Eva Lee Kuney Grover Feldman was an American child actress, dancer, and draftswoman. She appeared in her first film at the age of 18 months and performed in numerous uncredited film roles. Kuney's best known role and only screen credit was as six-year-old Trina, the adopted daughter of Cary Grant's and Irene Dunne's characters in Penny Serenade. Turning to dance, Kuney worked as a contract player for film studios until the age of 18, when she accepted a temporary job in a stage show in Las Vegas and continued performing there. Kuney later worked as a draftswoman for the Clark CountyTransportation Department and volunteered her services to many community theater groups in the city.
Career
Eva Lee Kuney, known as "Lee", was born on April 24, 1934, in Hollywood, California, to parents Leon and Edna Kuney. Her father worked in the Hollywood film industry. At the age of 18 months she appeared in her first film, Little Papa, one of the Our Gang comedies. She was one of about a dozen small children used to fill out the background of Munchkin scenes in The Wizard of Oz, as there were not enough little people to populate the set. In 1940, after a two-year drought with no film roles, Kuney's mother saw a casting notice for the role of the six-year-old girl in Penny Serenade. Kuney was selected over 500 other applicants. She received her first screen credit playing Trina in the film. In 1942 she appeared as herself in a comedy play titled "Camera Angles", which featured many young Hollywoodactors and actresses playing themselves in a benefit performance for the Anne Lehr Milk Fund. Turning to dance, Kuney became a contract player for film studios; among her performances were the films Holiday Inn and White Christmas. Kuney graduated from North Hollywood High School. At age 18 she accepted a dancing job in San Francisco from choreographer Donn Arden, who then offered her a temporary gig in his new stage show at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. She went on to dance in Las Vegas stage shows starring Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Patti Page. After retiring from the stage, Kuney worked as a draftswoman for the Clark County Transportation Department. She later volunteered her time and advice to many community theater groups in Las Vegas.
Personal life
Kuney married her first husband, Arthur "Buddy" Grover, a musician, in 1955. The couple had a son and daughter. In 1972, Kuney remarried to Kenneth Feldman, a speech pathologist who later was active as a community theater actor and director in Las Vegas. Kuney died on May 24, 2015, in Las Vegas.
