike died on 8 April 1987 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Script and Continuity Department
Christine Francis was born on 27 March 1903 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She was an actress, known for Pony Express (1924), Be Careful, Dearie! (1926) and Stupid, But Brave (1924). She died on 12 February 1952 in New York City, New York, USA.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, the fourth of seven children of Catherine (Harrigan) and Harry Lincoln Crosby, a brewery bookkeeper. He was of English and Irish descent. Crosby studied law at Gonzaga University in Spokane but was more interested in playing the drums and singing with a local band. Bing and the band's piano player, Al Rinker, left Spokane for Los Angeles in 1925. In the early 1930s Bing's brother Everett sent a record of Bing singing "I Surrender, Dear" to the president of CBS. His live performances from New York were carried over the national radio network for 20 consecutive weeks in 1932. His radio success led Paramount Pictures to include him in The Big Broadcast (1932), a film featuring radio favorites. His songs about not needing a bundle of money to make life happy was the right message for the decade of the Great Depression. His relaxed, low-key style carried over into the series of "Road" comedies he made with pal Bob Hope. He won the best actor Oscar for playing an easygoing priest in Going My Way (1944). He showed that he was indeed an actor as well as a performer when he played an alcoholic actor down on his luck opposite Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954). Playing golf was what he liked to do best. He died at age 74 playing golf at a course outside Madrid, Spain, after completing a tour of England that had included a sold-out engagement at the London Palladium.- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Songwriter ("How Am I to Know?"), composer ("Paramount on Parade"), pianist and singer, educated at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France and in private music study with E. Enna, Gabrilovitsch, Camille Decreus, Bejamin Fabian, Ernest Schilling, and Isidore Philippe. He made his debut as a child concert pianist in 1910 and gave piano concerts until 1921. His European debut was in Berlin, and between 1921 and 1923 he was the assistant director of the University of California Glee Club. He was also a singing coach, and appeared in vaudeville and night clubs. Joining ASCAP in 1935, his other popular-song compositions include "Any Time's the Time to Fall in Love", "Everything's Been Done Before", "I'm True to the Navy Now", "You Still Belong to Me", "Live and Love Today", and "All I Know Is You're in My Arms".- Actress
- Make-Up Department
- Costume Designer
Lorraine MacLean was born on 7 February 1904 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She was an actress and costume designer, known for Charming Sinners (1929), A Gentleman of Paris (1927) and The Carnation Kid (1929). She was married to Douglas MacLean. She died on 22 January 1972 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
Albert Ottenheimer was born on 6 September 1904 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Annie Hall (1977), Man Against Crime (1949) and Desert Death (1935). He died on 25 January 1980 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
R.G. Springsteen was born on 8 September 1904 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was a director and assistant director, known for Secret Venture (1955), Harbor of Missing Men (1950) and Heart of Virginia (1948). He was married to Alice Van Springsteen. He died on 9 December 1989.- George Hicks was born on 26 August 1905 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He died on 17 March 1965 in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Lindsley Parsons was born on 12 September 1905 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for Randy Rides Alone (1934), Freckles Comes Home (1942) and Fashion Model (1945). He died on 8 October 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Czenzi Ormonde was born on 3 March 1906 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. Czenzi was a writer, known for Strangers on a Train (1951), Step Down to Terror (1958) and 77 Sunset Strip (1958). Czenzi was married to Frederic Ormonde and Art Heinemann. Czenzi died on 24 July 2004 in Hayden, Idaho, USA.
- Herman Brix was a star shot-putter in the 1928 Olympics. After losing the lead in MGM's Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) due to a shoulder injury, he was contracted by Ashton Dearholt for his independent production of The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935), a serial and the only Tarzan film between the silents and the 1960s to present the character accurately, as a sophisticated, educated English nobleman who preferred living in the jungle and was able to speak directly with animals in their own language. He subsequently found himself typecast and confined to starring roles in other serials and character and even bit parts in poverty row features and two-reeler comedies. After starring in the Republic Pictures serial Hawk of the Wilderness (1938) as the Tarzan-like Kioga, he dropped out of films for a few years, took acting lessons, and changed his name to Bruce Bennett. He made many movies after that, gaining fame as a leading man in many Warners products. In 1960, he retired from acting and went into business, becoming sales manager of a major vending machine company, making only occasional TV guest appearances. A reclusive man, he eschewed interviews, although he did appear at one Burroughs-oriented convention in the 1970s and discussed some of his experiences during the making of his Tarzan serial. In 2001, he allowed himself to be interviewed for a slender biography by a Mike Chapman, and held signings at local bookstores, enjoying his "rediscovery" by the general public in the few years remaining before his death.
- Art Director
- Production Designer
Rolland M. Brooks was born on 17 December 1907 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an art director and production designer, known for Star Trek (1966), Mission: Impossible (1966) and The Untouchables (1959). He died on 24 September 1998 in Monterey, California, USA.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Harry Stewart was born on 21 October 1908 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Hell and High Water (1954), The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse (1953) and Fireside Theatre (1949). He was married to Gretchen Ida Sissell. He died on 20 May 1956 in Tonopah, Nevada, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Art Gilmore was born on 18 March 1912 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Highway Patrol (1955), Dragnet (1951) and Dragnet 1967 (1967). He was married to Grace Weller. He died on 25 September 2010 in Irvine, California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Former World Middleweight Boxing Champion Freddie Steele was born Frederick Earl Burgett in Seattle, Washington on December 18, 1912. His childhood idol was local fighter and world champion Todd Morgan. Young Freddie decided to follow in Morgan's foot-steps and launched a professional boxing career in 1926 at age 14. After more than 100 fights, Steele captured the World Middleweight Championship (National Boxing Association version) from champion William "Gorilla" Jones on January 1, 1937. A series of auto accidents and a severe kidney problem started Steele on the downward path. He lost the championship less than two years later in a stunning first round shocker to local rival Al Hostak. A friend of actor John Wayne, Steele became involved in the movies as a boxing double, and later as a character actor. He made an unsuccessful ring comeback on May 23, 1941 at the Hollywood, California Legion Stadium, being stopped in 5 rounds by Jimmy Casino. Steele returned to the movies and gave outstanding performances in Hail The Conquering Hero with Eddie Bracken, and G.I. Joe with Robert Mitchum. His acting career ended in the late 1940s, and he ran a local tavern with his family for over 20 years. The great champion died on August 22, 1984 at 71. His career boxing record was 125-5-11 with 60 knockout victories.- Alice Ludes was born on 20 December 1912 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She was an actress, known for Kiss the Boys Goodbye (1941). She was married to Edward J. "Ed" Ludes. She died on 12 February 2017 in Ventura, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Marvin Bailey was born on 12 May 1913 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Broadway Rhythm (1944). He died on 6 August 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Dixy Lee Ray was born on 3 September 1914 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She died on 2 January 1994 in Fox Island, Washington, USA.
- Pat Wing was born on 19 November 1914 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She was an actress, known for The Working Man (1933), Hi, Nellie (1934) and Maytime (1923). She died on 13 February 2002 in Gloucester, Ohio, USA.
- Cinematographer
Harbine Monroe was born on 25 September 1915 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. Harbine was a cinematographer, known for Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse (1940). Harbine died on 25 May 1995 in Tacoma, Washington, USA.- Robert Emerick was born on 9 December 1915 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Joe (1970) and Guess What We Learned in School Today? (1970). He died on 1 June 1973 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Clay Warnick was born on 14 December 1915 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. Clay was a composer, known for Your Show of Shows (1950), Max Liebman Spectaculars (1954) and The Adventures of Marco Polo (1956). Clay died on 8 February 1995 in West Orange, New Jersey, USA.- Writer
- Animation Department
- Additional Crew
Bill Berg was born in Tacoma, Washington. He began his profession by studying at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles before joining Disney's animation department in 1938 as an apprentice. After working his way up to assistant animator, he moved to the story department in 1943 and began writing and sketching Donald Duck cartoon shorts. Within Disney, he was also a prolific writer. He was behind several of the Jiminy Cricket educational features such as How to Have an Accident in the Home (1956) and 'How to Catch a Cold'. He wrote numerous 'Mickey Mouse Club' shows and many 'Wonderful World of Disney' TV shows. Before retiring in 1988, Berg was behind the syndicated Disney comic strip "Scamp" for many years. His last Disney credit was on the 1989 Disney animated feature, The Little Mermaid (1989). Bill Berg passed away in March 2002, at the age of 84, at his home in San Juan Capistrano.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Frank Herbert was born on 8 October 1920 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was a writer, known for Dune (2021), Dune (1984) and Dune: Part Two (2024). He was married to Theresa Shackleford, Beverley Ann Stuart and Flora Parkinson. He died on 11 February 1986 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.- Actor
Clayton Jones was born on 16 April 1921 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor. He died in March 1981 in the USA.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Joyous scene-stealer Janis Paige started out playing rather bland film ingénues, but never seemed to be comfortable in those roles--she had too much snap, crackle and pop to be confined in such a formulaic way.
Born Donna Mae Tjaden in 1922 in Tacoma, Washington, she was singing in public from age 5 in local amateur shows. She moved to Los Angeles after graduating from high school and earned a job as a singer at the Hollywood Canteen during the war years. The Canteen, which was a studio-sponsored gathering spot for servicemen, is where she was spotted by a Warner Brothers talent scout, who saw potential in her and signed her up. She began co-starring in secondary musicals that often paired her with either Dennis Morgan or Jack Carson. Later she was relegated to rugged adventures and dramas that just seemed out of her element. Following her role in the forgettable Two Gals and a Guy (1951), she decided to leave the Hollywood scene. She took to the Broadway boards and scored a huge hit with the 1951 comedy-mystery play "Remains to Be Seen", co-starring Jackie Cooper. She also toured successfully as a cabaret singer, performing everywhere from New York to Miami to Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Definitive stardom came in 1954 with the feisty role of Babe in Broadway's "The Pajama Game" opposite John Raitt. Her old Warner Bros. rival Doris Day, however, was a bigger name and went on to play the role on film (The Pajama Game (1957)) with Raitt. After a six-year hiatus, Janis returned to films in tongue-and-cheek support, all but stealing Silk Stockings (1957) from co-stars Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. She then grabbed her share of laughs in a flashy role with the comedy Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) opposite Ms. Day. Janis carried on in summer stock, playing such indomitable roles as Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun", Margo Channing in "Applause", Mama Rose in "Gypsy" and Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls". From the mid-'50s on, Janis also tapped into TV with such series as It's Always Jan (1955), Lanigan's Rabbi (1976) and Trapper John, M.D. (1979). In the 1990s, among other TV appearances, she had recurring roles on the daytime serials General Hospital (1963) and Santa Barbara (1984). Married three times, she was the widow of Disney composer Ray Gilbert, who wrote the classic children's song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah."- Producer
- Music Department
- Writer
Lee Hale was born on 25 March 1923 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for The Dean Martin Show (1965), The Irishman (2019) and NBC: The First Fifty Years (1976). He was married to Richard Neely. He died on 10 May 2019 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.- Stocky, general purpose actor, a prolific face on the small screen during the 1960s and 1970s. Batanides got into acting after performing stand-up routines in front of fellow GI's in Europe during World War II. His training in dramatic art at the Actors Lab in Los Angeles was followed by extensive stage experience. He was more recently noted as "Mr. Kirkland" in four instalments of the popular "Police Academy" franchise but is remembered by older viewers chiefly as the ill-fated U.S.S. Enterprise geologist Lieutenant D'Amato who died rather badly (cellular disruption) in the Star Trek (1966) episode, That Which Survives (1969). Other notable appearances include one of dictator Clemente's (Peter Falk) henchmen in The Twilight Zone (1959) episode, The Mirror (1961); and the Mongol leader "Batu" in The Time Tunnel (1966) episode, Attack of the Barbarians (1967). Batanides regularly played heavies in shows like I Spy (1965) and Mission: Impossible (1966), or spoofed them (for instance, as a KAOS agent in Get Smart (1965)). He retired from acting in 1989.
- Moe Buringrud was born on 25 December 1923 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He died on 2 November 2007.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Helen Grayco was born on 20 September 1924 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She was an actress, known for Cha-Cha-Cha Boom! (1956), That Certain Age (1938) and The Spike Jones Show (1957). She was married to William Rosen and Spike Jones. She died on 20 August 2022 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- John Ehrlichman was born on 20 March 1925 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977), The Silence of Cricket Coogler (2000) and Our World (1986). He was married to Karen Hilliard, Christy McLaurine and Jeanne Fisher. He died on 14 February 1999 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
- Robert E. Hutchins was born March 29th, 1925, in Tacoma, Washington. He was born to James Hutchins and Olga Hutchins (nee Roe). Robert was a very outgoing boy with a charming personality, because friends persuaded James and Olga to go to a Hollywood photographer and get his picture taken. The photographer was impressed by Robert's intelligence, and asked to take a few feet of film of him. The results were so good that the film ended up in the projection room at Hal Roach Studios. Hal Roach decided the boy would be a good addition to his "Our Gang" short films, and signed him to a five year contract.
On his first day at the studio, Robert didn't have an identity for his part in the movies, and he was running around so much that he began to wheeze. Such led to the coining of the "Wheezer" name, one he carried for the rest of his time in Our Gang. Robert played the perky, tag-along little brother that was always anxious to be part of the mischief that the gang was getting into. He played such a part in both the silent films and the talkies.
Jackie Cooper recalls, "You'd go to play with Wheezer, and his father would pull him away, very competitive. I didn't get a satisfactory answer from my mother or grandmother as to why, but he was to be left alone. I guess his father was trying to make him a star or something. Obviously it never happened as it did for Spanky or some of the other kids."
In trying to make Robert a star, his father malnourished him, and isolated him from the other kids when not filming. James had a plan to keep him small and employable by underfeeding him, and wanted to ensure that Bobby and his siblings never learned that normal kids got a lot more to eat than they did. Nobody ever intervened upon the children's behalf. It's made worse by the fact that his plan backfired. While Robert was incredibly photogenic, and had some fine moments on screen, he looked and acted more like the slow-witted, malnourished child he was, as he aged. Sharper boys were given the leading parts, while Robert spent the last portion of his contract as a background player.
After he left Our Gang with 1933's "Mush and Milk", his film career was essentially over -- with an appearance in Pie for Two, Yoo-Hoo, and Strange Roads outside of his Our Gang shorts -- and he did no more acting after that. His mother and father divorced, and he, his brother James, and his mother moved back to Washington. They lived in a household with their grandmother, and Olga's new husband.
Robert got a job as a gas station attendant in 1942, and enrolled as an air cadet sometime in 1943, with speculation being that he enrolled sometime in August. He was very close to completing his advanced flight training, until a very unfortunate event occurred May 17th, 1945, and he perished. He was killed in a mid-air collision while trying to land a North American AT-6D Texan, at Merced Army Air Field Base in California. The other pilot involved received only minor damage, and landed safely. - Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
William R. Thompkins was born on 27 April 1925 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and Rawhide (1959). He died on 18 September 1971 in Coupeville, Washington, USA.- Robert Patten was born on 11 October 1925 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Westworld (1973), Airport (1970) and Twelve O'Clock High (1949). He was married to Peggy Lloyd and Patricia Grant. He died on 29 December 2001 in Malibu, California, USA.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Shirley Olivia Mills was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1926 and moved to southern California as a child.
She became the star of an independent film which achieved great fame, Child Bride (1938) when she was 12 years old; she describes it in detail on her "official" Website on a separate page devoted to memories of that film along with still photos of it. Other pages on the site are devoted to The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and Nine Girls (1944), two more films in which she appears.
Mills had extensive training in performing arts prior to her first big role, and those skills figured importantly in her success, which included great discipline and professionalism from a very young age in areas of dancing, declamation, recitation, and public speaking.
She became an accomplished dancer and appeared in World War II era movies with the "Jivin' Jacks And Jills" dance group in seven movies as a "Jivin' Jill" dancer. She worked with a very young Donald O'Connor, who emerged as a teen dance star in the early 1940s in "B" dance movies.
Mills appeared in major Hollywood studio movies through the 1940s and into the 1950s, during which decade she also appeared on major network television programs.
She appeared and acted with major Hollywood actors including Henry Fonda, Errol Flynn, Shirley Temple, Donald O'Connor, and the Andrews Sisters.
She appeared in movies directed by major Hollywood studio directors including John Ford (who won the Best Director Academy Award for The Grapes Of Wrath in which Shirley Mills appeared as "Ruthie Joad"), Michael Curtiz, Alfred Hitchcock, George Cuckor, Alan Dwan, Charles Burton, Andre De Toth, George Marshall, William Castle, and Joseph Kane.
In addition to her career as a child and teen film star, Mills also worked as a professional dancer and a photo and advertising model for Coca-Cola, Russell Stover Candies, and many other companies. She appeared on magazine covers often during the 1940s, and went on to work as a nightclub performer, stage personality, and as a marketing and public relations sales specialist for computer data processing services in the early 1960s. She was one of the earliest women to become prominent in the computer data-processing field.
Later, she became an independent businesswoman and started a Bel Air, California-based company specializing in party and social event-planning called "A Party For All Seasons." She achieved prominence as a specialist in Jewish weddings although she was not born Jewish.
She cared for her aged parents into their old age. Her father died in 1976 after suffering several strokes, and her mother died in 1979 after suffering from kidney failure.
In 1977, she married retired clergyman Mel Hanson, and lived with him on a cattle ranch in Southern California. She also owned an alfalfa ranch in Northern California which she later sold. Her husband died in a tragic automobile accident 18 years after they were married.
During her retirement years, she often appeared at movie nostalgia and memorabilia conventions. A photo on her website shows her in 2005 (at age 79) with Darryl Hickman, the child actor who appeared as her screen brother in The Grapes Of Wrath (1940).
In 2005, a 13-minute documentary was made featuring Mills recalling her work on The Grapes of Wrath in 1940.
In 2009, her website reported that she had become bedridden and no longer made public appearances. She was 83 years old in 2009.- Don Paul was born on 23 July 1926 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He died on 7 September 2001 in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
- Music Department
- Actress
While Mary Louise Zeyen was born in Washington State in 1926, her family moved to the Los Angeles area when she was very young. She performed with her sisters Terese (piano) and Margaret (violin) as a trio in concert and on radio. Her talent on cello was recognized at a young age, and she became a member of the Peter Meremblum California Junior Symphony Orchestra, one of the premier youth training orchestras in Southern California.
Zeyen was a frequent background player in various movies during the 1930's and early 1940's, including bit roles as a young cellist in the Goldwyn film "They Shall Have Music" (1939), and "There's Magic in Music" (also known as "The Hard-Boiled Canary") (1940) as an unnamed cellist in the camp orchestra. She was also in the Meremblum orchestra in a short subject "California Junior Symphony" (1942) in the film "Song of Russia" (1944).
In 1947, she followed sisters Terese and Peggy, and took the vow as a nun in the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), with the name of Sister Mary Anthony. The three performed as the Immaculate Trio for many years. She also was a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for several years, until arthritis forced her into retirement.
She spent her later years in retirement in Southern California.
She died March 14, 2013, in Pomona California.- Betty Greco was born on 29 March 1927 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She was an actress, known for Winner Take All (1939), Spy Hunt (1950) and On Their Own (1940). She died on 23 December 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.