Wanda McKay (born Dorothy Quackenbush; June 22, 1915 – April 11, 1996) was an American actress and model.

Early years

McKay was born as Dorothy Quackenbush in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

,McKay's obituary in the Los Angeles Times says that she was "born Dorothy McKay ...". but her family later moved to

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. After moving to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

she became a model and her image was used to promote Chesterfield cigarettes. In 1938, McKay represented

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

, for which she worked as a hostess, in a beauty competition at the Birmingham Air Show. She won, being voted "Miss American Aviation".

Career

By 1939 McKay had moved into films after being given a contract by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. Initially she made small uncredited appearances before going on to starring roles as a leading lady in many B Movies during the 1940s, working in particular at studios such as PRC and

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 ...

. Film worked dried up for her in the 1950s, and she appeared on television and in a minor role in ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...

'' (1952). Her last film appearance was a small uncredited part in '' Ten Thousand Bedrooms'' (1957).

Personal life

In 1977 she married

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

, a marriage that lasted until his death in 1981.

Death

On April 11, 1996, McKay died of cancer in Los Angeles. She was 80.

Partial filmography

* '' $1000 a Touchdown'' (1939) - Babe (uncredited) * '' Our Neighbors – The Carters'' (1939) - Usherette (uncredited) * '' All Women Have Secrets'' (1939) - Jessie * '' The Farmer's Daughter'' (1940) - Cashier (uncredited) * '' Those Were the Days!'' (1940) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' The Way of All Flesh'' (1940) - Cigarette Girl (uncredited) * '' The Great McGinty'' (1940) - Bit Role (uncredited) * '' Mystery Sea Raider'' (1940) - Lois (uncredited) * '' The Quarterback'' (1940) - Blonde (uncredited) * '' Dancing on a Dime'' (1940) - Lulu * '' Life with Henry'' (1940) - Girl on Theatre Stage (uncredited) * ''

A Night at Earl Carroll's ''A Night at Earl Carroll's'' is a 1940 American musical film directed by Kurt Neumann and written by Lynn Starling. The film stars Ken Murray, Rose Hobart, Elvia Allman, Blanche Stewart, Earl Carroll, J. Carrol Naish, and Lela Moore. The fil ...

'' (1940) - Girl in Steve's Party (uncredited) * '' Love Thy Neighbor'' (1940) - Showgirl (uncredited) * ''

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

'' (1941) - Girl (uncredited) * '' The Mad Doctor'' (1941) - Girl at Charity Bazaar (uncredited) * '' You're the One'' (1941) - Girl * '' The Lady Eve'' (1941) - Daughter on Ship (uncredited) * '' Las Vegas Nights'' (1941) - Cigarette Girl (uncredited) * '' The Pioneers'' (1941) - Suzanna Ames * '' Twilight on the Trail'' (1941) - Lucy Brent * '' New York Town'' (1941) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

The Royal Mounted Patrol ''The Royal Mounted Patrol'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Winston Miller. The film stars Charles Starrett, Russell Hayden, Wanda McKay, Donald Curtis, Lloyd Bridges and Evan Thomas. The film was rele ...

'' (1941) - Betty Duvalle * '' Rolling Down the Great Divide'' (1942) - Rita * ''

The Lone Rider in Texas Justice ''The Lone Rider in Texas Justice'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Steve Braxton. The film stars George Houston as the "Lone Rider", Al St. John as his sidekick "Fuzzy" Jones and Dennis Moore as Sherif ...

'' (1942) - Kate Stewart * ''

One Thrilling Night ''One Thrilling Night'' is a 1942 American film directed by William Beaudine. The film is also known as ''Horace Takes Over'' (American TV title) with working titles being ''Do Not Disturb'' and ''Army Bride''.http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/172 ...

'' (1942) - Millie Jason * '' Law and Order'' (1942) - Linda Fremont * ''

Bowery at Midnight ''Bowery at Midnight'' is a 1942 American Monogram Pictures horror film directed by Wallace Fox and starring Bela Lugosi and John Archer. The film was re-released by Astor Pictures in 1949. Plot Lugosi plays a psychology professor by day who, ...

'' (1942) - Judy Malvern * ''

Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

'' (1943) - Nurse Jane 'Hey-Dutch' Van Dornen * '' The Black Raven'' (1943) - Lee Winfield * '' Let's Face It'' (1943) - Chorus Girl (uncredited) * '' Danger! Women at Work'' (1943) - Doris Bendix * '' Deerslayer'' (1943) - Hetty Hutter * '' Smart Guy'' (1943) - Jean Wickers * '' What a Man!'' (1944) - Joan Rankin * ''

Voodoo Man ''Voodoo Man'' is a 1944 American horror film directed by William Beaudine and starring Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, and George Zucco. Plot Nicholas (George Zucco) runs a filling station in the sticks. In reality, he is helping Dr. Richard M ...

'' (1944) - Betty * '' The Monster Maker'' (1944) - Patricia * ''

Raiders of Ghost City ''Raiders of Ghost City'' is a 1944 American Western film serial from Universal Pictures set in California during the American Civil War. Plot At the height of the Civil War, a gang of supposed Confederates, headed by Alex Morel, raid all gold ...

'' (1944, Serial) - Cathy Haines * ''

Leave It to the Irish ''Leave It to the Irish'' is a 1944 American comedy crime film directed by William Beaudine and starring James Dunn, Wanda McKay and Jack La Rue.Marshall p.243 Cast * James Dunn as Terry Moran, Private Investigator * Wanda McKay as Nora O' ...

'' (1944) - Nora O'Brien * '' Belle of the Yukon'' (1944) - Cherie Atterbury * ''

There Goes Kelly ''There Goes Kelly'' is a 1945 American comedy mystery film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Jackie Moran, Wanda McKay and Sidney Miller. It was produced and distributed by Monogram Pictures. It is a remake of the 1940 film '' Up in the Air ...

'' (1945) - Anne Mason * '' Hollywood and Vine'' (1945) - Martha Manning * '' Sensation Hunters'' (1945) - Helen * '' Kilroy Was Here'' (1947) - Connie Harcourt * '' Jiggs and Maggie in Society'' (1947) - Millicent Perker * '' Stage Struck'' (1948) - Helen Howard * ''

Jinx Money ''Jinx Money'' is a 1948 film starring the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. It is the tenth film in the series and the first one to include Bennie Bartlett as part of the team. Plot Pollack, an underworld gambler, is murdered, but before he dies ...

'' (1948) - Virginia * '' Jungle Goddess'' (1948) - Greta Vanderhorn * ''

The Golden Eye ''The Golden Eye'' is a 1948 American film directed by William Beaudine and starring Roland Winters in his fourth appearance as Charlie Chan. The film is also known as ''Charlie Chan in Texas'' (Belgian English title) and ''Charlie Chan in the ...

'' (1948) - Evelyn Manning * ''The Story of Life'' (1948) * '' Because of Eve'' (1948) - Sally Stephens * ''

A Woman of Distinction ''A Woman of Distinction'' is a 1950 American romantic comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring Rosalind Russell and Ray Milland. Plot Susan Manning Middlecott is dean of a New England school called Benton College and it is her whole ...

'' (1950) - Merle - Shop Girl (uncredited) * '' Roaring City'' (1951) - Sylvia Rand * ''

'' (1952) - Girl at Maxim's (uncredited) * '' Ten Thousand Bedrooms'' (1957) - New York Operator (uncredited) (final film role)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Raw, Laurance. ''Character Actors in Horror and Science Fiction Films, 1930–1960''. McFarland, 2012.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Wanda 1915 births 1996 deaths Female models from Oregon American film actresses Actresses from Portland, Oregon 20th-century American actresses