Jacqueline White


Jacqueline Jane White is an American actress who had a career in Hollywood from 1942 until 1952, where she was featured in approximately 25 feature films.
White, at the age of 17, signed on a film contract at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and subsequently with RKO, where she found her greatest success and is perhaps best remembered for her roles in films Crossfire, Banjo, Mystery in Mexico and The Narrow Margin. She is one of the last surviving actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Early life

White was born on November 27, 1922, in Beverly Hills, California to Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Garrison White. Her cousin, Frank Knox, was a Secretary of the Navy and a newspaper owner and publisher. She was from Beverly Hills, California. She attended Beverly Hills High School and the University of California, Los Angeles.
White and actress Lynn Merrick were childhood friends until White moved. They were reunited when both were in the cast of Three Hearts for Julia.

Film career

MGM films

White's film debut resulted from her work in a drama class at UCLA.
She appeared in a few small roles, but her first lead role came in Air Raid Wardens starring Laurel and Hardy.
A casting director saw her in a production of Ah, Wilderness! and arranged for a screen test for her. That led to her film appearance, in Song of Russia.
White usually played either featured actresses in B movies or supporting parts in A-movies. White was under contract to both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she was cast mostly in uncredited small roles.

RKO Pictures

White had starring roles in RKO'S Banjo and Mystery in Mexico and also appeared in Crossfire. Her first western film was at RKO and starred in Return of the Bad Men, opposite Randolph Scott, her nemesis in the film was Anne Jeffreys, those sister played the film stand-in for White.
White married in 1948, then moved with her husband to Wyoming in 1950. When she returned to Los Angeles for the birth of her first child Neal Bruce, she was spotted in the RKO commissary visiting friends by director Richard Fleischer and producer Stanley Rubin, who offered her a featured role in The Narrow Margin, a B-picture film noir, which was her final picture.

Personal life

On November 12, 1948, White married Neal Bruce Anderson in Westwood Hills. She left the film industry in 1952 and relocated to Wyoming with her husband, who started an oil business.
White occasionally appears at film conventions. In 2013, she made an appearance at the annual TCM Classic Film Festival.

Filmography

YearFilmRole
1942Dr. Gillespie's New AssistantTelephone Operator
1942Reunion in FranceDanielle
1943Air Raid WardensPeggy Parker
1943Three Hearts for JuliaKay
1943That's Why I Left You Mary Thompson
1943Pilot No. 5Party Girl
1943Swing Shift MaisieGrace
1943A Guy Named JoeHelen
1944Song of RussiaAnna Bulganov
1944Easy LifeTrain Passenger
1944Thirty Seconds Over TokyoEmmy York
1944Dark ShadowsNurse Jean Smith
1946The Harvey GirlsHarvey Girl
1946Magic on a Stick Mrs. John Walker
1946Our Old Car Mrs. Nesbitt
1946The Show-OffClara Harlin
1947BanjoElizabeth Ames
1947Seven Keys to BaldpateMary Jordan
1947CrossfireMary Mitchell
1948Night SongConnie
1948Return of the Bad MenMadge Allen
1948Mystery in MexicoVictoria Ames
1949Riders of the RangePriscilla "Dusty" Willis
1950The CaptureLuana Ware
1952The Narrow MarginAnn Sinclair