Patricia Dane
Encyclopedia
Patricia Dane was an American film actress of the 1940s.
Born "Thelma Pearl Pippins" and sometimes known as Thelma Byrnes after her step father in Jacksonville, Florida
, she began her career designing clothes for a New York City
dress firm. She was signed to an MGM contract in 1941 and is sometimes known as Pat Dane in films. Dane's earliest appearances were two uncredited roles in Ziegfeld Girl
and I'll Wait For You (both 1941).
She played the part of "Jennitt Hicks" in Life Begins For Andy Hardy and her well-received performance earned her a long-term contract. Dane played "Garnet" in Johnny Eager
(1942) directed by Mervyn LeRoy
. The film starred Robert Taylor
and Lana Turner
. Dane received favorable press for her acting in Grand Central Murder (1942), in which she was billed second to Van Heflin
.
Dane took a break from her film career when she married bandleader Tommy Dorsey
; the marriage lasted from April 1943 to September 1947. Dane was every bit as forthright and exhibitionistic as Dorsey, and Dorsey loved to show her off to friends, according to Dorsey biographer Peter J. Levinson.
Her MGM contract lapsed in 1945. Following her divorce from Dorsey, she resumed her movie career at the low-budget Monogram Pictures
studio (Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad, 1948). Dane appeared in two television roles for Fireside Theater
and Flight Thirteen, both 1951. Her final film appearances were uncredited parts in Road To Bali (1952) and The Harder They Fall
(1956).
Patricia Dane died in 1995 in Blountstown, Florida, aged 75, from lung cancer. .
Born "Thelma Pearl Pippins" and sometimes known as Thelma Byrnes after her step father in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, she began her career designing clothes for a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
dress firm. She was signed to an MGM contract in 1941 and is sometimes known as Pat Dane in films. Dane's earliest appearances were two uncredited roles in Ziegfeld Girl
Ziegfeld girl
Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical spectaculars known as the Ziegfeld Follies , which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris....
and I'll Wait For You (both 1941).
She played the part of "Jennitt Hicks" in Life Begins For Andy Hardy and her well-received performance earned her a long-term contract. Dane played "Garnet" in Johnny Eager
Johnny Eager
Johnny Eager is a 1941 film noir starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. Van Heflin won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.The film is featured in the comedy spoof Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid .-Plot:...
(1942) directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy was an American film director, producer and sometime actor.-Early life:Born to Jewish parents in San Francisco, California, his family was financially ruined by the 1906 earthquake...
. The film starred Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
and Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
. Dane received favorable press for her acting in Grand Central Murder (1942), in which she was billed second to Van Heflin
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
.
Dane took a break from her film career when she married bandleader Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
; the marriage lasted from April 1943 to September 1947. Dane was every bit as forthright and exhibitionistic as Dorsey, and Dorsey loved to show her off to friends, according to Dorsey biographer Peter J. Levinson.
Her MGM contract lapsed in 1945. Following her divorce from Dorsey, she resumed her movie career at the low-budget Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
studio (Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad, 1948). Dane appeared in two television roles for Fireside Theater
Fireside Theater
Fireside Theater is an American anthology drama series that ran from on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Stories were low budget and often based on public domain stories or written by freelance writers such as Rod Serling. While it was panned...
and Flight Thirteen, both 1951. Her final film appearances were uncredited parts in Road To Bali (1952) and The Harder They Fall
The Harder They Fall
The Harder They Fall is a film noir directed by Mark Robson, featuring Humphrey Bogart in his last film before his death in 1957. The film was written by Philip Yordan and based on the 1947 novel by Budd Schulberg....
(1956).
Patricia Dane died in 1995 in Blountstown, Florida, aged 75, from lung cancer. .
Sources
- Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, Release Attachment on Patricia Dane's Salary, Friday, August 18, 1944, Page 21. - Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, CaliforniaOakland 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...
Tribune, If the Dane's Not Great She Can Always Design Clothes, June 14, 1942, Page 65. - Oakland Tribune, On the First Rung of the Ladder, January 24, 1943, Page 41.
- Oakland Tribune, Exits and Entrances, Thursday, October 9, 1947, Page 29.
- Olivia R. Vickery, 1st cousin and owner of her effects after her death.