Forgotten Actors: August 2018

Monday, 20 August 2018

Joe DeRita

Born: 12 July 1909, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: 3 July 1993, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Joe DeRita began his career acting on stage with his parents. As a stage comedian he entered into the world of burlesque in the 1920s. Joe's film career took off in 1943 with an uncredited appearance in 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' and then 'The Doughgirls' in 1944. After these two films and several more Joe settled into comedy shorts for Columbia where he could bring some of his stage persona to the big screen.

Joe DeRita is probably most famous for being in the Three Stooges late in their career. He was offered the part as a 'stooge' around the time that Curly Howard had his stroke, in 1946, eventually dying in 1952. Shemp Howard only wanted to be a temporary replacement. Joe refused the part and Shemp continued until his own untimely death in 1955. Joe Besser was then brought in as the third stooge, but when Columbia shut down their short film comedies section, Joe Besser quit the act. Joe DeRita was asked again to join the Three Stooges and this time he accepted working with them in films from 1959 to 1970 when the act was finally retired.

Jitter Bughouse (1948) as Joe

Have Rocket -- Will Travel (1959) as Curly-Joe

Frankie Carr

Born: 29 November 1923, Ohio, USA
Died: 20 March 1986, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Jitter Bughouse (1948) as Nov-Elites Member (Credited as The Nov-Elites)

Joe Mayer

Born: unknown
Died: unknown

Jitter Bughouse (1948) as Nov-Elites Member (Credited as The Nov-Elites)

Art Terry

Born: unknown
Died: unknown

Jitter Bughouse (1948) as Nov-Elites Member (Credited as The Nov-Elites)

Sunday, 19 August 2018

William Smith

Born: 24 March 1933, Columbia, Missouri, USA

William Smith played a main character in the 1960s television series 'Zero One (1962)' and 'Laredo (1965)'. He went on to have a long career in films and television.

Uncle Sam (1996) as Major

Thursday, 16 August 2018

Virginia Rappe

Born: 7 July 1891, New York City, New York, USA
Died: 9 September 1921, San Francisco, California, USA

Died from her injuries after a party for which 'Fatty' Arbuckle was charged with her murder.

An Adventuress (1920) as Vanette

Frederick Brady

Born: 29 March 1912, New York City, New York, USA
Died: 11 November 1961, Los Angeles, California, USA

Frederick Brady's screen acting career was not as successful as his screenwriting career. Brady mainly wrote teleplays for popular television anthology shows of the 1950s, such as 'Stage 7', 'Celebrity Playhouse' and 'Four Star Theatre'.

Stage Door Canteen (1943) as Jersey Wallace (Credited as Fred Brady)

Frederick Brady is on the left.

Patsy Kelly

Born: 12 January 1910, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Died: 24 September 1981, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Patsy Kelly was a stage, film and radio actress. She is probably best known for her roles with Thelma Todd in a series of short comedy films produced by Hal Roach in the 1930s. After Todd died in 1935, Kelly continued to appear in comedy shorts and features. By 1944, Kelly's film career had just about dried up and she made only one more appearance in a 1947 short comedy. She then returned to New York to appear on radio and on the stage. With the rise of television in the 1950s, Patsy again began to work on screen, albeit a much smaller one, and made guest appearances on shows like 'Laramie' and 'The Untouchables'. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Kelly appeared in many television series and a handful of films, most noteably 'Rosemary's Baby (1968)' and 'Freaky Friday (1976)'.

In 1971, Patsy Kelly won a Tony award for her role in the revival of 'No, No, Nanette' on Broadway, which also starred Ruby Keeler and Helen Gallagher.

The Gorilla (1939) as Kitty

In Old California (1942) as Helga

The North Avenue Irregulars (1979) as Rose

Wednesday, 15 August 2018

Betty Garrett

Born: 23 May 1919, St. Joseph, Missouri, USA
Died: 12 February 2011, Los Angeles, California, USA

Betty Garrett was a singer, dancer and actress, especially in comedic roles, of the stage and screen from the late 1940s. She was contracted to MGM from 1947 to 1949. Her Hollywod career came to an end following the McCarthy trials and Communist scare of the 1950s. After this period, Garrett found film roles hard to come by and worked almost exclusively on the stage. In the 1970s she found fame again in the hit television series 'All in the Family' and 'Laverne and Shirley' and never was short of work from then on, appearing in hit stage shows with the occasional guest appearance on television.

This is Your Life: Ann Miller (1993) (Season 33, Episode 29) as Herself

This episode also included guest appearances from Ginger Rogers and Jane Withers.

Gloria Stuart

Born: 4 July 1910, Santa Monica, California, USA
Died: 26 September 2010, Los Angeles, California, USA

Gloria Stuart was a stage and screen actress whose career flourished in the 1930s with starring roles in feature films like 'The Invisible Man (1933)' and 'Roman Scandals (1933)'. She was contracted to Universal Pictures in 1932. In the 1940s Stuart gave up films to concentrate on stage work and ultimately on becoming a talented and respected artist in many mediums.

After nearly 30 years away from the screen, Gloria Stuart began to appear in television series in the 1970s. Twenty years later she was given her most iconic role in the film 'Titanic (1997)' as Old Rose, whose memories give the film its narration. Gloria was the oldest person ever to be nominated for an Academy Award at the 1998 Oscars when she was 87.

Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933) as Herself

One of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1932.

Toshia Mori

Born: 1 January 1912, Kyoto, Japan
Died: 26 November 1995, The Bronx, New York, USA

Toshia Mori began her film career at the end of the silent era in movies like 'Streets of Shanghai (1927)' and 'The Man Without a Face (1928)'; both films are sadly lost today. Most of Toshia's roles were small, but in 1932 she was chosen as the first and only non-caucasian WAMPAS Baby Star. Possibly as a result of this, Toshia was offered a major supporting role in the Columbia Pictures film 'The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932)'. The part was originally given to Anna May Wong, but the role was re-cast with Toshia taking the part, probably because of scheduling problems with Wong. Although receiving good reviews for her performance, this proved to be the peak of Mori's film career and she again found herself in much smaller roles until she retired from films in 1937.

Mori later worked as a researcher for Robert Ripley on his short films, 'Ripley's Believe It or Not'.

Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933) as Herself

One of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1932.

Marion Shockley

Born: 10 October 1911, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Died: 14 December 1981

Marion Shockley was a stage, film and radio actress during the 1930s and 1940s. Her film career consisted of mainly comedy shorts with the occasional B-movie feature. On Broadway Shockley featured in Dear Old Darling (1935) and Abie's Irish Rose (1936). And on radio, Marion Shockley was the first person to play the character 'Nikki Porter', Ellery Queen's secretary, in The Adventures of Ellery Queen, from 1939 to 1944.

Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933) as Herself

One of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1932.

Dorothy Wilson

Born: 14 November 1909, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Died: 7 January 1998, Lompoc, California, USA

Dorothy Wilson was a secretary who was signed up with a number of employment agencies. One of her jobs was at RKO Pictures where she worked at the studio for two years. Whilst taking dictation for director Gregory La Cava as part of her many assignments at RKO, LaCava, who was preparing to cast his upcoming film 'The Age of Consent (1932)', noticed Dorothy's stunning beauty and set her up for a screen test to play a lead role. She was given the part and her career took off from there. Although never breaking into major feature productions, Dorothy had a solid film career for 5 years. After marrying screenwriter Lewis R. Foster, Dorothy only featured in a few more films before retiring from acting and raising a family. She did, however, test for the part of 'Melanie Hamilton' in the epic movie 'Gone With the Wind (1939)', but she did not win the role, which was eventually played by Olivia de Havilland.

The Age of Consent (1932) as Betty Cameron

With Richard Cromwell.

Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933) as Herself

One of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1932.

Dorothy Layton

Born: 13 August 1912, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Died: 4 June 2009, Towson, Maryland, USA

Dorothy Layton's film career was restricted to the early 1930s. It lasted as long as she was dating Roger Marchetti, an attorney to the stars. When she split with him her career took a nose dive. She worked mainly for the Hal Roach Studios and made four appearances in Laurel and Hardy comedy shorts.

County Hospital (1932) as Nurse at Reception Desk

With Stan Laurel.

Taxi for Two (1932) as Eloping Bride

With Roger Moore.

Pick-up (1933) as Peggy (uncredited)

Dorothy Layton sits in the front of the car on the right, with George Meeker and Lilian Bond.

Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933) as Herself

One of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1932.

Boots Mallory

Born: 22 October 1913, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Died: 1 December 1958, Santa Monica, California, USA

Boots Mallory was discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. while she was still a teenager and appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931 on Broadway, in New York City. She appeared in only a handful of films in the 1930s including her final film 'Swiss Miss (1938)' with Laurel and Hardy.

Boots was married to William Cagney, James Cagney's brother, who was a film producer. On radio she worked with James Cagney in productions for Lux Radio Theatre.

Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933) as Herself

One of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1932.

Lilian Bond

Born: 18 January 1908, London, England, UK
Died: 25 January 1991, Reseda, California, USA

Lilian Bond was a dancer, actress and model. She appeared on stage in Earl Carroll's Vanities. Bond appeared in her first movie in 1929 and had a 20 year career in films and on television before retiring at the age of 50. On radio she acted in plays for Lux Radio Theater in 1942.

Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933) as Herself

One of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1932.

Pick-up (1933) as Muriel Stevens (Credited as Lillian Bond)

A Tragedy at Midnight (1942) as Lola

Lilian Bond, on the left, waits for John Howard to finish talking to Margaret Lindsay.

Other Works

Radio

1942 Oct 12 Lux Radio Theater - Morning Glory
1942 Oct 26 Lux Radio Theater - Wake Island
1942 Nov 02 Lux Radio Theater - A Woman's Face

Ruth Hall

Born: 29 December 1910, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Died: 9 October 2003, Glendale, California, USA

Her film career began at the beginning of the sound era as a dress extra. In 1931 she was signed by Paramount to a two-year contract. Hall was a regular in B-westerns starring alongside Ken Maynard, Charles Starrett and John Wayne. She also had a credited part in the Marx Brothers' 'Monkey Business (1931)'.

For the Defense (1930) as Juror (uncredited)

Ruth Hall is one of these two ladies. At first I thought she was the shorter one in the dark coat. Now I'm not so sure. This is an early appearance for Ruth and a brief one.

Local Boy Makes Good (1931) as Marjorie Blake