Alma Mabel Conner (February 12, 1927 – January 31, 2018), known professionally as Ann Gillis, was an American actress, best known for her film roles as a child actress. She performed the voice of Faline (as young adult) in the 1942 Disney animated film ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

''.

Biography

Gillis was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. She started her career in the early 1930s, when she was age 7. After small roles, she got her first major part in '' King of Hockey'' (1936). In the following years, she played supporting roles, and Warner Brothers Pictures wanted her to be another

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

, but she mostly played "spoiled brats". Among her bigger roles were Becky Thatcher in

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...

's ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'' (1938) and Annie in ''

Little Orphan Annie ''Little Orphan Annie'' was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and print syndication#Comic strip syndication, syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James ...

'' (1938). She also provided the voice of Faline in ''

'' (1942). She ended her Hollywood film career in 1947 and married her second husband, British actor Richard Fraser in 1952. Following her Hollywood career, she turned to occasional television work in the UK. Gillis appeared in two episodes of '' The Saint'' in 1964-1965, followed by a small part in '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', playing Dr. Poole's mother. She is seen onscreen congratulating her son on his birthday. She later lived in Belgium. On January 31, 2018, Gillis died in a nursing home in Horam, East Sussex, England, at the age of 90.

Filmography

References

Bibliography

* Best, Marc. ''Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen'' (South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971), pp. 95–99.

External links

*
Ann Gillis
at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Little Rock, Arkansas American child actresses American expatriates in Belgium American expatriate actresses American expatriates in England American film actresses American radio actresses Warner Bros. contract players {{US-film-actor-1920s-stub