Shirley Deane (born Shirley Deane Blattenberger; March 16, 1913 – April 26, 1983) was an American film actress.
Shirley Deane | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shirley Deane Blattenberger March 16, 1913 |
| Died | April 26, 1983 (aged 70) Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1933–1940 |
| Spouse |
Thomas Kettering Jr.
(m. 1941) |
Early years
editBorn in Fresno, California,[1] to Jesse H. Blattenberger and his wife Zola (née Redden), she was raised by her maternal grandmother.[2]
Career
editDeane was best known as an actress for playing "Bonnie Jones" in 20th Century Fox's Jones Family series of films.[3] She was under contract with 20th Century Fox, and she acted in Prairie Moon (1936), the Flash Gordon serial, and some of the Charlie Chan films.[1] She was the original choice for the title role in the Blondie film series, a role that went to Penny Singleton after Deane was considered to be "too harsh when she nagged Dagwood", while Singleton came across as softer and sweeter.[4]
Deane also toured in revues, singing "some stirring patriotic and soft sentimental numbers".[5] She was the headline attraction in Star Dust Revue, a stage show that toured the southern United States in 1942,[6] and she performed in U. S. military camps.[7]
Personal life and death
editOn December 20, 1941, Dean married theatrical agent Thomas Kettering Jr. in Reno, Nevada.[8] Deane left the film business in the 1940s, when she began her family. She died of cancer in Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, California, on April 26, 1983, aged 70.[1]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Dancing Lady | Chorus Girl | Uncredited |
| 1934 | Stand Up and Cheer! | Dancer | Uncredited |
| 1935 | Dante's Inferno | Passenger in Boiler Room | Uncredited |
| 1935 | Redheads on Parade | Minor Role | Uncredited |
| 1935 | Metropolitan | Girl Who Sings Flat | Uncredited |
| 1936 | King of Burlesque | Phyllis Sears | |
| 1936 | Charlie Chan at the Circus | Louise Norman | |
| 1936 | The First Baby | Trudy Wells | |
| 1936 | Educating Father | Bonnie Jones | |
| 1936 | Girls' Dormitory | Fritzi | |
| 1936 | Back to Nature | Bonnie Jones | |
| 1936 | One in a Million | Girl in Band | |
| 1937 | On the Avenue | Chorus Girl | Uncredited |
| 1937 | Off to the Races | Bonnie Jones | |
| 1937 | Nancy Steele Is Missing! | Nancy | |
| 1937 | The Jones Family in Big Business | Bonnie Jones | |
| 1937 | Hot Water | ||
| 1937 | Borrowing Trouble | ||
| 1938 | Love on a Budget | Bonnie Thompson | |
| 1938 | A Trip to Paris | ||
| 1938 | Safety in Numbers | ||
| 1938 | Prairie Moon | Peggy Shaw | |
| 1939 | Everybody's Baby | Bonnie Thompson | |
| 1939 | Undercover Agent | Betty Madison | |
| 1940 | Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe | Princess Aura | Serial |
| 1940 | Private Affairs | First Girl in Bridge Game | Uncredited (final film role) |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Actress Deane dies of cancer at 70". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 29, 1983. p. 30. Retrieved July 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Shirley Deane - The Private Life and Times of Shirley Deane. Shirley Deane Pictures". Glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. 1980-03-09. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
- ^ Tucker p. 61
- ^ Basinger, Jeanine (March 11, 2014). I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-8041-6974-5. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
- ^ "Shirley Deane gets top spot". The Spokesman-Review. October 17, 1942. p. 5. Retrieved July 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Shirley Deane, Movie Star, to Appear In 'Star Dust Revue' On Granby Stage This Week". The Portsmouth Star. June 3, 1942. p. 6. Retrieved July 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "(untitled)". The L & N Employes' Magazine. August 1943. p. 6. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
- ^ "Marriages". Billboard. January 17, 1942. p. 29. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
Bibliography
edit- Tucker, David C. The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms. McFarland, 2015.
External links
edit
