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Ellen Drew was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film actress.
Born
Esther Loretta Ray in
Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Drew worked various jobs and won a number of beauty contests before becoming an actress. Moving to Hollywood in an attempt to become a star, she was discovered while working at an ice cream parlor where one of the customers
William DemarestCarl William Demarest was an American character actor. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles.-Early life and career:...
took notice of her and eventually helped her get into films.
She became a fixture at
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
from 1938 to 1943, where she appeared in as many as six films per year, including
Sing You SinnersSing You Sinners is a 1938 black-and-white American musical comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Donald O'Connor, and Ellen Drew. The movie was written by Claude Binyon and directed by Wesley Ruggles...
(1938) with
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and
The Lady's from KentuckyThe Lady's from Kentucky is a 1939 film starring George Raft and Ellen Drew. The movie was written by Malcolm Stuart Boylan from a story by Rowland Brown, and was directed by Alexander Hall. The screenplay involves a failing bookie who becomes half owner of a racehorse, with a Kentucky lady ...
(1939) with
George RaftGeorge Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
. She moved to RKO in 1944. Among her leading men were
Ronald ColmanRonald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
,
William HoldenWilliam Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
,
Basil RathboneSir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
,
Dick PowellRichard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
, and
Robert Preston-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
(in
Night of January 16thNight of January 16th is a play written by Ayn Rand, inspired by the death of the "Match King", Ivar Kreuger. First produced under a different name in 1934, it takes place entirely in a court room and is centered on a murder trial. It was a hit of the 1935-36 Broadway season...
and
Night Plane from ChungkingNight Plane from Chungking is an American war film released by Paramount Pictures, and is a remake of Paramount's earlier film Shanghai Express ....
).
Her films include
Christmas in JulyChristmas in July is a 1940 screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges based on his 1931 play A Cup of Coffee. It was Sturges' second film as writer-director, after The Great McGinty, and stars Dick Powell and Ellen Drew....
(1940),
Isle of the DeadIsle of the Dead is one of producer Val Lewton's horror films made for RKO Radio Pictures. The movie had a script inspired by the painting Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin, which appears behind the title credits, though the film was originally titled "Camilla" during production...
(1945),
Johnny O'ClockJohnny O'Clock is an American crime film noir written and directed by Robert Rossen, based on a story by Milton Holmes. The drama features Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, and Lee J. Cobb.-Plot:...
(1947),
The Man from ColoradoThe Man from Colorado is a 1948 American western-psychological drama film directed by Henry Levin and produced by Jules Schermer for Columbia Pictures. It stars Glenn Ford as a Union officer who becomes addicted to killing during the American Civil War, William Holden as his best friend, and Ellen...
(1948), and
The Crooked WayThe Crooked Way is a black-and-white film noir directed by Robert Florey. The film was based on a radio play No Blade Too Sharp and features John Payne, Sonny Tufts, Ellen Drew, and others...
(1949). In the 1950s, with her movie career on the decline, she worked as a television actress.
She died in
Palm Desert, CaliforniaPalm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
on December 3, 2003.
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