Teala Loring (born Marcia Eloise Griffin; October 6, 1922 – January 28, 2007) was an American actress who appeared in over 30 films during the 1940s.

Life and career

Born in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, she was the sister of actors Debra Paget, Lisa Gaye, and Ruell Shayne. Her mother was Marguerite Gibson, who entertained in nightclubs and vaudeville. At the start of her film career, she was sometimes credited as Judith Gibson. Beginning in 1942, Loring appeared in uncredited or bit parts in films at Paramount, turning up as a cigarette girl in ''

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

'' and as a telephone operator in ''

Double Indemnity ''Double Indemnity'' is a 1944 American crime film noir directed by Billy Wilder, co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. The screenplay was based on James M. Cain's 1943 novel of the same ...

'', for example. From 1945 to 1947, she appeared in ten films released by the low-key

Poverty Row Poverty Row is a slang term used to refer to Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the 1950s by small (and mostly short-lived) B movie studios. Although many of them were based on (or near) today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did ...

studio

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

, including '' Fall Guy'' (1947), and costarring in two films starring Kay Francis, ''

Allotment Wives ''Allotment Wives'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by William Nigh and starring Kay Francis. Its plot is about an army investigator who tries to shut down a scam that preys on soldiers, and unknowingly falls in love with the woman behind i ...

'' (1945) and '' Wife Wanted'' (1946). Of her portrayal of a young mother caught up in an illegal adoption scheme in 1945's '' Black Market Babies'', ''The New York Times'' noted that Loring and co-star Maris Wrixon "struggle fitfully with the lines accorded the two principal mothers" in what it called an "uninspired minor melodrama". Having failed to achieve the success that sister Paget would capture in the 1950s, Loring made her final film, ''Arizona Cowboy'' (supporting Western star

Rex Allen Rex Elvie Allen (December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999), known as "the Arizona Cowboy", was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter; he was also the narrator of many Disney nature and Western productions. For his contribut ...

in his screen debut), in 1950.

Death

Loring died at the age of 84 in January 2007 from injuries she sustained in an automobile accident in

Spring, Texas Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 62,559 at the 2020 census. While the name "Spring" is popu ...

. She was survived by her husband, Eugene Pickler, and their six children.

Selected filmography

* '' Sweethearts of the U.S.A.'' (1944) * ''

I Love a Soldier ''I Love a Soldier'' is a 1944 American drama film directed by Mark Sandrich and written by Allan Scott. The film stars Paulette Goddard, Sonny Tufts, Beulah Bondi, Walter Sande, Mary Treen and Ann Doran. The film was released on August 15 ...

(1944)"How Am I Doing?" Raeford CNews-Journal, 21 September 1944. She's uncredited in the film, but the caption for this studio publicity photo credits her as a cast member. * ''

Gas House Kids ''Gas House Kids'' is a 1946 American comedy-drama film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Robert Lowery, Billy Halop and Teala Loring. It was followed by two sequels, ''Gas House Kids Go West'' and '' Gas House Kids in Hollywood'', both relea ...

'' (1946) * '' Partners in Time'' (1946) * ''

Bowery Bombshell ''Bowery Bombshell'' is a 1946 film starring the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. It is the third film in the series. Plot Sweet Shop owner Louie needs to raise $300. The Boys try to sell their jalopy to raise the money, but are unable to becau ...

'' (1946) * ''

Riding the California Trail ''Riding the California Trail'' is a 1947 American Western film directed by William Nigh and written by Clarence Upson Young. The film stars Gilbert Roland as the Cisco Kid, Martin Garralaga, Frank Yaconelli, Teala Loring, Inez Cooper and Te ...

'' (1947) * '' The Arizona Cowboy'' (1950)

References

External links

* * * * Brief biography and filmography at
The New York Times''
' * ''New York Times'

of ''Black Market Babies'', April 1, 1946 (registration required). Actresses from Denver American film actresses Road incident deaths in Texas 1922 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Texas 21st-century American women {{US-film-actor-1920s-stub