Sheila Ryan
Encyclopedia
Sheila Ryan, was an American actress who starred in over 60 movies.
, she went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18. She was signed by 20th Century Fox
in 1940 and was credited in her early films as Bettie McLaughlin. Adopting the name Sheila Ryan, she starred in Dressed to Kill
the following year. She appeared in other memorable films, including two Laurel and Hardy
movies, Great Guns
(1941) and A-Haunting We Will Go (1942), and the Busby Berkeley
musical The Gang's All Here (1943). Ryan appeared in several Charlie Chan
and Michael Shayne
mysteries, starring alongside Cesar Romero
.
By the late 1940s, however, her career waned and she began appearing mostly in B movie
s, especially low budget westerns. In 1945, she married actor Allan Lane
, but the marriage ended in divorce after a few months.
She later worked with Gene Autry
, starring in several of his films, including The Cowboys and the Indians (1949), and Mule Train (1950). She also had roles in several television
shows
. They married in 1952, and remained together until her death in 1975. They had a daughter, Kathleen Buttram, nicknamed Kerry.
Sheila Ryan retired from acting in 1958. She died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
in 1975 from lung cancer. She was 54 years old. She was survived by Pat and their daughter Kerry. Pat later died of kidney failure on January 8, 1994 and later on their daughter Kerry Buttram-Galgano died of cancer in 2007.
Acting career
Born as Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin in Topeka, KansasTopeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, she went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18. She was signed by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
in 1940 and was credited in her early films as Bettie McLaughlin. Adopting the name Sheila Ryan, she starred in Dressed to Kill
Dressed to Kill (1941 film)
Dressed to Kill is a 1941 crime mystery starring Lloyd Nolan, Mary Beth Hughes & Sheila Ryan. The film was based on Death Takes No Bows, a mystery novel by Richard Burke.-Synopsis:...
the following year. She appeared in other memorable films, including two Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
movies, Great Guns
Great Guns
Great Guns is a 1941 film directed by Monty Banks, and produced by Sol M. Wurtzel for 20th Century Fox starring Laurel and Hardy.- Plot :...
(1941) and A-Haunting We Will Go (1942), and the Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
musical The Gang's All Here (1943). Ryan appeared in several Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
and Michael Shayne
Michael Shayne
Michael Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday. It was the title of a series of 12 films starring Lloyd Nolan, a radio series under a variety of names, between 1944 and 1953, and later in 1960-1961, a 32 episode NBC television series...
mysteries, starring alongside Cesar Romero
Cesar Romero
Cesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
.
By the late 1940s, however, her career waned and she began appearing mostly in B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s, especially low budget westerns. In 1945, she married actor Allan Lane
Allan Lane
Allan "Rocky" Lane was a studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in a career lasting from 1929 to 1966...
, but the marriage ended in divorce after a few months.
She later worked with Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
, starring in several of his films, including The Cowboys and the Indians (1949), and Mule Train (1950). She also had roles in several television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows
Personal life
Ryan was married first to Edward Norris but they later divorced. Ryan then married actor Allan Lane in 1945 but divorced him a year later in 1946. While working with Autry, Ryan met actor Pat ButtramPat Buttram
Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram was an American actor, known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the TV series Green Acres. He had a distinctive voice which, in his own words, "... never quite made it through puberty"...
. They married in 1952, and remained together until her death in 1975. They had a daughter, Kathleen Buttram, nicknamed Kerry.
Sheila Ryan retired from acting in 1958. She died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...
in 1975 from lung cancer. She was 54 years old. She was survived by Pat and their daughter Kerry. Pat later died of kidney failure on January 8, 1994 and later on their daughter Kerry Buttram-Galgano died of cancer in 2007.