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person_profile-Shirley Ross

Shirley Ross Died at age: 62

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Shirley Ross

Date of Birth:

Jan 07, 1913

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Mar 09, 1975

Biography of

Shirley Ross

    Blonde, vivacious and obviously talented, Shirley Ross had the promisings of a big musical film star, but her career remained strictly second-string throughout her fairly short career. She is best remembered through her pairing with an entertainment legend: Shirley was afforded the opportunity of duetting with Bob Hope on the song "Thanks for the Memory" in the splashy musical The Big Broadcast of 1938. The song, of course, became Bob's beloved signature tune.

    Shirley was born Bernice Gaunt in Omaha, Nebraska in 1913. Her family moved west and she attended Hollywood High School, later studying at UCLA. Blessed with a gorgeous musical instrument, and an adept piano player as well, Shirley went on to sing with Gus Arnheim's band on the west coast, appearing at all the swanky clubs of the day, including the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, while making a decent name for herself on radio. She also appeared in a west coast production of "Anything Goes".

    MGM initially scooped her up, making her unbilled debut in the Jean Harlow starrer Blonde Bombshell (1933). She continued on just as obscurely in the films Hollywood Party (1934), Manhattan Melodrama (1934), The Girl from Missouri (1934), The Merry Widow (1934), and Age of Indiscretion (1935), but was finally promoted to a minor featured role in the classic earthquake epic San Francisco (1936) with Clark Gable and Jeanette MacDonald, in which Shirley sang "Happy New Year".

    In 1936, she found more visible work over at Paramount and spent the next few years there paired up vocally and romantically with either Bing Crosby or Bob Hope in their popular vehicles - The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936), Waikiki Wedding (1937), Thanks for the Memory (1938), Paris Honeymoon (1939), and Some Like It Hot (1939). Though most were trifling, insignificant time fillers, she was a diverting beauty and quite serviceable in them. She was even given the chance to topline a few of her own movies such as Prison Farm (1938), Sailors on Leave (1941), and A Song for Miss Julie (1945), which was her swan song.

    After leaving pictures, Shirley Ross was little heard or seen. Married first to agent John Kenneth 'Ken' Dolan, then to Everett S. 'Eddie' Blum, she had three children - two sons and a daughter. She died in Menlo Park, California of cancer in 1975.

Photos of

Shirley Ross

Photos ( 4 Photos

Filmography of

Shirley Ross

Found 22 Movies in total

A Song for Miss Julie

Valerie Kimbro ( Actor )

... 1945

Sailors on Leave

Linda Hall ( Actor )

... 1941

Kisses for Breakfast

Juliet Marsden ( Actor )

... 1941

Unexpected Father

Dianna Donovan ( Actor )

... 1939

Some Like It Hot

Lily Racquel ( Actor )

... 1939

Cafe Society

Bells Browne ( Actor )

... 1939

Paris Honeymoon

Barbara Wayne ( Actor )

... 1939

Thanks for the Memory

Anne Merrick ( Actor )

... 1938

Prison Farm

Jean Forest ( Actor )

... 1938

The Big Broadcast of 1938

Cleo Fielding ( Actor )

... 1938

Blossoms On Broadway

Sally Shea ( Actor )

... 1937

Waikiki Wedding

Georgia Smith ( Actor )

... 1937

Hideaway Girl

Toni Ainsworth ( Actor )

... 1936

The Big Broadcast of 1937

Gwen Holmes ( Actor )

... 1936

San Francisco

Trixie ( Actor )

... 1936

Devil's Squadron

Eunice ( Actor )

... 1936

It's in the Air

Cigar Stand Clerk (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1935

I Live My Life

Vi (Uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1935

Calm Yourself

Ruth Rockwell ( Actor )

... 1935

Age of Indiscretion

Dotty ( Actor )

... 1935

Manhattan Melodrama

Singer in Cotton Club ( Actor )

... 1934

Bombshell

Singer (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933