Catherine Dale Owen

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Catherine Dale Owen pictured with Lawrence Tibbett
Catherine Dale Owen pictured with Lawrence Tibbett

Catherine Dale Owen (July 28, 1900 - September 7, 1965) was an American stage and film actress.

Born to a prominent[1] family in Louisville, Kentucky, Owen graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. First discovered by the wife of Actors Equity president Frank Gillmore, Owen appeared on Broadway in the 1920s through early 1930s in productions including The Mountain Man, The Whole Town's Talking, Trelawny of the Wells, The Love City and The Play's the Thing.

In 1925, Owen was acclaimed as one of the ten most beautiful women in the world. [2] [3]

In films, Owen appeared as Princess Orsolini opposite John Gilbert's Captain Kovacs in His Glorious Night. It was to Owen that Gilbert spoke the lines, "Oh beauteous maiden, my arms are waiting to enfold you. I love you. I love you. I love you." The scene, which proved disastrous for Gilbert's career, was later parodied in the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain. In 1930, Owen starred in Lawrence Tibbet's film debut, The Rogue Song and also with Edmund Lowe in Born Reckless.

Owen's likeness was drawn in caricature by Alex Gard for Sardi's, the New York City theater district restaurant. The picture is now part of the collection of the New York Public Library.[4]

In 1934 Owen married Milton F. Davis, Jr., son of Brigadier General Milton F. Davis. The marriage ended in divorce 1937 and Owen married Homer P. Metzger that same year. With Metzger, Owen had one son, Robert Owen Metzger. Owen died of a stroke in New York City at the 62.

Contents

[edit] Filmography

  • The Forbidden Woman (1927)
  • His Glorious Night (1929)
  • Such Men Are Dangerous (1930)
  • Strictly Unconventional (1930)
  • The Rogue Song (1930)
  • Born Reckless (1930)
  • Today (1930)
  • Behind Office Doors (1931)
  • Defenders of the Law (1931)

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The New York Times, June 7, 1937
  2. ^ The New York Times, September 8, 1965.
  3. ^ The New York Times, February 11, 1937
  4. ^ The New York Public Library Inventory of Sardi's Caricatures

[edit] References

  • Bradley, Edwin M. The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co, 1996.
  • Lennig, Arthur. The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003.
  • "Catherine D. Owen Plans her Bridal", The New York Times, December 12, 1934
  • "To Sue Milton Davis, Jr. Catherine Dale Owen in Nevada for Divorce Action Soon", The New York Times, Febraru 11, 1937
  • Wayne, Jane Ellen. The Golden Girls of MGM: Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, and Others. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003.
  • Wayne, Jane Ellen. The Leading Men of MGM. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005.