Patricia Ellis

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Patricia Ellis in the 1930s

Patricia Ellis (actually Patricia Gene O'Brien ; born May 20, 1918 in Birmingham , Michigan , † March 26, 1970 in Kansas City , Missouri ) was an American actress and singer .

Life

Patricia Ellis was the oldest of four children of insurance agents Eugene Gladstone O'Brien and Florence Calkins. After her parents separated and her mother married the theater producer Alexander Leftwich, she took the name of her stepfather and called herself Patricia Leftwich until the beginning of her career. Patricia learned dance and singing as well as French and German through her stepfather.

After attending Brantwood Hall School and the Gardner School for Girls in New York , Patricia Ellis began a career as a stage actress at the New York Riviera Theater. There she was discovered during a performance and signed with Warner Brothers . Ellis had her first small film appearance in the crime drama Three on a Match in 1932. Another small film appearance followed in Central Park . In the same year she was voted one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars , who were said to have the best prospects for a later film career.

In 1933 Ellis got her first major role in the romance film The King's Vacation . In total, she took part in eight productions in 1933, including the female lead alongside James Cagney in the drama Picture Snatcher . In the same year, Ellis also had an important supporting role as Natalie Clinton Nordholm in Mervyn LeRoy's drama The World Changes with Paul Muni and Mary Astor .

In the following years she was seen in several dozen films, mostly leading roles in comedies, crime films and dramas. In 1938, Ellis' film career slowly waned. In 1939 she therefore ended her career as an actress at the age of only 21 and henceforth devoted herself to music.

In 1941 Patricia Ellis produced a so-called soundie , which was positively received by the music magazine Billboard . That same year she performed with the Blue Barron Orchestra and violinist Henny Youngman at Hamid's Pier in Atlantic City and played a leading role in the musical Louisiana Purchase on Broadway .

After her marriage to businessman George T. O'Maley in 1941 and the birth of a daughter, Ellis left the limelight for good and moved with her family to Kansas City, where on March 26, 1970 at the age of 51, she took part in the aftermath of a Cancer died. Ellis was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Kansas City. Her widower O'Maley died 30 years later in 2000.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1932: Three on a Match
  • 1932: Central Park
  • 1933: The King's Vacation
  • 1933: The 42nd Street (42nd Street)
  • 1933: Elmer, the Great
  • 1933: Picture Snatcher
  • 1933: The Narrow Corner
  • 1933: The World Changes
  • 1933: Convention City
  • 1934: Easy to Love
  • 1934: The Circus Clown
  • 1934: Big Hearted Herbert
  • 1934: The St. Louis Kid
  • 1935: While the Patient Slept
  • 1935: Stranded
  • 1935: Bright Lights
  • 1935: The Case of the Lucky Legs
  • 1935: A Night at the Ritz
  • 1936: Freshman Love
  • 1936: Snowed Under
  • 1936: Postal Inspector
  • 1937: Step Lively, Jeeves!
  • 1937: Paradise for Two
  • 1937: Melody for Two
  • 1937: Rhythm in the Clouds
  • 1938: Laurel and Hardy: The Blockheads
  • 1938: Romance on the Run
  • 1939: Back Door to Heaven
  • 1939: Fugitive at Large

Web links

Commons : Patricia Ellis  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Adrian Room: Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland, Jefferson 2014, ISBN 978-0-7864-5763-2 , p. 163.
  2. ↑ John Howard Reid: Mystery, Suspense, Film Noir and Detective Movies on DVD: A Guide to the Best in Cinema Thrills Lulu, Raleigh 2009, ISBN 978-0-557-12223-3 , page 291.
  3. ↑ PATRICIA ELLIS DIES; A SCREEN ACTRESS. In: The New York Times . March 28, 1970. Retrieved August 15, 2019 .
  4. ^ Bob Hufford: Patricia Ellis. In: Find a Grave . August 1, 2012, accessed August 15, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Ellis, Patricia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES O'Brien, Patricia; Leftwich, Patricia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH May 20, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Birmingham , Michigan , United States
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1970
Place of death Kansas City , Missouri , United States