Lorna Gray
Lorna Gray | |
|---|---|
 Autographed photo as Adrian Booth Brian | |
| Born | Virginia Pound July 26, 1917 |
| Died | April 30, 2017(aged 99) |
| Other names |
|
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1937–1951 |
| Spouse | |
| Signature | |
 | |
Virginia Pound(July 26, 1917 – April 30, 2017), known professionally asLorna Grayand (after 1945)Adrian Booth,was an American film actress known for her comic roles, and later as a villainess. She is best known for her roles inColumbia Picturescomedy shorts andRepublic Picturesserials.
Early years[edit]
Gray was born inGrand Rapids, Michigan.[1]After her father's millinery business was a victim of theGreat Depression,the family split up. Before appearing in films, Gray sang with a group in Cleveland called Ben Yost's Varsity Co-eds, who performed primarily in movie theaters before the movie began.[2]
Career[edit]
Although she had a film test atUniversal Studiosand a brief contract withParamount Pictures,she made her first big film forColumbia Pictures.
As a Columbia contract player she appeared in the studio's shorts and serials, includingFlying G-Men(starringRobert Paige),Pest from the West(starringBuster Keaton), andYou Nazty Spy!(starringThe Three Stooges). When her Columbia contract lapsed, she found work atMonogram Pictures,where she worked with action starFrankie Darro.[3]
Gray also starred oppositeJohn WayneinRed River Range(1938) and appeared in the title role inO, My Darling Clementine(1943), acountry musicfilm starringRoy Acuffas asinging sheriff.[4]
In her Paramount films, such asHold 'Em Navy,she was credited as Virginia Pound, but she was given the nameLorna Grayby Columbia and she used it from 1938 until 1945, when she left Columbia and moved toRepublic Pictures.She appeared as Lorna Gray in Republic'sFederal Operator 99,but subsequently adopted the nameAdrian Booth.[5]
At Republic, she often received co-star billing in Westerns, the only woman other thanDale Evansto be billed so highly at that studio.[2]She also starred in Republic's serial about the comic book superheroCaptain America.
Personal life[edit]
In 1945, shortly after signing a contract with Republic Pictures, she and thestunt performerRuel F. Taylor were arrested for "suspicion of possessingmarijuanain Los Angeles. "A $1,000bailset her free.[6]She was later exonerated after Taylor testified at his preliminary hearing that Gray had not used the marijuana and was not aware of it.[7]
She married actorDavid Brian[8]on July 19, 1949,[2]and retired from motion pictures in 1951. As Adrian Booth, she was awarded theGolden Boot Awardin 1998 and attended film festivals into her nineties.[5]She appeared as a guest at the annual Three Stooges convention held inFort Washington, Pennsylvania,on April 30, 2011.
Death[edit]
Gray died in Sherman Oaks, California on April 30, 2017, aged 99.[9]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Hold 'Em Navy | Girl | |
| Thrill of a Lifetime | Chorus girl | Uncredited | |
| 1938 | The Buccaneer | Uncredited | |
| The Big Broadcast of 1938 | Divorcee | ||
| Scandal Street | Uncredited | ||
| Adventure in Sahara | Carla Preston | ||
| Red River Range | Jane Mason | ||
| Smashing the Spy Ring | Anna Loring | ||
| 1939 | The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt | Girl Michael runs into in nightclub | Uncredited |
| Flying G-Men | Babs McKay | ||
| Outside These Walls | Secretary | Uncredited | |
| Missing Daughters | Nan | Uncredited | |
| Good Girls Go to Paris | Bridesmaid | Uncredited | |
| Coast Guard | Uncredited | ||
| The Man They Could Not Hang | Janet Savaard | ||
| Those High Grey Walls | Nurse | Uncredited | |
| Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise | May Jenkins | Short, Uncredited | |
| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Woman at station | Uncredited | |
| Beware Spooks! | Uncredited | ||
| The Amazing Mr. Williams | Nurse | Uncredited | |
| Three Sappy People | Sherry Rumsford | Short | |
| The Stranger from Texas | Jean Browning | ||
| Pest from the West | Conchita | Short | |
| 1940 | Cafe Hostess | Cafe hostess | Uncredited |
| You Nazty Spy! | Mattie Herring | Short, Uncredited | |
| Convicted Woman | Frankie Mason | ||
| Bullets for Rustlers | Ann Houston | ||
| Rockin' thru the Rockies | Flossie | Short | |
| Deadwood Dick | Anne Butler | Serial | |
| Up in the Air | Rita Wilson | ||
| Drums of the Desert | Helene Laroche | ||
| 1941 | Father Steps Out | Helen Matthews | |
| Tuxedo Junction | Joan Gordon | ||
| 1942 | Perils of Nyoka | Vultura | |
| Ridin' Down the Canyon | Barbara Joyce | ||
| 1943 | So Proudly We Hail! | Lt. Tony Dacelli | |
| O, My Darling Clementine | Clementine Cheshire | ||
| 1944 | Captain America | Gail Richards | Serial |
| The Girl Who Dared | Ann Carroll | ||
| 1945 | Adventures of Kitty O'Day | Gloria Williams | |
| Fashion Model | Yvonne Brewster | ||
| Federal Operator 99 | Rita Parker | ||
| Tell It to a Star | Mona St. Clair | ||
| Dakota | Entertainer | Uncredited | |
| 1946 | Home on the Range | Bonnie Garth | |
| Valley of the Zombies | Susan Drake | ||
| Man from Rainbow Valley | Kay North | ||
| Daughter of Don Q | Dolores Quantero | ||
| Out California Way | Gloria McCoy | ||
| 1947 | Last Frontier Uprising | Mary Lou Garnder | |
| Spoilers of the North | Jane Koster | ||
| Along the Oregon Trail | Sally Dunn | ||
| Exposed | Judith Bentry | ||
| Under Colorado Skies | Julia Collins | ||
| 1948 | Lightnin' in the Forest | Dell Parker | |
| California Firebrand | Joyce Mason | ||
| The Gallant Legion | Connie Faulkner | ||
| The Plunderers | Julie Ann McCabe | ||
| 1949 | The Last Bandit | Kate Foley | |
| Hideout | Betty / Hannah Kelly | ||
| Brimstone | Molly Bannister | ||
| 1950 | Rock Island Trail | Aleeta | |
| The Savage Horde | Livvy Weston | ||
| 1951 | Oh! Susanna | Lia Wilson | |
| Yellow Fin | Jean Elliott | ||
| The Sea Hornet | Ginger Sullivan |
References[edit]
- ^Neill, Frank (February 9, 1950)."In Hollywood".Long Beach Independent.California, Long Beach. International News Service. p. 24.RetrievedMay 20,2016– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^abcMagers, Boyd; Fitzgerald, Michael G. (2004).Westerns Women: Interviews with 50 Leading Ladies of Movie and Television Westerns from the 1930s to the 1960s.Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 45–52.ISBN9780786420285.
- ^"Adrian Booth biography".Republic Pictures 75th.RetrievedMay 2,2014.
- ^"Lorna Gray/Adrian Booth".B-Westerns.RetrievedMay 2,2014.
- ^ab"Yo, Adrian! Adrian Booth at the Memphis Film Festival"The Blood-shot Eye(2007)ArchivedJuly 19, 2008, atarchive.today
- ^"Virginia Pound, 1936 Bud Queen, Arrested On Marijuana Charge".Benton Harbor News Palladium. March 6, 1945. p. 1.RetrievedJanuary 22,2016.
- ^"Actress Exonerated in Marijuana Case".The Bakersfield Californian.California, Bakersfield. Associated Press. March 7, 1945. p. 1.RetrievedMay 20,2016– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^Fidler, Jimmie (October 2, 1949)."In Hollywood With Jimmie Fidler".Monroe Morning World.Louisiana, Monroe. Monroe Morning World. p. 4.RetrievedMay 20,2016– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^Barnes, Mike (May 3, 2017)."Lorna Gray, Queen of Shorts and Serials at Columbia and Republic Pictures, Dies at 99".The Hollywood Reporter.ISSN0018-3660.
External links[edit]
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