1923-02-02 ( 102 years old ) in New York City, New York, USA
Daughter of Bernard 'Bunny' Granville and Rosina Timponi, Bonita Granville was born into an acting family on 2 Febuary 1923, in New York, New York. It's not surprising that she herself became a child actor, first on the stage and, at the age of 9, debuting in movies in Westward Passage (1932). She was regularly cast as a naughty little girl, as in These Three (1936) where she played Mary, an obnoxious girl spreading lies about her teachers. Her performance left an impression on the audience, and she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award.
In 1938-39 came the movies she is now best remembered for -- playing the bright and feisty detective/reporter Nancy Drew in the Nancy Drew series. She also appeared with Mickey Rooney in a few Andy Hardy movies. She never really had a movie breakthrough, and after marrying oil millionaire and later producer Jack Wrather, she retired from acting in the middle of the 1950s, although she went on to produce the Lassie (1954) TV series.
After her marriage to oil millionaire Jack Wrather in 1947, she appeared in only three more movies. She became an executive in the Wrather Corp., and first associate producer, then executive producer of the Lassie (1954) TV series. After Wrather's death in 1984, she took over as chairman of the board. She was also involved in many civic and cultural groups, and she was chair of American Film Institute, trustee of John F. Kennedy Center, as well as other well known organizations and charities.
Walt Disney personally convinced the Wrathers to build the Disneyland Hotel when Disney could not raise the money to do so -- his credit was all tied up in building the theme park itself. After the phenomenal success of Disneyland, Disney attempted to buy the hotel; but the Wrathers steadfastly refused to sell. Long after Jack and Bonita Wrather's and Walt Disney's deaths, the Disney Company bought the Wrather Corporation. The Disney Company thus acquired the Disneyland Hotel, the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose attractions in Long Beach, California, the rights to The Lone Ranger (1949) TV series, as well as other properties.
Bonita Granville Rather died of cancer on 11 October 1988, in Santa Monica, California. She and Wrather had four children (two from Wrather's first marriage).
Movies
Hollywood’s Children
1982-02-24
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
1981-08-06
The Velvet Alley
1959-01-22
The Lone Ranger
1956-02-25
Guilty of Treason
1950-02-20
Strike It Rich
1948-12-01
The Guilty
1947-03-22
Love Laughs at Andy Hardy
1946-12-25
Suspense
1946-06-15
The Truth About Murder
1946-04-01
Breakfast in Hollywood
1946-02-26
Senorita from the West
1945-10-12
The Beautiful Cheat
1945-07-20
Youth Runs Wild
1944-09-01
Song of the Open Road
1944-06-21
Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
1944-05-04
Hitler's Children
1943-01-06
Seven Miles from Alcatraz
1942-11-18
Now, Voyager
1942-10-22
The Glass Key
1942-09-08
Syncopation
1942-05-22
Soaring Stars
1942-04-25
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941-12-04
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
1941-08-15
Down in San Diego
1941-08-01
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
1941-05-02
The Wild Man of Borneo
1941-01-24
Gallant Sons
1940-11-15
Escape
1940-11-01
Third Finger, Left Hand
1940-10-11
Those Were the Days!
1940-07-14
The Mortal Storm
1940-06-20
Forty Little Mothers
1940-04-26
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
1939-09-09
Angels Wash Their Faces
1939-08-26
Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
1939-06-17
Nancy Drew... Reporter
1939-02-18
Breakdowns of 1938
1938-12-31
Nancy Drew… Detective
1938-11-19
Hard to Get
1938-11-05
My Bill
1938-07-08
White Banners
1938-06-23
The Beloved Brat
1938-04-30
Merrily We Live
1938-03-04
It's Love I'm After
1937-10-08
Call It a Day
1937-04-17
Quality Street
1937-03-26
Maid of Salem
1937-02-12
The Plough and the Stars
1936-12-26
The Garden of Allah
1936-10-14
These Three
1936-03-18
Song of the Saddle
1936-02-28
Ah, Wilderness!
1935-12-25
The Life of Vergie Winters
1934-06-14
Little Women
1933-11-24
Cradle Song
1933-11-19
Cavalcade
1933-02-08
Silver Dollar
1932-12-22
Westward Passage
1932-05-27
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