Anne Nagel
Encyclopedia
Anne Nagel was an American
actress. She played in adventures, mysteries, and comedies for twenty-five years. She also appeared in television series in the 1950s.
, Massachusetts
, Nagel was enrolled by her parents in a religious preparatory school with the expectation she would become a nun. But part-time work in her teens as a photographer's model and membership in a Boston theater company turned her away from religious life. Meantime Nagel's mother had divorced and remarried. When Nagel's new stepfather, a Technicolor expert, was hired by Tiffany Studios in Hollywood, he moved the family to California where he employed his stepdaughter in several experimental Technicolor shorts he'd been asked to direct.
Placed under contract by Warner Brothers in 1932, Nagel secured a bit part as a ballet girl in Hypnotized and 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 remarked of her performance, "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 such films as Footloose Heiress, Three Legionnaires, Torchy Blane, the Adventurous Blonde (all from 1937). She was in 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 feature movies from 1940 in which she had parts are Black Friday
, Hot Steel, and Diamond Frontiers. She was often a heroine in horror films. Late in the 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).
In December 1947, Nagel filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against Hollywood physician and surgeon Franklyn Thorpe (former husband of actress Mary Astor
). She alleged that, while performing an appendectomy on her ten years earlier, Thorpe had removed other organs without her knowledge or consent, leaving her unable to conceive a child. In the suit, Nagel demanded $350,000 in damages.
Anne Nagel died in Hollywood, California
in 1966, aged 50, following surgery for liver cancer. She is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery
in Culver City, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress. She played in adventures, mysteries, and comedies for twenty-five years. She also appeared in television series in the 1950s.
Career
Born Anne Dolan in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Nagel was enrolled by her parents in a religious preparatory school with the expectation she would become a nun. But part-time work in her teens as a photographer's model and membership in a Boston theater company turned her away from religious life. Meantime Nagel's mother had divorced and remarried. When Nagel's new stepfather, a Technicolor expert, was hired by Tiffany Studios in Hollywood, he moved the family to California where he employed his stepdaughter in several experimental Technicolor shorts he'd been asked to direct.
Placed under contract by Warner Brothers in 1932, Nagel secured a bit part as a ballet girl in Hypnotized and 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
Ross Alexander
Ross Alexander was an American stage and film actor.- Early life :Born Alexander Ross Smith in Brooklyn, New York, Alexander began his acting career in Broadway productions during the 1920s. By 1926 he was regarded as a promising leading man, with good looks and an easy and charming style and...
. A reviewer remarked of her performance, "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 such films as Footloose Heiress, Three Legionnaires, Torchy Blane, the Adventurous Blonde (all from 1937). She was in Mystery House (1938), Unexpected Father (1939), and Legion of Lost Flyers (1939).
In 1940, she appeared with W.C. Fields and Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
in My Little Chickadee
My Little Chickadee
My Little Chickadee is a Universal comedy/western motion picture starring Mae West and W. C. Fields, with Joseph Calleia, Ruth Donnelly, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Meek, Willard Robertson, Dick Foran, George Moran, William B. Davidson, and Addison Richards. It was directed by Edward F. Cline...
. Other feature movies from 1940 in which she had parts are Black Friday
Black Friday (1940 film)
Black Friday is a 1940 American science fiction film starring Boris Karloff. Béla Lugosi, although second-billed, has only a small part in the film and does not appear with Karloff....
, Hot Steel, and Diamond Frontiers. She was often a heroine in horror films. Late in the 1940s she made The Spirit of West Point (1947). The film starred Doc Blanchard
Doc Blanchard
Felix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard is best known as the college football player who became the first ever junior to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and was the first ever football player to win the James E. Sullivan Award, all in 1945. He played football for the United States Military Academy at...
and Glenn Davis. Nagel later worked on television in episodes of The Range Rider
The Range Rider
The Range Rider is an American Western television series that aired in syndication from 1951-1953. A single lost episode was first shown in 1959...
(1951) and Circus Boy
Circus Boy
Circus Boy is an American action/adventure/drama series that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1958. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960...
(1957).
Personal life and death
Nagel was married twice: first to actor Ross Alexander (who committed suicide in 1937), then to Air Force Lt. Col. James H. Keenan on December 4, 1941. That marriage ended in divorce ten years later in 1951.In December 1947, Nagel filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against Hollywood physician and surgeon Franklyn Thorpe (former husband of actress Mary Astor
Mary Astor
Mary Astor was an American actress. Most remembered for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s.She eventually made a successful transition to talkies, but almost...
). She alleged that, while performing an appendectomy on her ten years earlier, Thorpe had removed other organs without her knowledge or consent, leaving her unable to conceive a child. In the suit, Nagel demanded $350,000 in damages.
Anne Nagel died in Hollywood, California
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
in 1966, aged 50, following surgery for liver cancer. She is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
.
Selected filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1933 | College Humor College Humor (1933 film) College Humor is a 1933 musical comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Richard Arlen, Mary Carlisle, George Burns, and Gracie Allen, and directed by Wesley Ruggles.-Cast:*Bing Crosby as Prof... |
Student | Uncredited |
| 1934 | Stand Up and Cheer! Stand Up and Cheer! Stand Up and Cheer! is a 1934 American musical film directed by Hamilton MacFadden. The screenplay by Lew Brown and Ralph Spence was based upon a story idea by Will Rogers and Philip Klein. The film is about efforts undertaken during the Great Depression to boost the morale of the country... |
Dancer | Uncredited |
| 1935 | George White's 1935 Scandals George White's 1935 Scandals George White's 1935 Scandals is an American musical film, written by Jack Yellen and produced in 1935 by Fox Film Corporation . It was a follow-up to the 1934 release, George White's Scandals.-Plot:The film centers on real-life stage and screen producer George White as he gathers acts for his new... |
Chorine | Uncredited |
| 1936 | Bullets or Ballots Bullets or Ballots Bullets or Ballots is a 1936 gangster film starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane and Humphrey Bogart. Robinson plays a police detective who infiltrates a crime gang.-Cast:*Edward G... |
Bank secretary | Uncredited |
| 1940 | The Green Hornet The Green Hornet (serial) The Green Hornet is a Universal movie serial based on The Green Hornet radio series by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker.-Synopsis:... |
Lenore "Casey" Case | |
| 1941 | The Green Hornet Strikes Again! | Lenore "Casey" Case | |
| 1941 | Man Made Monster Man Made Monster Man-Made Monster is a science fiction horror film released by Universal Pictures. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr. in his horror debut. Man-Made Monster was re-released under various titles including Electric Man and The Mysterious Dr. R... |
June Lawrence | |
| 1943 | Women in Bondage Women in Bondage Women in Bondage is a 1943 World War II film about conditions for women under Hitler's regime. The plot involves two women imprisoned for speaking out against the government... |
Deputy District Director | Alternative title: Hitler's Women |
| 1947 | Blondie's Holiday | Bea Mason (Class of '32) | Credited as Ann Nagel |
| 1948 | One Touch of Venus One Touch of Venus (film) One Touch of Venus is a film directed by William A. Seiter, starring Robert Walker and Ava Gardner, released by Universal Studios, and based on the Broadway musical of the same name, book written by S. J. Perelman and Ogden Nash, with music composed by Kurt Weill... |
Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1949 | The Stratton Story The Stratton Story The Stratton Story is a 1949 film directed by Sam Wood which tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934-1938... |
Mrs. Piet | Uncredited |
| 1950 | Armored Car Robbery Armored Car Robbery Armored Car Robbery is a 1950 American film noir shot in a semi-documentary style, directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charles McGraw. The movie was filmed on location in Los Angeles, California.... |
Mrs. Marsha Phillips | Uncredited |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1951 | The Range Rider The Range Rider The Range Rider is an American Western television series that aired in syndication from 1951-1953. A single lost episode was first shown in 1959... |
Aunt Ginny | 2 episodes |
| 1957 | Circus Boy Circus Boy Circus Boy is an American action/adventure/drama series that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1958. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960... |
Louisa Cody | 1 episode |