Paula Stone
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Paula Stone (January 20, 1912 – December 23, 1997) was an actress in theater and motion pictures from New York City.
She was the daughter of Fred Stone, a stage actor, dancing comedian, and owner of the Fred Stone theatrical stock company. Her mother, Allene Crater Stone, acted with her father and was a singer. The family had a ranch at Lyme, Connecticut.
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[edit] Theater
Stone made her debut in May 1925 at the Illinois Theater in Chicago, Illinois, in Stepping Stones. She was 13 years old. Her sister, Dorothy, made her stage debut at 16. Dorothy performed with Fred Stone at the Globe Theater in Manhattan, in Criss-Cross, in December 1926. Stone was then 14 and training to be a stage actress within two years. Her first ambition was to be a singer like her mother. Another sister, Carol, was 12. She also aspired to go into theater work.
Stone appeared with Fred and Dorothy in Ripples, a show which debuted in New Haven, Connecticut, in January 1930. The first New York show of the same production came at the New Amsterdam Theater, in February. Stone and her father teamed in Smiling Faces, produced by the Shubert Theater owners in 1931. Mack Gordon and Harry Revel wrote the music and lyrics. The musical had its first night in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Stone toured in You Can't Take It With You, Idiots Delight, and other plays. In November 1940 she was cast with Marcy Wescott for the Dennis King musical show. It debuted at the Forrest Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
When her husband was reported missing during World War II, Stone began doing camp and canteen shows with her father. The two joined again in a play produced by the Theatre Guild in September 1950.
[edit] Movie Actress
She signed with RKO Radio for a singing and dancing role in a musical, in May 1935. Her second motion picture role features her opposite Dick Foran in Treachery Rides The Range (1936), a Warner Bros. release. The movie sought to illustrate injustices perpetrated by buffalo traders against Cheyenne Indians. Foran and Stone provided the romantic interest. Her first motion picture paired her with William Boyd in Hopalong Cassidy (1935).
She had the role of Mabel, the leading lady, in The Girl Said No (1937). The movie is directed by Andrew L. Stone and received an Academy Award nomination. Her final motion picture is Laugh It Off (1939), a musical released by Universal Pictures.
[edit] Radio
Stone took singing lessons. She was hired by WNEW in West Palm Beach, Florida to broadcast the news and gossip of Broadway to servicemen. She wrote the scripts for this program and later secured her own show on the Mutual Radio Network. In 1950 she hosted Hollywood USA. The show related entertainment news and she interviewed celebrities. In 1952 her broadcast was known as The Paula Stone Program. She was affiliated with the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1954.
[edit] Television
In 1954 Stone worked for Broadway Angels, Inc., in New York City. She was the mc of Angel Auditions, a television show which examined prospective Broadway shows. The plays were tried in summer stock and considered for production on Broadway.
[edit] Marriage
Stone announced that she intended to marry cafe owner, Walter Mason, in 1937, but did not. She wed orchestra leader, Duke Daly, in July 1939, at her home in Beverly Hills. Daly, 30, resided in Miami, Florida. His real name was Linwood A. Dingley. She was married to Miguel Sloane in 1952.
Paula Stone died in Sherman Oaks, California in 1997.
[edit] References
- "Film and Drama", Long Beach Press-Telegram, September 23, 1950, p. 10.
- "Walter Winchell On Broadway", Nevada State Journal, October 14, 1952, p. 4.
- "Rialto Gossip", New York Times, May 17, 1925, p. X1.
- "Some Advantages Of Having Relatives", New York Times, December 5, 1926, p. X9.
- "Fred Stone Falls In A Solo Flight; Breaks Both Legs", New York Times, August 4, 1928, p. 1.
- "Fred Stone Bounces Back In Ripples", New York Times, January 29, 1930, p. 30.
- "Jests Of Airplane Mishap", New York Times, February 12, 1930, p. 29.
- "Theatrical Notes", New York Times, September 17, 1931, p. 21.
- "Screen Notes", New York Times, May 25, 1935, p. 12.
- "The Screen", New York Times, May 30, 1936, p. 7.
- "News Of The Screen", New York Times, March 1, 1937, p. 15.
- "Paula Stone To Be Married", New York Times, August 6,1937, p. 21.
- "Paula Stone To Be Wed", New York Times, July 13, 1939.
- "Engaged For Dennis King Show", New York Times, November 13, 1940, p. 28.
- "Paula Stone And Phil Brito Are Heard On KPAC", Port Arthur News, August 28, 1945, p. 28.
