Ella Raines

Ella Wallace Raines (August 6, 1920 – May 30, 1988) was an American film and television actress.

Life and career

Born Ella Wallace Raubes near Snoqualmie Falls, Washington, Raines studied drama at the University of Washington and was appearing in a play there when she was seen by Howard Hawks. She became the first actor signed to the new production company he had formed with the actor Charles Boyer, "B-H Productions", and made her film debut in Corvette K-225 in 1943. Immediately following her role in that film, she was cast in the all female war film Cry 'Havoc', made the same year. In 1944, she appeared soon after D-Day as a most classy pin-up in the GI magazine, Yank. She starred in a series of big films including the film noir Phantom Lady, the comedy Hail the Conquering Hero, and the John Wayne western Tall in the Saddle. Soon, she began appearing in B-films including 1945's The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry with Geraldine Fitzgerald and George Sanders and the 1947 thriller The Web. With the exception of Brute Force, in which Raines appeared with Burt Lancaster, none of her later films were nearly as successful as her previous movies and her career began to decline.

Raines on the cover of Life magazine (February 28, 1944)

Raines and Alan Curtis in Phantom Lady (1944)

Raines and Charles Laughton in The Suspect (1944)

Raines and Brian Donlevy in Impact (1949)

Raines appeared on the cover of Life magazine twice, once in 1944 for her work in Phantom Lady and once in 1947 for Brute Force.

In 1954 and 1955 she starred in the television series Janet Dean, Registered Nurse. She also appeared in such television series as Robert Montgomery Presents, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Lights Out, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and The Christophers.

She retired from acting in 1957, but made one further screen appearance with a guest role in the series Matt Houston in 1984.

Raines has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to motion pictures at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard, and for television at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life

Raines was married, secondly, in 1947 to fighter pilot icon and United States Air Force Brigadier General Robin Olds; the couple had two children.

Death

She died from throat cancer in Sherman Oaks, California in 1988, aged 67.

Filmography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ella Raines.

• Ella Raines at the Internet Movie Database
• Ella Raines at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ella Raines at Find a Grave
• Screen Sirens - Ella Raines photo gallery
• Movie Maidens - brief biography and more photographs of Ella Raines