Wednesday, 1 July 2020

Frances Dee

Frances Dee
BornNovember 26, 1909
DiedMarch 6, 2004 (aged 94)
OccupationActress
Years active1930–1953
Spouse(s)Joel McCrea (m. 1933; died 1990)
Children3, including Jody McCrea

Frances Marion Dee (November 26, 1909 – March 6, 2004) was an American actress. She starred opposite Maurice Chevalier in the early talkie musical, Playboy of Paris (1930). She starred in the film An American Tragedy (1931) in a role later recreated by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1951 retitled remake, A Place in the Sun. She also had a prominent role in the classic 1943 Val Lewton psychological horror film I Walked With a Zombie.

Early life[edit]

The younger daughter of Francis "Frank" Marion Dee and his wife, the former Henriette Putnam, Frances Marion Dee was born in Los Angeles, California, where her father was working as a civil-service examiner.[1][2]

When Dee was seven years old,[3] her family moved to Chicago, Illinois.[4] She attended Shakespeare Grammar School and Hyde Park High School, where she went by the nickname of Frankie Dee.

After graduating from Hyde Park High in 1927, of which she was vice president of her senior class, as well as voted Belle of the Year, she spent two years at the University of Chicago, where she participated in dramatic activities,[4] before returning to California.

Career[edit]

Following her sophomore year in 1929, she went on summer vacation with her mother and older sister to visit family in the Los Angeles, California area. She began working as a movie extra as a lark. Her big break came when, still an extra, she was offered the lead opposite Maurice Chevalier in Playboy of Paris.

The audience appeal established in two films opposite Paramount stars Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen, led to the co-starring role as Sondra Finchley, opposite Phillips Holmes and Sylvia Sidney, in Paramount Pictures's prestigious, and controversial, production of An American Tragedy, directed by Josef von Sternberg.

Dee's additional screen credits included June MoonLittle WomenOf Human BondageBecky Sharp, and Payment on Demand. She co-starred with her husband Joel McCrea in the Western Four Faces West (1948).

Personal life[edit]

Dee met actor Joel McCrea on the set of the 1933 film The Silver Cord.[4] The couple married on October 20, 1933, after a whirlwind courtship, and remained married until McCrea's death in 1990. During their lifetime together, the McCreas lived, raised their children, and rode their horses on their ranch in what was then an unincorporated area of eastern Ventura County, California. They ultimately donated several hundred acres of their personal property to the newly formed Conejo Valley YMCA for the city of Thousand Oaks, California, both of which celebrated their 40th anniversaries in 2004. She, like Joel, was a Republican.[5]

Joel McCrea died on their 57th wedding anniversary. Their three sons, including the actor Jody McCrea, and many grandchildren, also survived McCrea. She was honored at the 1998 Memphis Film Festival in Mississippi.[6] In 2004, Frances Dee McCrea died in Norwalk, Connecticut, due to complications from a stroke at the age of 94.[7] Jody McCrea died in 2009.

Filmography[edit]

YearTitleRoleNotes
1929Words and MusicCo-EdUncredited
1930True to the NavyGirl at TableUncredited
A Man from WyomingNurseUncredited
ManslaughterParty GuestUncredited
Monte CarloReceptionistUncredited
Follow ThruWoman in Ladies' Locker RoomUncredited
Playboy of ParisYvonne Phillbert
Along Came YouthElinor Farrington
1931June MoonEdna Baker
An American TragedySondra Flinchley
CaughtKate Winslow
Rich Man's FollyAnn Trumbull
Nice WomenJerry Girard
Working GirlsLouise Adams
1932This Reckless AgeLois Ingals
Sky BrideRuth's FriendUncredited
The Strange Case of Clara DeaneNancy Deane
Love Is a RacketMary Wodehouse
The Night of June 13Ginger Blake
If I Had a MillionMary WallaceUncredited
1933The Crime of the CenturyDoris Brandt
King of the JungleAnn Rogers
The Silver CordHester
Headline ShooterJane Mallory
One Man's JourneyJoan Stockton
Little WomenMargaret "Meg" March
Blood MoneyElaine Talbart
1934Keep 'Em RollingMarjorie Deane
Coming Out PartyJoyce 'Joy' Stanhope
Finishing SchoolVirginia Radcliff
Of Human BondageSally Altheny
1935Becky SharpAmelia Sedley
The Gay DeceptionMirabel Miller
1936Half AngelAllison Lang
Come and Get ItRestaurant PatronUncredited
1937Souls at SeaMargaret Tarryton
Wells FargoJustine Pryor MacKay
1938If I Were KingKatherine de Vaucelles
1939Coast GuardNancy Bliss
1941So Ends Our NightMarie Steiner
A Man BetrayedSabra Cameron
1942Meet the StewartsCandace Goodwin
1943I Walked With a ZombieBetsy Conell
Happy LandAgnes March
1945Patrick the GreatLynn Andrews
1947The Private Affairs of Bel AmiMarie de Verenne
1948Four Faces WestFay Hollister
1951Payment on DemandEileen Banson
Reunion in RenoMrs. Doris Linaker
1952Because of YouSusan Arnold
1953Mister ScoutmasterHelen
1954Gypsy ColtEm MacWade

References[edit]

  1. ^ Her birth name is given as Frances Marion Dee in the California Birth Index, 1905-1995, accessed via ancestry.com on January 13, 2011
  2. ^ Frank Dee's occupation is given in the 1910 U. S. Federal Census for Los Angeles, California, in which he is listed with his wife, Henriette, and daughters Margaret and Frances. In the 1920 U. S. Federal Census for Chicago, Illinois, Frank Dee is listed as an employment manager at a packing company. In the 1930 U. S. Federal Census for Indianapolis, Indiana, he was living as a lodger in a boarding house and working as a secretary at a public utility. All census records accessed on ancestry.com on January 13, 2011.
  3. ^ Soanes, Wood (June 17, 1934). "Frances Dee and Joel McCrea See Future Felicity and Freedom Upon Ranch When Studios Begin to Pall". California, Oakland. Oakland Tribune. p. 39. Retrieved March 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. Jump up to:a b c Bowers, Emilie (March 3, 1935). "Charming Frances Dee". California, Oakland. Oakland Tribune. p. 59. Retrieved March 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. ^ Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013). "When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics". Cambridge University Press – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Western Film Festival Photos--Gallery 9"www.westernclippings.com.
  7. ^ Bergan, Ronald (March 10, 2004). "Obituary: Frances Dee" – via www.theguardian.com.

External links[edit]

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