Anne Kimbell Relph, known professionally as Anne Kimbell (née Banks; June 28, 1932 – May 16, 2017) was an American actress most active on screen during the 1950s. Kimbell is best known as the star of the 1954

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

, ''

Monster from the Ocean Floor ''Monster from the Ocean Floor'' is an American 1954 science fiction film about a sea monster that terrorizes a Mexican cove. The film was directed by Wyott Ordung and starred Anne Kimbell and Stuart Wade. It was the first film produced by Ro ...

''. Beginning in the early 1990s, Kimbell preserved the Jones Theater in

Westcliffe, Colorado Westcliffe is a statutory town that is the county seat of Custer County, Colorado, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 435. History File:D&RGW Train Depot In Westcliffe, Colorado.jpg, The restored D&RGW depot in Augu ...

, and founded the Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts.

Early years

Kimbell was born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana, to Andrew and Kathryn (née Collins) Banks. She moved to Hollywood, California with her family when she was three years old. At the age of four, she was cast in her first radio role on ''The Children's Radio Workshop'' in Los Angeles, which began her radio and voice acting career. She joined the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

(SAG) when she was just twelve years old. She studied theater in New York City under

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...

. Kimbell later received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and her master's degree in

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in Washington D.C.

Film

Kimbell's earliest film credits included 1945's ''

Roughly Speaking ''Roughly Speaking'' is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band April Wine, released in November 2006. The album was recorded without computerized modern digital recording techniques. Instead, the group employed the same type of au ...

'', where she played

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in ...

's daughter, and ''Growing Up'', as

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle; March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

's on-screen sister. Kimbell starred in the lead role in 1954's ''

'', the first film produced by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

, as well as the British comedy, '' Girls at Sea'', in 1958. She also co-starred in several other films, including '' Feudin' Fools'' in 1952, and ''

The Bob Mathias Story ''The Bob Mathias Story'' is a 1954 American sports drama film directed by Francis D. Lyon and starring Bob Mathias and Ward Bond. The story of Bob Mathias (portraying himself), the first man to win two consecutive Olympic Gold Medals in the Dec ...

''.

Television

Kimbell's television credits included recurring roles and guest spots on ''

General Electric Theater ''General Electric Theater'' is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations. Radio After an audition show ...

'', ''

G.E. Summer Originals ''G.E. Summer Originals'', referred to in some sources as ''General Electric Summer Originals'', is an American anthology television series that aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the summer of 1956. The 30-minute episodes consi ...

'', '' Chevron Theatre'', ''

The Adventures of Kit Carson ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that aired from 1951 to 1955 and consisted of 104 episodes. While airing, the show was shown in over 130 markets and was sold to the Coca-Cola Bott ...

'', ''

Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...

'', and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

Sunday Night Theatre ''Sunday Night Theatre'' was a long-running series of televised live television plays screened by BBC Television from early 1950 until 1959. The productions for the first five years or so of the run were re-staged live the following Thursday, ...

''.

Stage

During the 1950s, Kimbell co-starred in the Broadway production of ''

The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, who co-wrote the screenplay with George Axelrod. Based on Axelrod's 1952 The Seven Year Itch (play), play of the same name, the film stars Marilyn Monroe ...

'' alongside

Eddie Bracken Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken came to Hollywood prominence for his comedic lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' b ...

and the touring production of ''

Arms and the Man ''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Av ...

'' with

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

. In 1956 she was the leading lady for the summer at Denver's

Elitch Theatre The Historic Elitch Theatre is located at the original Elitch Gardens site in northwest Denver, Colorado. Opened in 1890, it was centerpiece of the park that was the first zoo west of Chicago. The theatre was Denver's first professional thea ...

, where she reprised her role in The Seven Year Itch. Kimbell starred in the 1957 London production of ''Roar Like a Dove'', which was produced by actress

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

Personal life

Kimbell met her future husband, James F. Relph, a

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carr ...

officer, while appearing on stage in London. The couple married in London. She effectively retired from film to join Relph at his diplomatic postings in Switzerland, Germany,

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

, and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. Kimbell and her family returned to California during the early 1980s. During her later life, Kimbell divided her time between her home in

, and a second home in

Laguna Beach, California Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Located in Southern California along the Pacific Ocean, this seaside resort city has a mild year-round climate, scenic c ...

Administration

California

Kimbell served as the executive director of the Orange County Center at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, which encourages professionals to obtain advanced degrees in business, education or social work. She also founded an "Enterprising Woman" organization to support female entrepreneurs.

Colorado

In 1992, Kimbell traveled to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

with the intention of purchasing a horse ranch. She acquired the ranch as planned, but also purchased the Jones Theater in

, which the previous owner had intended to convert into a laundromat. Kimbell wanted to preserve the theater as a working cultural landmark in the

Wet Mountain Valley The Wet Mountain Valley is a high elevation mountain valley mostly located in Custer County, Colorado, Custer County but extending southward into Huerfano County, Colorado, Huerfano County in south-central Colorado. Westcliffe, Colorado, Westclif ...

. She founded the Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts (WCPA) and based it at the theater. She and her business partner, Tom Stagg, expanded the WCPA and oversaw the addition of the new Studio 2 onto the existing Jones Theater. Kimbell also developed the Shakespeare in the Park festival, which is now held annually in Westcliffe. She served as the WCPA's president, producer and, finally, its artistic director until her death in 2017.

Other countries

Kimbell developed women's cultural programs in

and a school for women in

Writing

Kimbell was the author of several novels, including ''To Catch a Spy'', ''The Ibeji Twins'' and ''Assignment Paris''.

Death

Kimbell died on May 16, 2017, at the age of 84.

References

External links

*
Anne Kimbell Books website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimbell, Anne 1932 births 2017 deaths American film actresses American radio actresses American stage actresses American television actresses University of Southern California faculty University of Southern California staff Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Virginia alumni American expatriates in Chad American expatriates in Germany American expatriates in Switzerland American expatriates in Tunisia People from Custer County, Colorado People from Laguna Beach, California