Ty Worked With... Actresses - Second Leads, Page 2

Page 1 of 2

This set of pages is dedicated to the second leading ladies in Ty's films. Typically, the "second lead" in Ty's movies, with a few exceptions, was the romantic interest who didn't win his heart. The "second leads" in Ty's movies were generally very pretty, extremely talented actresses, but they more often played supporting roles, rather than the starring roles of the leading ladies. There were, of course, exceptions. Some of the "second leads" played both starring and supporting roles.

pictured left - Ty and Frances Farmer, his second leading lady in Son of Fury.

Annabella

born July 14, 1909 (Some sources list her birth date as July 14, 1904), La Varenne Saint Hilaire, Val-de-Marne, France
died September 18, 1996 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France (heart attack)

Filmography

movie with Ty : Suez
character in Suez : Toni Pellerin

other films include
Wings of the Morning, 13 Rue Madeleine, Tonight We Raid Calais

Annabella was a star of French movies. After coming to America in 1938, she was second-leading lady for Ty in 1938's Suez. She married him in 1939, but they were legally separated in 1946 and divorced in 1949. She returned to France in 1947 and unsuccessfully attempted a comeback.

Arleen Whelan

born September 1, 1916, Salt Lake City Utah
died April 7, 1993, Orange County, California
(stroke)

Filmography

movie with Ty : That Wonderful Urge
character inThat Wonderful Urge : Jessica

other films include
Young Mr. Lincoln, Castle in the Desert, The Sun Shines Bright

Arleen Whelan made a couple dozen films in twenty years (1937-1957). She sometimes co-starred in movies, but often played supporting roles, in films with stars such as William Holden, Sterling Hayden, Don Ameche, Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, and others. Arleen was one of the starlets that Ty took out a time or two before his marriage to Annabella.

Barbara Lawrence

born February 24, 1928, Carnegie, Oklahoma

Filmography

movie with Ty : Captain from Castile
character in Captain from Castile : Luisa De Carvajal

other films include
A Letter to Three Wives, Two Tickets to Broadway, Oklahoma!

Barbara Lawrence began her film career in 1947, while still a student at UCLA. Twentieth Century-Fox put her in supporting roles in several movies. Her movie career spanned only a dozen years, but she made twenty movies with such stars as Gordon MacRae, Robert Mitchum, Rex Harrison, Richard Widmark, and Van Johnson, among others.

Beatrice Campbell

born July 31, 1922, County Down, North Ireland

died May 10, 1979, London, England

Filmography

movie with Ty : I'll Never Forget You
character in
I'll Never Forget You : Kate Pettigrew

other films include
Last Holiday, The Master of Ballantrae, The Mudlark

Beatrice Campbell's career spanned only nine years, from 1946 - 1955. She appeared in movies with such well-known stars as Tyrone Power, Richard Burton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Sir Alec Guinness, Errol Flynn, José Ferrer, and Trevor Howard.

Brenda Joyce

born February 25, 1917, Excelsior Springs, Missouri

Filmography

movie with Ty : The Rains Came
character in
The Rains Came : Fern Simon

other films include
Pillow of Death, The Enchanted Forest, Little Old New York

The Rains Came was Brenda Joyce's first movie role, and it was a substantial part, as the love interest to George Brent's character. She went on to starring roles in some light musicals, comedy, and drama. In 1945, Joyce replaced Maureen O'Sullivan in the Tarzan film series, co-starring as Jane to Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan. She starred with him in 1945's Tarzan and the Amazons, 1946's Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, 1947's Tarzan and the Huntress, and 1948's Tarzan and the Mermaids. Her last Tarzan film was 1949's Tarzan's Magic Fountain, with Lex Barker assuming the role of Tarzan. Following her divorce 1949 from Owen Ward, whom she'd married in 1941, Brenda Joyce retired from the screen.

Ethel Merman

born January 16, 1908, Astoria, New York
died February 15, 1984, New York, New York (brain cancer)

Filmography

movie with Ty : Alexander's Ragtime Band
character in
Alexander's Ragtime Band : Gerry Allen

other films include
Anything Goes, Call Me Madam, We're Not Dressing

Ethel Merman was a legendary stage singer, with a powerful voice that served well for the stage. While she wasn't quite as successful as a screen star, she did have some notable performances. Probably her best screen role, though it was in support rather than starring, was in Alexander's Ragtime Band. In this movie, she sang many Irving Berlin tunes and played secondary love interest to Tyrone Power. In addition, she made appearances in several musicals in the thirties, with very pleasing performances.

Frances Farmer

born September 19, 1913, Seattle, Washington
died August 1, 1970, Indianapolis, Indiana (esophageal cancer)

Filmography

movie with Ty : Son of Fury
character in
Son of Fury : Isabel Blake

other films include
Come and Get It, The Toast of New York, Flowing Gold

Frances Farmer was a beautiful and talented leading lady of the thirties and forties. She began her career in 1936, after securing a seven-year contract with Paramount. She played starring roles opposite such actors as Fred MacMurray, Bing Crosby, and Cary Grant. She was very difficult to work with, however, and Paramount dropped her. She continued to make movies but she began playing in supporting roles. In 1942, she began a downward spiral mentally. She was declared mentally incompetent by her own mother and put in an asylum. Several years later, in the 1950's, she did find success in Indianapolis as hostess of a popular daily television show. Frances Farmer wrote an autobiography, Will There Really Be a Morning?, about her experiences, which was turned into a television movie.

Jayne Meadows

September 27, 1920 now Wuchang, China (to American missionaries)

Filmography

movie with Ty : Luck of the Irish
character in
Luck of the Irish : Frances Augur

other films include
Enchantment, David and Bathsheba, Song of the Thin Man

This very talented actress has appeared in movies with some of the top Hollywood stars of the golden era, including Tyrone Power, Gregory Peck, Robert Taylor, William Powell, Lionel Barrymore, David Niven, and Robert Mitchum. She has also appeared in movies with current stars Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, and Billy Crystal. Married to Steve Allen from 1954 until his death in 2002, the couple appeared together in movies, television shows, and on stage. According to Jayne Meadows's official site, Tyrone personally chose her "for the role of his fiancé, a glamorous socialite, after viewing her performance as the unglamorous murderess in the cult-classic Lady in the Lake. He told Darryl Zanuck, 'That gal can play anything.'"