Ella Raines


Ella Wallace Raines was an American film and television actress.

Life and career

Born Ella Wallace Raines on August 6, 1920, near Snoqualmie, Washington, Ella Raines studied drama at the University of Washington and was appearing in a play there when she was seen by director Howard Hawks. She became the first actress 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 which Hawks produced.
Immediately following her role in Corvette K-225, Raines was cast in the all-female war film Cry "Havoc". She starred in the film noir Phantom Lady, the Preston Sturges comedy Hail the Conquering Hero, and the John Wayne western Tall in the Saddle.
She appeared in films such as The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry with Geraldine Fitzgerald and George Sanders and the 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 earlier movies and her career began to decline.
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 appeared on the cover of Life magazine twice, once for Brute Force in 1947 and, in 1944, for her work in Phantom Lady. Also in 1944, she appeared as a pin-up girl in the June 2 and June 16 issue of the G.I. magazine Yank.
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

On August 11, 1942, a few days after her graduation from the University of Washington, Raines married her high school sweetheart, United States Army Air Forces Major Kenneth William Trout. The couple divorced December 18, 1945.
On February 6, 1947, Raines married fighter-pilot ace Robin Olds, who was eventually promoted to United States Air Force Brigadier General; the couple had three children, one of whom was stillborn. She also had two miscarriages which she blamed on the unsanitary conditions of serving abroad in Africa. They separated in 1975 and divorced in 1976.

Death

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

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1943Corvette K-225Joyce Cartwright
1943Cry 'Havoc'Connie
1944Phantom LadyCarol Richman
1944Hail the Conquering HeroLibby
1944Tall in the SaddleArleta 'Arly' Harolday
1944Enter Arsène LupinStacie Kanares
1944The SuspectMary
1945The Strange Affair of Uncle HarryDeborah Brown
1946The RunaroundPenelope 'Annabelle' Hampton
1946White Tie and TailsLouise Bradford
1947Time Out of MindClarissa 'Rissa' Fortune
1947The WebNoel Faraday
1947Brute ForceCora Lister
1947The Senator Was IndiscreetPoppy McNaughton
1949The Walking HillsChris Jackson
1949ImpactMarsha Peters
1949A Dangerous ProfessionLucy Brackett
1950Singing GunsNan Morgan
1950The Second FacePhyllis Holmes
1951Fighting Coast GuardLouise Ryan
1952Ride the Man DownCelia Evarts
1956The Man in the RoadRhona Ellison