Frances Rafferty | |
|---|---|
 Rafferty in the 1940s | |
| Born | Frances Anne Rafferty (1922-06-16)June 16, 1922 Sioux City, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | April 18, 2004(2004-04-18) (aged 81) Paso Robles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, dancer |
| Years active | 1942–1977 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2[1] |
| Relatives | Max Rafferty (brother) |
Frances Anne Rafferty (June 16, 1922 – April 18, 2004) was an American actress, dancer, World War IIpin-up girl andMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player.
Frances Anne Rafferty was born in Sioux City, Iowa, the daughter of Maxwell Lewis Rafferty and DeEtta Frances (née Cox) Rafferty. She was the younger sister of California educator and Republican politicianMax Rafferty, whose wife was Frances (nee Longman) Rafferty.[2]
At the age of nine she moved with her family to Los Angeles. At a young age, she studied dancing, and her physical attributes and dancing skills led to work in the film industry.[citation needed]
Rafferty attended Miss Bryant's Day School and Bryant School while the family lived in Iowa. After moving to California, she graduated fromUniversity High School in Los Angeles.[3]
Signed byMGM Studios, Rafferty made her film debut in 1942.[citation needed] She appeared in minor and secondary roles, and although she had a part in the 1944 filmDragon Seed withKatharine Hepburn andWalter Huston, her significant parts were limited almost exclusively to "B" movies. She played the female lead in "The Hidden Eyes"(1945). For instance, in 1948, she starred withHugh Beaumont in thefilm noirMoney Madness, directed bySam Newfield. Her only role in a major film was inBud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood (1945).
During World War II, she was a volunteerpin-up girl forYANK magazine, a publication for the soldiers of the United States military.[citation needed]
In 1949, Rafferty was a performer on the anthology seriesOboler Comedy Theater on ABC television.[4]
From 1954 to 1959, she appeared as Ruth Ruskin Henshaw in all 156 episodes of theDesilu Studios sitcomDecember Bride on CBS. When fellow cast member Harry Morgan and actressCara Williams starred in the 1960-62 December Bride spin off sitcom,Pete and Gladys, Rafferty was subsequently cast in seven episodes in the role of "Nancy".
Rafferty appeared in a number of different television programs throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Among them were two guest appearances onPerry Mason. She portrayed Heather Marlow in "Never Look Back", the Season 4, Episode 18, installment ofMy Three Sons in 1964.
After her retirement from acting in 1965, she made a final appearance in a 1977 episode of the crime dramaThe Streets of San Francisco.
She was married to her first husband from 1944 until their divorce in 1947. (Rafferty's biography onThe Des Moines Register's DataCentral site gives Rafferty's first husband's name as "Maj. John Horton".[3] An Associated Press news story dated February 18, 1947, reported "Movie Actress Frances Rafferty obtained a divorce today from John E. Horton, former army major.")[5]
Rafferty died in 2004 in Paso Robles, California.[6]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Fingers at the Window | Clinic Switchboard Operator | Uncredited |
| The War Against Mrs. Hadley | Sally | ||
| Seven Sweethearts | George Van Maaster | ||
| 1943 | Slightly Dangerous | Girl Getting Off Bus | Uncredited |
| Presenting Lily Mars | Showgirl | Uncredited | |
| Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case | Irene | ||
| Hitler's Madman | Annaliese Cermak | Uncredited | |
| Pilot No. 5 | Carhop | Uncredited | |
| Young Ideas | Co-Ed | ||
| Swing Shift Maisie | Office Worker | Uncredited | |
| Thousands Cheer | Marie Corbino | ||
| Girl Crazy | Marjorie Tait | ||
| 1944 | Broadway Rhythm | Autograph Seeker | Uncredited |
| Dragon Seed | Orchid Tan - Lao Ta's Wife | ||
| Barbary Coast Gent | Portia Adair | ||
| Mrs. Parkington | Jane Stilham | ||
| 1945 | The Hidden Eye | Jean Hampton | |
| Abbott and Costello in Hollywood | Claire Warren | ||
| 1946 | Bad Bascomb | Dora McCabe | |
| 1947 | Lost Honeymoon | Lois Evans | |
| The Adventures of Don Coyote | Maggie Riley | ||
| Curley | Mildred Johnson | ||
| The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival | Schoolteacher Mildred Johnson, in 'Curly' | ||
| 1948 | Money Madness | Julie Saunders | |
| Lady at Midnight | Ellen McPhail Wiggins | ||
| 1949 | An Old-Fashioned Girl | Frances Shaw | |
| 1952 | Rodeo | Dixie Benson | |
| 1953 | Your Jeweler's Showcase | Julie Elson | Episode: "Christmas Is Magic" |
| 1954 | The Shanghai Story | Mrs. Warren | |
| 1956 | G.E. Summer Originals | Episode: "The Unwilling Witness" | |
| 1961 | Wings of Chance | Arlene Baker |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
