Anne Nagel Explained

Anne Nagel
Birth Name:Anna Marie Dolan
Birth Date:September 29, 1915
Birth Place:Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Place:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting Place:Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California
Other Names:Ann Nagel
Occupation:Actress
Years Active:1932–1957
Spouse:

    Anne Nagel (born Anna Marie Dolan; September 29, 1915 – July 6, 1966)[1] was an American actress. She played in adventures, mysteries, and comedies for 25 years. She also appeared in television series in the 1950s. One book described her as "one of Hollywood's true hard-luck gals".[2]

    Early life

    Born in Malden, Massachusetts,[3] [4] Nagel was enrolled by her parents in Notre Dame Academy, with the expectation that she would become a nun.[2] Membership in the Shubert Theatre company turned her away from religious life.[2] In the meantime, Nagel's mother had divorced and re-married. When Nagel's new stepfather, Curtis Nagel, a Technicolor expert, was hired by Tiffany Pictures in Hollywood, he moved the family to California, where he employed his step-daughter in several experimental Technicolor shorts he had been asked to direct.

    Career

    Placed under contract by Warner Brothers in 1932, Nagel secured a bit part as a ballet girl in Hypnotized, her "first documented feature credit".[2] She was one of 14 young women "launched on the trail of film stardom" August 6, 1935, when they each received a six-month contract with 20th Century Fox after spending 18 months in the company's training school. The contracts included a studio option for renewal for as long as seven years.[5] Nagel spent the next few years making uncredited appearances as a dancer or chorus girl. In 1936, she appeared in Here Comes Carter with Ross Alexander. A reviewer wrote "she was just one of those girls who has learned to croon for the microphone, and let the rest of the world go hang". Her early roles were in Footloose Heiress, Three Legionnaires, Guns of the Pecos, Torchy Blane, the Adventurous Blonde (all from 1937). She was in Romance Road (1938), Mystery House (1938), Unexpected Father (1939), and Legion of Lost Flyers (1939).

    In 1940, she appeared with W.C. Fields and Mae West in My Little Chickadee. Other films from 1940 in which she had parts are Black Friday, Hot Steel, and Diamond Frontiers. She was often a heroine in horror films. In the late 1940s, she made The Spirit of West Point (1947). The film starred Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis. Nagel later worked on television in episodes of The Range Rider (1951) and Circus Boy (1957).

    On radio, Nagle was a vocalist on the game show Scramby Amby.[6] She had the role of Miss Case in The Green Hornet radio series, [7] a role she reprised for both of the filmed serials The Green Hornet and The Green Hornet Strikes Again!.

    Personal life and death

    On September 17, 1936, Nagel married actor Ross Alexander,[8] who committed suicide in 1937.[9] [2] Nagel then married Air Force Lt. Col. James H. Keenan on December 4, 1941.[10] The marriage ended in divorce on May 22, 1951.[11]

    In December 1947, Nagel filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against Hollywood physician and surgeon Franklyn Thorpe (former husband of actress Mary Astor). In the suit, Nagel demanded $350,000 in damages and alleged that, while performing an appendectomy on her in 1936, Thorpe had removed other organs without her knowledge or consent, rendering her infertile. [12] Nagel claimed she was unaware of her infertility until January 1947, but Thorpe countered that she was "well aware of the nature of the surgery".

    Nagel died at Sunray North Convalescent Hospital in Hollywood, California in 1966, aged 50, following surgery for liver cancer. She is buried, with no marker, in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

    Filmography

    Film
    YearTitleRoleNotes
    1932HypnotizedBallerina / PerformerUncredited
    1933I Loved You WednesdayRuby - the Hat Check GirlUncredited
    1933College HumorStudent Uncredited
    1933Sitting PrettyGirl at WindowUncredited
    1934Coming Out PartySuzanneUncredited
    1934Stand Up and Cheer!Dancer Uncredited
    1935George White's 1935 ScandalsChorine Uncredited
    1935Redheads on ParadeQueen of RedheadsUncredited
    1935Music Is MagicChorineUncredited
    1935Everybody's Old ManClerkUncredited
    1936Bullets or BallotsBank secretaryUncredited
    1936Hot MoneyRuth McElniney
    1936China ClipperSecretary
    1936Love Begins at 20Miss Perkins - Ramp's Secretary
    1936Guns of the PecosAlice Burton
    1936Down the StretchHat Check GirlUncredited
    1936Here Comes CarterLinda Warren
    1936Polo JoeGirl at Polo FieldUncredited
    1936King of HockeyKathleen O'Rourke
    1937The Case of the Stuttering BishopJanice Alma Brownley
    1937Hoosier SchoolboyMary EvansTop billing with Mickey Rooney
    1937Three LegionnairesSonia
    1937The Devil's Saddle LegionKaran Ordley
    1937The Footloose HeiressLinda Pierson
    1937Escape by NightLinda Adams
    1937 A Bride for HenrySheila CurtisStarring opposite Warren Hull
    1937The Adventurous BlondeGrace Brown
    1937She Loved a FiremanGirl at DanceUncredited
    1938SalesladyMary Dakin Spencer
    1938Mystery HouseGwen Kingery
    1938Under the Big TopPenelope (AKA Penny)
    1938Gang BulletsPatricia Wayne
    1939Convict's CodeJulie Warren
    1939Should a Girl Marry?Margaret
    1939Unexpected FatherBeulah - showgirl
    1939The Witness VanishesLaura the SecretaryUncredited
    1939Call a MessengerFrances O'Neill
    1939Legion of Lost FlyersPaula Wilson
    1940The Green HornetLenore "Casey" Case13-chapter Serial
    1940My Little ChickadeeMiss Ermingarde Foster - SchoolteacherUncredited
    1940Black FridaySunny Rogers
    1940Ma! He's Making Eyes at MeMiss Lansdale
    1940Hot SteelRita Martin
    1940Winners of the WestClaire HartfordSerial
    1940Down Argentine WayLinda
    1940Diamond FrontierJeanne Kruger
    1940IreneIrene O’Dare
    1940The Green Hornet Strikes Again!Lenore CaseSerial
    1940The Invisible WomanJean
    1941Meet the ChumpMiss Burke
    1941Man Made MonsterJune Lawrence
    1941Mutiny in the ArcticGloria Adams
    1941Never Give a Sucker an Even BreakMadame Gorgeous
    1941Appointment for LoveJenniferUncredited
    1941Road AgentLola
    1942Sealed LipsMary Morton
    1942Don Winslow of the NavyMisty GayeSerial
    1942Stagecoach BuckarooNina Kincaid
    1942The Mad Doctor of Market StreetMrs. William Saunders
    1942The Dawn ExpressNancy Fielding
    1942The Mad MonsterLenora Cameron
    1942The Secret CodeJean AshleySerial
    1943Women in BondageDeputy District DirectorAlternative title: Hitler's Women
    1946Murder in the Music HallAttendant at Mission
    1946Traffic in CrimeAnn Marlowe
    1946The TrapMarcia
    1947Blondie's HolidayBea Mason (Class of '32)Credited as Ann Nagel
    1947The HuckstersTeletype OperatorUncredited
    1947The Spirit of West PointMrs. Blaik
    1948HomecomingGuestUncredited
    1948One Touch of VenusReporterUncredited
    1948An Innocent AffairGladys - Receptionist
    1948Bungalow 13HenriettaUncredited
    1948Family HoneymoonIrene BartlettUncredited
    1948Every Girl Should Be MarriedWomanUncredited
    1949The Stratton StoryMrs. PietUncredited
    1949Mighty Joe YoungBrunette at BarUncredited
    1949PrejudiceMiss Bennett
    1950Armored Car RobberyMrs. Marsha PhillipsUncredited
    Television
    YearTitleRoleNotes
    1951The Range RiderAunt Ginny2 episodes
    1957Circus BoyLouisa Cody1 episode, (final appearance)

    References

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Book: Ellenberger. Allan R.. Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. 2001. McFarland. 9780786409839. 170. 15 June 2017. en.
    2. Book: Mank. Gregory William. Women in Horror Films, 1940s. 2005. McFarland. 9781476609553. 7–24. 15 June 2017. en.
    3. An Associated Press story about Nagel's filing papers to marry Keenan states "The actress...listed her maiden name as Anna Marie Donan, born in Malden, a Boston suburb..."
    4. News: Film Notables in Weddings. The Indiana Gazette. Associated Press. December 5, 1941. Pennsylvania, Indiana. 11.
    5. News: The Hollywood Roundup. The Times. United Press. August 6, 1935. Indiana, Hammond. 35. Newspapers.com. May 20, 2016.
    6. Book: Terrace. Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. 1999. McFarland & Company, Inc.. 978-0-7864-4513-4. 296–297.
    7. Book: Cox. Jim. Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age. 2010. McFarland. 9781476612270. 123. 16 June 2017. en.
    8. News: Alexander Ended Life As Film Fame Neared. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Associated Press. January 4, 1937. New York, Brooklyn. 3. Newspapers.com. June 15, 2017.
    9. Alexander "... went into his Van Nuys barn and reportedly fired a rifle into his mouth as his bride of four months sat quietly knitting in the house".
    10. News: Actress Anne Nagel, Army Flyer Married. Eau Claire Leader. United Press. December 5, 1941. Wisconsin, Eau Claire. 1. Newspapers.com. June 15, 2017.
    11. Divorces. 16 June 2017. Billboard. June 2, 1951. 39.
    12. "Actress Starts $350,000 Suit".The Milwaukee Sentinel, December 22, 1947. Page 2