Ellen Drew


Ellen Drew was an American film actress.

Early life

Drew, born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1914, was the daughter of an Irish-born barber. She had a younger brother, Arden. Her parents separated in 1931. She worked in multiple 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 when she tried starting her career with the name Terry Ray, which happened to be the name of another, 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." She later tried the name of Erin Drew.
After appearing in 25 features using her birth name, she became a fixture at Paramount Pictures officially as Ellen Drew from 1938 to 1944, where she appeared in as many as six films per year, including Sing You Sinners with Bing Crosby and The Lady's from Kentucky 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.
Her other films include Christmas in July, Isle of the Dead, Johnny O'Clock, The Man from Colorado, The Crooked Way, and The Baron of Arizona with Vincent Price. 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 June 23, 1943, Drew co-starred with Agnes Moorehead and Ted Reid in "Uncle Henry's Rosebush" on Suspense, and on July 25, 1943, she co-starred with Preston Foster in "China Bridge", a presentation of Silver Theater on CBS radio. She also appeared twice on the Kate Smith Hour.

Death

Drew died on December 3, 2003, in Palm Desert, California, of a liver ailment, aged 89. She was cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.

Honors

For her contributions to the motion picture industry, Drew was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd.

In popular culture

A highly fictionalized version of her appears in James Ellroy's novels Perfidia and This Storm.

Partial filmography

  • The Return of Sophie Lang as Secretary
  • Rhythm on the Range as Party Guest
  • Yours for the Asking
  • My American Wife as Party Guest
  • Hollywood Boulevard as Terry Ray - Casting Office Secretary
  • Lady Be Careful as Girl in Sailboat
  • Wives Never Know
  • Murder with Pictures as Minor Role
  • The Big Broadcast of 1937 as Telephone Girl
  • Rose Bowl as Mary Arnold
  • The Accusing Finger as Wife
  • College Holiday as Dancer on Train
  • Murder Goes to College as Lil
  • The Crime Nobody Saw as Secretary
  • Internes Can't Take Money as Nurse
  • Make Way for Tomorrow as Usherette
  • Turn Off the Moon as Minor Role
  • Night of Mystery as Secretary
  • Hotel Haywire as Switchboard Operator
  • Mountain Music as Helen
  • This Way Please as Chorus Girl
  • The Buccaneer
  • Scandal Street
  • Dangerous to Know as Secretary
  • Cocoanut Grove as Radio Station Receptionist
  • You and Me as Cashier
  • Sing, You Sinners as Martha Randall
  • If I Were King as Huguette
  • The Lady's from Kentucky as Penelope 'Penny' Hollis
  • The Gracie Allen Murder Case as Ann Wilson
  • The Escape as Reporter
  • Geronimo as Alice Hamilton
  • French Without Tears as Diana Lake
  • Women Without Names as Joyce King
  • Buck Benny Rides Again as Joan Cameron
  • Christmas in July as Betty Casey
  • Texas Rangers Ride Again as Ellen 'Slats' Dangerfield
  • The Mad Doctor as Linda Boothe
  • The Monster and the Girl as Susan Webster
  • Reaching for the Sun as Rita
  • The Parson of Panamint as Mary Malloy
  • Our Wife as Babe Marvin
  • The Night of January 16th as Kit Lane
  • The Remarkable Andrew as Peggy Tobin
  • My Favorite Spy as Teresa 'Terry' Kyser
  • Star Spangled Rhythm as herself
  • Ice-Capades Revue as Ann Porter
  • Night Plane from Chungking as Ann Richards
  • The Impostor as Yvonne
  • And the Angels Sing
  • That's My Baby! as Betty Moody
  • Dark Mountain as Kay Downey
  • China Sky as Louise Thompson
  • Isle of the Dead as Thea
  • Man Alive as Connie McBride
  • Sing While You Dance as Susan Kent
  • Crime Doctor's Manhunt as Irene Cotter
  • Johnny O'Clock as Nelle Marchettis
  • The Swordsman as Barbara Glowan
  • The Man from Colorado as Caroline Emmet
  • The Crooked Way as Nina Martin
  • Davy Crockett, Indian Scout as Frances Oatman
  • The Baron of Arizona as Sofia de Peralta – Reavis 'The Baroness'
  • Stars in My Crown as Harriet Gray
  • Cargo to Capetown as Kitty Mellar
  • The Great Missouri Raid as Bee Moore
  • Man in the Saddle as Nan Melotte
  • Outlaw's Son as Ruth Sewall
  • The Millionaire episode "The Julia Conrad Story" as Julia Conrad, with co-star Robert Alda