1924-09-09 ( 100 years old ) in Washington, D.C., USA
Jane Greer was a film and television actress who was perhaps best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past.
A beauty-contest winner and professional model from her teens, Greer began her show-business career as a big-band singer. She sang in Washington, DC, with the orchestra of Enric Madriguera. She "sang phonetically in Spanish" with the group.
Howard Hughes spotted Greer modeling in the June 8, 1942 issue of Life, and sent her to Hollywood to become an actress. Hughes lent her to RKO to star in many films (another source says Greer's husband, Rudy Vallee, "helped her get out of her contract with Hughes and secure another pact with RKO Studios") including Dick Tracy, Out of the Past, They Won't Believe Me, and the comedy/suspense film The Big Steal, with Out of the Past co-star Robert Mitchum. Hughes refused to let her work for a time; when she finally began film acting, she appeared in You're in the Navy Now, The Prisoner of Zenda, Run for the Sun, and Man of a Thousand Faces. In 1984, she was cast in Against All Odds, a remake of Out of the Past, as the mother of the character she had played in 1947. In 1952, Greer obtained a release from her contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. She said, "When there is a good role at MGM, the producers want Lana or Ava. There is no chance for another actress to develop into important stardom at the studio".
Greer's noteworthy roles in television included guest appearances on episodes of numerous shows over the decades, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, Quincy, M.E., Murder, She Wrote, and a 1975 gig with Peter Falk and Robert Vaughn in an episode of Columbo titled Troubled Waters. She even got to make fun of Out of the Past in a parody with Robert Mitchum on TV's Saturday Night Live in 1987. Greer joined the casts of Falcon Crest in 1984 and Twin Peaks in 1990 in recurring roles until her retirement in 1996.
Greer was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1634 Vine Street for her contributions to the motion picture industry. The star was dedicated on February 8, 1960. Greer died of cancer on August 24, 2001, at the age of 76, in Bel Air, Los Angeles. Her body was interred at Los Angeles' Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jane Greer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Movies
Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light
2006-07-18
Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero
1998-03-17
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star
1991-03-10
Immediate Family
1989-10-27
Just Between Friends
1986-03-21
Against All Odds
1984-03-02
The Shadow Riders
1982-09-28
A Christmas for Boomer
1979-12-06
The Outfit
1973-10-19
Billie
1965-12-13
Where Love Has Gone
1964-11-02
No Time at All
1958-02-13
Man of a Thousand Faces
1957-08-15
Run for the Sun
1956-07-30
Down Among the Sheltering Palms
1953-03-01
The Clown
1953-01-16
Desperate Search
1952-11-19
The Prisoner of Zenda
1952-11-04
You for Me
1952-07-19
You're in the Navy Now
1951-02-23
The Company She Keeps
1951-01-27
The Big Steal
1949-07-01
Station West
1948-09-01
Out of the Past
1947-11-25
They Won't Believe Me
1947-07-16
Sinbad the Sailor
1947-01-13
The Bamboo Blonde
1946-07-15
Sunset Pass
1946-07-08
The Falcon's Alibi
1946-04-12
Dick Tracy
1945-12-01
George White's Scandals
1945-10-09
Two O'Clock Courage
1945-04-13
Pan-Americana
1945-03-22
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