June Travis
June Travis | |
---|---|
![]() Travis in 1935 | |
Born | June Dorothea Grabiner August 7, 1914 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | April 14, 2008 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 93)
Resting place | Oak Woods Cemetery,Chicago |
Other names | June Travis Friedlob |
Years active | 1935–1965 |
Spouse |
Fred Friedlob
(m.1940; died 1979) |
Children | 2 |
June Travis(bornJune Dorothea Grabiner;August 7, 1914 – April 14, 2008) was an Americanfilm actress.
Background
[edit]Born June Dorothea Grabiner, she was the daughter ofHarry Grabiner,vice-president of theChicago White Soxin the 1930s.[1]
She had dark brown hair and green eyes.[1]She stood 5'4 "tall. She attended Parkside Grammar School in Chicago and the Starrett School for Girls. She later studied atUCLA.When she returned toIllinois,she matriculated at theUniversity of Chicago.[2]
Marriage
[edit]On January 3, 1940, Travis married Fred Friedlob. They had two daughters, Cathy and June. Friedlob died in May 1979 inChicago.[3]
Screen actress
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Earthworm_Tractors_%281936%29_1.jpg/220px-Earthworm_Tractors_%281936%29_1.jpg)
AParamount Picturesvice-president noticed her inMiami, Florida,at a White Sox exhibition game. He offered Travis a screen test when she came toPasadena, California,where the major league baseball team trained. The first time she was presented with a screen contract, she suffered from screen fright and turned it down. She returned to Chicago and school and the next winter, accepted a film studio offer inPalm Springs, California.
Travis made her screen debut inStranded(1935),[2]a film which starredKay FrancisandGeorge Brent.She played the role of Mary Rand. She followed this with a part inNot On Your Life(1935), withWarren WilliamandClaire Dodd.Howard Hawksdirected her inCeiling Zero(1936), aWarner Bros.feature. In preparation for her role, Travis learned flying, navigation, and parachute jumping fromAmelia Earhart.The aviator gave her instructions in September 1935, including the film starsJames CagneyandPat O'Brien.Also in1936,she portrayed secretaryDella StreettoPerry Masonas played byRicardo CortezinThe Case of the Black Cat.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Ceiling_Zero_%281936%29_1.jpg/220px-Ceiling_Zero_%281936%29_1.jpg)
She wasRonald Reagan'sleading ladyin his first movie,Love Is on the Air,in 1937.
Her most notable film role was likely inThe Star(1952) starringBette Davis.
Travis became known as the Queen of theB-movieson the Warner Bros. lot. Later, she said that if she had remained inHollywoodtwo more years, she would have been a star.[4]However, following three years, she came home to Chicago for Christmas with her parents. She did not return to making motion pictures. Travis stopped regularly appearing in films after 1938, though she made minor appearances inThe StarandMonster a Go-Go.
Radio
[edit]Travis played Stormy Wilson Curtis in the radio soap operaGirl Alone[5]and Bernice inArnold Grimm's Daughter,another soap opera.[6]
Death
[edit]On April 14, 2008, Travis, age 93, died in a hospital of complications from astrokeshe suffered weeks earlier. She is buried in Chicago'sOak Woods Cemetery.[7]
Filmography
[edit]- Stranded(1935) (withKay FrancisandGeorge Brent) – Mary Rand
- Don't Bet on Blondes(1935) (withWarren WilliamandGuy Kibbee) – Telephone Operator (uncredited)
- Bright Lights(1935) (withJoe E. Brown) – Party Guest (uncredited)
- Broadway Gondolier(1935) (withDick PowellandJoan Blondell) – Hatcheck Girl (uncredited)
- The Case of the Lucky Legs(1935) (withWarren WilliamandGenevieve Tobin) – George's Lady Friend (uncredited)
- Shipmates Forever(1935) (withDick PowellandRuby Keeler) – Cigarette Girl (uncredited)
- Dr. Socrates(1935) (withPaul Muni) – Dublin
- Broadway Hostess(1935) – Mrs. Bannister (uncredited)
- Ceiling Zero(1936) (withJames Cagney) – Tommy Thomas
- Times Square Playboy(1936) (withWarren William) – Beth Calhoun,aka Fay Melody
- Earthworm Tractors(1936) (withJoe E. Brown) – Mabel Johnson
- Bengal Tiger(1936) (withBarton MacLane) – Laura Homan Ballenger
- Jailbreak(1936) (withBarton MaclaneandCraig Reynolds) – Jane Rogers
- The Big Game(1936) (with Philip Huston andJames Gleason) – Margaret Anthony
- The Case of the Black Cat(1936) (withRicardo Cortez) – Della Street
- Join the Marines(1937) (withPaul Kelly) – Paula Denbrough
- Circus Girl(1937) (withRobert LivingstonandDonald Cook) – Kay Rogers
- Men in Exile(1937) (withDick Purcell) – Sally Haines
- Love Is on the Air(1937) (withRonald Reagan) – Jo Hopkins
- Over the Goal(1937) (withWilliam HopperandJohnnie Davis) – Lucille Martin
- Exiled to Shanghai(1937) (withWallace FordandDean Jagger) – Nancy Jones
- The Kid Comes Back(1938) (withWayne Morris) – Mary Malone
- Over the Wall(1938) (withDick Foran) – Kay Norton
- Go Chase Yourself(1938) (withJoe PennerandLucille Ball) – Judy Daniels
- The Marines Are Here(1938) (withGordon Oliver) – Terry Foster
- The Gladiator(1938) (withJoe E. Brown) – Iris Bennett
- Mr. Doodle Kicks Off(1938) (withJoe Penner) – Janice Martin
- The Night Hawk(1938) (withRobert Livingston) – Della Parrish
- Little Orphan Annie(1938) (withAnn Gillis) – Mary Ellen
- Federal Man-Hunt(1938) (withRobert Livingston) – Anne Lawrence
- The Star(1952) (withBette Davis) – Phyllis Stone
- Monster A Go-Go(1965) (with Paul Morton) – Ruth (final film role)
References
[edit]- ^ab"Say Hello to..."(PDF).Radio and Television Mirror.15(1): 52. November 1940.RetrievedMarch 14,2015.
- ^ab"Chicago Girl, June Travis, nee Grabiner, Comes to the Lake Screen in 'Ceiling Zero'".Forest Parker.April 23, 1936. p. 18.RetrievedMay 2,2017– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"Fred Friedlob death announcement".Chicago Tribune.May 17, 1979. p. 53.RetrievedAugust 29,2023.
- ^"Actress was two years off Hollywood stardom".The Sydney Morning Herald.May 22, 2008.RetrievedAugust 17,2017.
- ^Fairfax, Arthur (December 28, 1940)."Mr. Fairfax Replies"(PDF).Movie Radio Guide.10(12): 43. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on January 19, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 19,2015.
- ^Wolf, Tom (October 30, 1941)."Television Promises to Create New Market for 'Etheral' Beauty".Indiana Gazette.p. 32.RetrievedMarch 7,2015– via Newspapers.com.
- ^Lentz, Harris M. III (2009).Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2008: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture.McFarland. p. 431.ISBN978-0786434824.RetrievedMay 3,2017.
- Long Beach Press-Telegram,"Actress looks back at what might have been", April 23, 1977, p. 16
- Los Angeles Times,"Wrong Sex For Baseball, Girl Turns Actress", April 15, 1935, p. 19
- Los Angeles Times,"Another Society Bud Lured To Movies", April 20, 1935, p. 13
- Los Angeles Times,"The Pageant of the Film World", April 27, 1935, p. A9
- Los Angeles Times,"Kirkland's Troth Seen", August 20, 1935, p. A1
- The New York Times,"Screen Notes", September 21, 1935, p. 18
- New York Times,"Miss Earhart Teaches Aviation", September 26, 1935, p. 25
- Chicago Tribune,"June Travis Friedlob 1914 ~ 2008", April 16, 2008
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- June TravisatIMDb
- June Travisat theTCM Movie Database
- June Travisat Virtual History