Matinee Classics - Ellen Drew Biography & Filmography

Ellen Drew ACTOR

ELLEN DREW BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Ellen Drew was born on November 23rd, 1915 in Kansas City, Missouri with the birth name Esther Loretta Ray. As a young lady she helped her family out financially by working various jobs ranging from an accountant to a sales girl until she began entering a number of beauty pageants where she took home some trophies.

Soon she decided to relocate to Hollywood to see if it was possible to break into the entertainment industry. She was discovered by William Demarest while working in an ice cream shop and was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures.

In the beginning of her career she was billed under the stage name Terry Ray and only later in her career did she switch her stage name to Ellen Drew. Some of her early roles were on, "Sing, You Sinners" (1938) starring Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray and Donald O'Connor, "If I Were King" (1938) starring Ronald Colman and Basil Rathbone, "The Lady's from Kentucky" (1939) co-starring George Raft, "Women Without Names" (1940) starring with Robert Paige and "Buck Benny Rides Again" (1940) starring alongside Jack Benny, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Andy Devine and Phil Harris.

As her career progressed some of her more well known film roles were in, "Christmas in July" (1940) co-starring Dick Powell, "Isle of the Dead" (1945) starring Boris Karloff, "Johnny O'Clock" (1947) starring Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes and "The Crooked Way" (1949) co-starring John Payne and Sonny Tufts.

Although, she did work a lot, she was never able to reach the level of stardom that she hoped for. Later in her career she began to turn her focus on to television roles adding such credits as, "Schiltz Playhouse", "The Ford Television Theatre", "Celebrity Playhouse" and "Perry Mason".

She retired from acting in 1961 with her last role on the television show, "The Barbara Stanwyck Show" and then spent the remainder of her life living in Palm Desert, California.

Drew married four times throughout her lifetime. First to Fred Wallace in 1935 and they had one child together before the marriage came to an end in 1940. Her second marriage was to Sy Bartlett in 1941 and they also had one child before the marriage ended in divorce in 1949. Her third husband was William T. Walker in 1951 and they remained married until 1967. She then wed James Edward Herbert in 1971.

On December 3rd, 2003 Ellen Drew passed away in Palm Desert, California after suffering from a liver ailment at the age of eighty eight. In 1997, she was honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame.

Ellen Drew