Nan Grey

Nan Grey (born Eschal Loleet Grey Miller;^[1] July 25, 1918 – July 25, 1993) was an American film actress.

Nan Grey
Grey in 1942
Born	Eschal Loleet Grey Miller (1918-07-25)July 25, 1918 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Died	July 25, 1993(1993-07-25) (aged 75) San Diego, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1934–1941
Spouses	Jack Westrope ​ (m. 1939⁠–⁠1950)​ Frankie Laine ​ (m. 1950⁠–⁠1993)​
Children	2 daughters

Early years

Grey was born in Houston, Texas. In 1934, at age 16, she went to Hollywood with her mother for a holiday. She was persuaded by a friend to take a screen test and ended up in pictures.^{[citation needed]}

Grey attended the school that Universal Studios operated for children who had film contracts.^[2]

Career

Film

Grey's screen debut was in 1934 in Warner Bros.'s The Firebird.^[3] She starred opposite John Wayne in the 1936 film Sea Spoilers. Grey appeared in the Universal Monsters films Dracula's Daughter (1936) and The Invisible Man Returns (1940). She also appeared in the popular 1936 musical comedy Three Smart Girls, as well as the 1939 sequel Three Smart Girls Grow Up.

Radio

Grey played Kathy Marshall in the NBC radio soap opera Those We Love^[4] 1938-1945.^[3] Grey played in The Lux Radio Theatre, November 8, 1937 episode, "She Loves Me Not" with Bing Crosby, Joan Blondell, and Sterling Holloway^[5][6][7]

Invention

In the 1960s, Grey invented and marketed a cosmetic mirror especially suited to nearsighted women. An obituary noted, "Among its users was Princess Grace of Monaco."^[3]

Personal life

On May 4, 1939, Grey married U. S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey Jack Westrope in Phoenix, Arizona.^[8]

She married singer Frankie Laine in June 1950, and Laine adopted Grey's daughters (Pam and Jan) from her marriage to Westrope.^{[citation needed]}

Death

The Laines' 43-year union lasted until her death from heart failure on July 25, 1993, her 75th birthday.^[9]

Filmography

Grey in Dracula's Daughter (1936)

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1934	The St. Louis Kid	First Girl	(scenes deleted)
1934	The Firebird	Alice von Attem
1934	Babbitt	Eunice Littlefield
1935	The Woman in Red	Minor Role	Uncredited
1935	Mary Jane's Pa	Lucille Preston
1935	The Affair of Susan	Miss Skelly
1935	His Night Out	Minor Role	Uncredited
1935	The Great Impersonation	Middleton's Daughter	Uncredited
1936	Next Time We Love	Ingenue	Uncredited
1936	Sutter's Gold	Ann Eliza Sutter
1936	Love Before Breakfast	Telephone Girl	Uncredited
1936	Dracula's Daughter	Lili
1936	Nobody's Fool	Young Girl	Uncredited
1936	Crash Donovan	Doris Tennyson
1936	Sea Spoilers	Connie Dawson
1936	Three Smart Girls	Joan
1937	Let Them Live	Judith Marshall
1937	The Man in Blue	June Hanson
1937	Love in a Bungalow	Mary Callahan
1937	Some Blondes Are Dangerous	Judy Williams
1938	The Jury's Secret	Mary Norris
1938	The Black Doll	Marian Rood
1938	Reckless Living	Laurie Andrews
1938	Danger on the Air	Christina 'Steenie' MacCorkle
1938	Girls' School	Linda Simpson
1938	The Storm	Peggy Phillips
1939	Three Smart Girls Grow Up	Joan Craig
1939	Ex-Champ	Joan Grey
1939	The Under-Pup	Priscilla Adams
1939	Tower of London	Lady Alice Barton
1940	The Invisible Man Returns	Helen Manson
1940	The House of the Seven Gables	Phoebe Pyncheon
1940	Sandy Is a Lady	Mary Phillips
1940	You're Not So Tough	Millie
1940	Margie	Margie
1940	A Little Bit of Heaven	Janet Loring
1941	Under Age	Jane Baird

References

1. Room, Adrian (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 209. ISBN 9780786457632. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
2. Shaffer, George (June 26, 1936). "Studio School Passes Three Film Players". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. Chicago Tribune Press Service. p. 23. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
3. "Nan Grey, Actress In Films of 1930's And Inventor, 75". New York Times. July 27, 1993. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
4. Proctor, Kay (April 1940). "Enchanted Love" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 13 (6): 6–7, 58–59. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
5. "Copyright 2018, J. David Goldin". radiogoldindex.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
6. Wright, Stewart; Passage, Frank. "The Lux Radio Theater". Old Time Radio Program Logs. The Original Old Time Radio (OTR) WWW Pages. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
7. "lux radio theatre". www.botar.us.
8. "Jockey Westrope Weds Film Actress Nan Grey". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. United Press. May 5, 1939. p. 17. Retrieved February 8, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Oliver, Myrna (July 17, 1993). "Nan Grey; Left Acting Career After Marriage". Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. Retrieved February 8, 2017.

External links

• Nan Grey at IMDb
• Nan Grey in The Black Doll (1938) from YouTube
• Nan Grey in Danger on the Air (1938) from Youtube