Pamela Blake
Encyclopedia
Pamela Blake was an American film actress. She starred opposite John Wayne
in the 1939 film
Wyoming Outlaw
.
She was born in Oakland, California
as Adele Pearce, and performed under that name until 1942. Her film career lasted for a little over fifteen years, with her starring mostly in B-movies. Her first film role was uncredited, playing a bit part in the 1934
film Eight Girls on a Boat. Through 1938
her roles were all uncredited. However, in 1938 she starred in the western The Utah Trail alongside Tex Ritter
. This helped her to secure several other western acting roles, many times as the lead heroine.
In 1939
she starred in five films, one of which was a crime drama, one a mystery
, and one a western. In total she had roles in some fifty four films, as well as a number of starring roles in certain television series. In 1946 she starred in Chick Carter, Detective
. Toward the end of her career, she mostly played parts in western genre films and television episodes. Her last role was in 1954
, in the film The Adventures of the Texas Kid: Border Ambush.
Afterward she retired. She married three times, her first marriage being to actor Malcolm "Bud" Taggert, which ended in divorce not long before he died in a swimming pool accident in 1949. Her second marriage was to actor, television producer
and writer
Mike Stokey
, which also ended in divorce. They had one son, Mike Stokey Jr., who served as a 1st Marine Division combat correspondent during the Vietnam War
, and who then began working in the film industry as a military technical advisor, having worked with, among others, Steven Spielberg
. Pamela Blake's third marriage was to John Canavan, a retired Air Force master sergeant.
Eventually Blake slipped from the limelight altogether. She died of natural causes in a Las Vegas care facility in 2009, at age 94.
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
in the 1939 film
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
Wyoming Outlaw
Wyoming Outlaw
Wyoming Outlaw is a 1939 Three Mesquiteers film starring John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, and Raymond Hatton. Wayne played the lead in eight of the fifty-one films in the series...
.
She was born in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
as Adele Pearce, and performed under that name until 1942. Her film career lasted for a little over fifteen years, with her starring mostly in B-movies. Her first film role was uncredited, playing a bit part in the 1934
1934 in film
-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
film Eight Girls on a Boat. Through 1938
1938 in film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
her roles were all uncredited. However, in 1938 she starred in the western The Utah Trail alongside Tex Ritter
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...
. This helped her to secure several other western acting roles, many times as the lead heroine.
In 1939
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
she starred in five films, one of which was a crime drama, one a mystery
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
, and one a western. In total she had roles in some fifty four films, as well as a number of starring roles in certain television series. In 1946 she starred in Chick Carter, Detective
Chick Carter, Detective
Chick Carter, Detective is a 1946 Columbia film serial. Columbia could not afford the rights to produce a Nick Carter serial so they made Chick Carter, Detective about his son instead. This was based on the radio series Chick Carter, Boy Detective...
. Toward the end of her career, she mostly played parts in western genre films and television episodes. Her last role was in 1954
1954 in film
The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
, in the film The Adventures of the Texas Kid: Border Ambush.
Afterward she retired. She married three times, her first marriage being to actor Malcolm "Bud" Taggert, which ended in divorce not long before he died in a swimming pool accident in 1949. Her second marriage was to actor, television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
Mike Stokey
Mike Stokey
Mike Stokey was an American game show host and producer, best known for Pantomime Quiz and its later incarnation, Stump the Stars...
, which also ended in divorce. They had one son, Mike Stokey Jr., who served as a 1st Marine Division combat correspondent during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and who then began working in the film industry as a military technical advisor, having worked with, among others, Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
. Pamela Blake's third marriage was to John Canavan, a retired Air Force master sergeant.
Eventually Blake slipped from the limelight altogether. She died of natural causes in a Las Vegas care facility in 2009, at age 94.
Selected filmography
- Wyoming OutlawWyoming OutlawWyoming Outlaw is a 1939 Three Mesquiteers film starring John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, and Raymond Hatton. Wayne played the lead in eight of the fifty-one films in the series...
(19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - Live WiresLive WiresLive Wires is a 1946 film starring the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. It is the first film in the series after the comedy team of The East Side Kids was revamped and renamed as The Bowery Boys.-Plot:...
(19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
) - The Sea HoundThe Sea Hound (serial)The Sea Hound is a Columbia movie serial starring Buster Crabbe based on the radio show The Sea Hound. It was the thirty-fourth of the fifty seven serials produced by Columbia.-Synopsis:...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - Ghost of ZorroGhost of ZorroGhost of Zorro is a Republic Movie serial. It uses substantial stock footage from earlier serials, including Son of Zorro and Daredevils of the West. This movie was shot in Chatsworth, Los Angeles.-Cast:...
(19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
)