Veda Ann Borg


Veda Ann Borg was an American film and television actress.

Early years

Borg was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Gottfried Borg, a Swedish immigrant, and Minna Noble. She became a model in 1936 before winning a contract at Paramount Pictures. An item in a 1936 newspaper described her as a "former New York and Boston manakin" when her signing with Paramount was announced.

Film

Soon after Borg signed her contract with Paramount, studio officials decided to change her name to Ann Noble for her work in films. However, a newspaper article reported, "Miss Borg contended that her own name is more descriptive of her personality than Ann Noble." Her argument was successful, and she retained her name.
She appeared in more than 100 films, including Mildred Pierce, Chicken Every Sunday, Love Me or Leave Me, Guys and Dolls, Thunder in the Sun, You're Never Too Young, and The Alamo, in which she portrayed the blind Nell Robertson, who dramatically coaxes her husband, Jocko to remain at the Alamo rather than leaving to care for her, knowing his death was probable.

Television

Borg began accepting parts in television when the new medium opened up. From 1952 through 1961, she appeared on shows such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, General Electric Theater, The 20th Century-Fox Hour, The [Abbott and Costello Show], The Restless Gun, Bonanza, The Red Skelton Show, Adventures of Superman, Wild Bill Hickok, and Mr. & Mrs. North, among many others. In early 1953, she was the first actress cast as "Honeybee Gillis" in The Life of Riley TV series, replaced a short time later by first Marie Brown, then Gloria Blondell.

Personal life

A car crash in 1939 required surgical reconstruction of Borg's face.
Borg was married briefly to Paul Herrick and to film director Andrew McLaglen, with whom she had a son: Andrew Victor McLaglen II. Both marriages ended in divorce.
Borg died of cancer in Hollywood in 1973, aged 58. She was cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.

Partial filmography