Paula Raymond

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Paula Raymond
from the trailer for the film Crisis (1950).
Born	Paula Ramona Wright November 23, 1924(1924-11-23) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	December 31, 2003 (aged 79) West Hollywood, California

Paula Raymond (November 23, 1924 – December 31, 2003) was a model who entered films as a stock actress.

In 1950, she was put under contract by MGM, where she played opposite such leading men as Cary Grant and Dick Powell. Earlier in her career, Raymond acted in film noir thrillers such as City That Never Sleeps (with Gig Young and Marie Windsor), but later in her career she developed a horror film reputation.

In 1952, she played the heroine in The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. In the late 1950s and 1960 Raymond appeared in a number of television shows and low-budget horror movies including Blood of Dracula's Castle (1967) with Alexander D'Arcy and John Carradine. In 1962, Raymond was a passenger in a car that crashed into a tree on Sunset Boulevard. Her nose was severed by the rear view mirror. After only a little more than a year of extensive plastic surgery and recovery she returned to acting.

In 1977, while working on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, after only 3 appearances, she accidentally tripped on a telephone cord and broke her ankle. She was written out of the show. She turned down the role of saloon keeper Kitty in the long-running western classic series Gunsmoke (the role went to Amanda Blake).

She was married once, to Floyd Leroy Patterson (1944 - 1946) by whom she had one child, a daughter. They divorced in 1946. Her daughter, Raeme Dorene Patterson (1946-1993), predeceased her. She died on New Year's Eve, 2003, aged 79, from a series of respiratory ailments.

[edit] Bibliography

Parla, Paul; Charles P. Mitchell (2000). "Paula Raymond: Pursuing the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", Screen Sirens Scream! Interviews with 20 Actresses from Science Fiction, Horror, Film Noir and Mystery Movies, 1930s to 1960s. Jefferson, N.C. and London: McFarland, pp. 197-121. ISBN 0-7864-0701-8.