Full Name Terry Ray Role Film actress Name Ellen Drew | Years active 1936–61 Occupation Actress Children David Wallace | |
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Movies Christmas in July, The Man from Colorado, Isle of the Dead, The Baron of Arizona, The Crooked Way Similar People Robert Florey, Henry Levin, Preston Sturges, Joan Leslie, Sy Bartlett | ||
Movie legends ellen drew
Ellen Drew (November 23, 1915 – December 3, 2003) was an American film actress.
Contents
- Movie legends ellen drew
- Stars In My Crown 1950 Official Trailer Joel McCrea Ellen Drew Movie HD
- Early life
- Career
- Radio
- Personal life
- Death
- Honors
- Filmography
- References
Stars In My Crown (1950) Official Trailer - Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew Movie HD
Early life
Drew was the daughter of an Irish barber, born Esther Loretta Ray or Terry Ray in Kansas City, Missouri. She worked various jobs and won a number of beauty contests before becoming an actress. Moving to Hollywood in an attempt to become a star, she was discovered while working at an ice cream parlor where one of the customers, actor William Demarest, took notice of her and eventually helped her get into films.
Career
Ray's venture into the movies brought about a conflict in names with another Terry Ray, a male actor. A 1937 newspaper photo showed the resolution of the conflict as "They conferred, drew lots from the hat and masculine Terry Ray became Terry Rains, while feminine Terry Ray remained as before."
After appearing in 25 features using her birth name, she became a fixture at Paramount Pictures as Ellen Drew from 1938 to 1943, where she appeared in as many as six films per year, including Sing You Sinners (1938) with Bing Crosby and The Lady's from Kentucky (1939) with George Raft. She moved to RKO in 1944. Among her leading men were Ronald Colman, William Holden, Basil Rathbone, Dick Powell, and Robert Preston (in The Night of January 16th and Night Plane from Chungking).
Her films include Christmas in July (1940), Isle of the Dead (1945), Johnny O'Clock (1947), The Man from Colorado (1948), The Crooked Way (1949) and The Baron of Arizona with Vincent Price (1950). In the 1950s, with her movie career on the decline, she worked as a television actress. Among her final roles was the part of Julia Webberly in the 1960 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Larcenous Lady."
Radio
On July 25, 1943, Drew co-starred with Preston Foster in "China Bridge," a presentation of Silver Theater on CBS radio.
Personal life
Drew married screenwriter Sy Bartlett, August 16, 1941, at Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
Death
Drew died on December 3, 2003 in Palm Desert, California of a liver ailment at the age of 88.
Honors
For her contributions to the motion picture industry, Drew received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Her star is located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd.