Ella Raines

Ella Raines
Promotional photograph
Born Ella Wallace Raines
(1920-08-06)August 6, 1920
Snoqualmie Falls, Washington, U.S.
Died May 30, 1988(1988-05-30) (aged 67)
Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Cause of death throat cancer
Resting place Glen Haven Memorial Park, Los Angeles County, California
Years active 1943–84
Spouse(s) Kenneth Trout (1942–1945)
Robin Olds (1947–1976) (divorced)
Children Christina Eloise Olds
Susan Olds Scott-Risner
Robin Ernest Olds

Ella Wallace Raines (born Ella Wallace Raubes, August 6, 1920 – May 30, 1988) was an American film and television actress.

Life and career

Born Ella Wallace Raines near Snoqualmie Falls, Washington, Ella Raines studied drama at the University of Washington and was appearing in a play there when she was seen by director Howard Hawks. She became the first actor signed to the new production company he had formed with the actor Charles Boyer, B-H Productions, and made her film debut in Corvette K-225 (1943) which Hawks produced.

Immediately following her role in Corvette K-225, Raines was cast in the all-female war film Cry "Havoc" (also 1943). She starred in the film noir Phantom Lady,[1] the Preston Sturges comedy Hail the Conquering Hero, and the John Wayne western Tall in the Saddle (all 1944).

Soon, she began appearing in such films as The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) with Geraldine Fitzgerald and George Sanders and the thriller The Web (1947). With the exception of Brute Force (1947), in which Raines appeared with Burt Lancaster. None of her later films were nearly as successful as her earlier movies and her career began to decline.

Raines on the cover of Life magazine (February 28, 1944)

In 1954 and 1955 she starred in the television series Janet Dean, Registered Nurse. She also appeared in such television series as Robert Montgomery Presents, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Lights Out, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and The Christophers. She retired from acting in 1957, but made one further screen appearance with a guest role in the series Matt Houston in 1984. Raines appeared on the cover of Life magazine twice, once for Brute Force in 1947 and, in 1944, for her work in Phantom Lady. Also in 1944, she appeared as a pin-up girl in the June 2 issue of the G.I. magazine Yank.

Raines has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to motion pictures at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard,[2] and for television at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life

On August 11, 1942,[3] a few days after her graduation from the University of Washington, Raines married her high school sweetheart, United States Army Air Forces Major Kenneth William Trout. The couple divorced December 18, 1945.[4]

On February 6, 1947,[5] Raines married fighter pilot ace Robin Olds,[6] who was eventually became promoted to United States Air Force Brigadier General; the couple had three children - one of which was stillborn. She also had two miscarriages which she blamed on the unsanitary conditions of serving abroad in Africa. [7]They separated in 1975 and divorced in 1976.

Death

She died from throat cancer in Sherman Oaks, California in 1988, aged 67.

Filmography

Raines and Alan Curtis in Phantom Lady (1944)
Raines and Charles Laughton in The Suspect (1944)
Raines and Brian Donlevy in Impact (1949)
YearTitleRole
1943Corvette K-225Joyce Cartwright
1943Cry 'Havoc'Connie
1944Phantom LadyCarol Richman
1944Hail the Conquering HeroLibby
1944Tall in the SaddleArleta 'Arly' Harolday
1944Enter Arsène LupinStacie Kanares
1944The SuspectMary
1945The Strange Affair of Uncle HarryDeborah Brown
1946The RunaroundPenelope 'Annabelle' Hampton
1946White Tie and TailsLouise Bradford
1947Time Out of MindClarissa 'Rissa' Fortune
1947The WebNoel Faraday
1947Brute ForceCora Lister
1947The Senator Was IndiscreetPoppy McNaughton
1949The Walking HillsChris Jackson
1949ImpactMarsha Peters
1949A Dangerous ProfessionLucy Brackett
1950Singing GunsNan Morgan
1950The Second FacePhyllis Holmes
1951Fighting Coast GuardLouise Ryan
1952Ride the Man DownCelia Evarts
1957The Man in the RoadRhona Ellison

References

  1. ↑ Hanson, Helen (2007). Hollywood Heroines: Women in Film Noir. 6 Salem Road, London: I.B. Tauris &Co. pp. 20–23.
  2. ↑ "Ella Raines". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Actress Ella Raines May Seek Divorce". Herald and News. Oregon, Klamath Falls. October 17, 1945. p. 10. Retrieved June 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Divorce Awarded to Actress Ella Raines". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. Associated Press. December 19, 1945. p. 2. Retrieved June 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Actress Ella Raines, Major on Honeymoon". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. Associated Press. February 8, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Ella Raines Happy In Her Marriage". Statesville Daily Record. North Carolina, Statesville. July 19, 1947. p. 9. Retrieved June 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Olds, Robin (2010). Fighter Pilot: the memoirs of legendary ace Robin Olds. St Martins Griffin. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-312-56951-8.
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