Anne Nagel (born Anna Marie Dolan; September 29, 1915 – July 6, 1966)
was an American actress. She played in adventures, mysteries, and comedies for 25 years. She also appeared in television series in the 1950s. One book described her as "one of Hollywood's true hard-luck gals".
Early life
Born in Malden, Massachusetts,
[An ]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
story about Nagel's filing papers to marry Keenan states "The actress...listed her maiden name as Anna Marie Donan, born in Malden, a Boston suburb..." Nagel was enrolled by her parents in
Notre Dame Academy, with the expectation that she would become a nun.
[ Membership in the Shubert Theatre company turned her away from religious life.][ In the meantime, Nagel's mother had divorced and re-married. When Nagel's new stepfather, Curtis Nagel, a Technicolor expert, was hired by Tiffany Pictures in Hollywood, he moved the family to California, where he employed his step-daughter in several experimental Technicolor shorts he had been asked to direct.
]
Career
In 1932 Nagel secured a bit part as a ballet girl in the Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career.
Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...
comedy feature ''Hypnotized
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...
'', her "first documented feature credit".[ She was one of 14 young women "launched on the trail of film stardom" August 6, 1935, when they each received a six-month contract with ]20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
after spending 18 months in the company's training school. The contracts included a studio option for renewal for as long as seven years. Nagel spent the next few years making uncredited appearances as a dancer or chorus girl.
In 1936, she signed with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
and followed the usual path for young actresses under studio contract: incidental roles in major features, featured roles in minor features, and ingenue roles in westerns. She appeared in '' Here Comes Carter'' with Warner leading man Ross Alexander; they were married that year. A reviewer wrote "she was just one of those girls who has learned to croon for the microphone, and let the rest of the world go hang".
Warner did not pick up her option after one year, and she began freelancing. Most of her appearances in 1937 and 1938 were for 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 ...
, where she usually played leads.
Anne Nagel was signed by Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
in 1939, and worked there steadily for four years. Her most famous Universal credits are probably the W.C. Fields comedy '' Never Give a Sucker an Even Break'' (1941, as Gloria Jean's movie-stuntwoman mother) and the serials ''The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell (director), James Jewell.
Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas i ...
'' (1940) and ''The Green Hornet Strikes Again!
''The Green Hornet Strikes Again!'' is a 1941 Universal black-and-white 15 chapter movie serial based on ''The Green Hornet'' radio series by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. It is a superhero-themed story about the eponymous superhero, ...
'' (1941), reprising her radio role of Lenore Case. She also was featured in '' Black Friday'' (1940), '' The Invisible Woman'' (1940), and '' Man Made Monster'' (1941), among many other films.
From 1942 she worked mostly for the lower-budget independent companies: PRC
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...
, Monogram, Republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
. She had two assignments with Columbia, the 1943 serial '' The Secret Code'' and the 1947 comedy feature '' Blondie's Holiday''. By the late 1940s her roles were smaller and she often worked without screen credit. Nagel later worked on television in episodes of '' The Range Rider'' (1951) and '' Circus Boy'' (1957).
Radio
Vintage-radio buffs best know Anne Nagel as Britt Reid's confidante Lenore Case in ''The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell (director), James Jewell.
Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas i ...
''. In 1943, she was the vocalist on the audience-participation musical quiz program ''Scramby Amby''.
Personal life and death
On September 17, 1936, Nagel married actor Ross Alexander, who committed suicide in 1937 [Alexander "... went into his Van Nuys barn and reportedly fired a rifle into his mouth as his bride of four months sat quietly knitting in the house".][ when beset with heavy financial burdens he could not resolve.
Four years later, Nagel married Air Force Lt. Col. James H. Keenan on December 4, 1941. The marriage ended in divorce on May 22, 1951.]
In December 1947, Nagel filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against Hollywood physician and surgeon Franklyn Thorpe (former husband of actress Mary Astor
Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...
). In the suit, Nagel demanded $350,000 in damages and alleged that, while performing an appendectomy on her in 1936, Thorpe had removed other organs without her knowledge or consent, rendering her infertile. ["Actress Starts $350,000 Suit".''The Milwaukee Sentinel'', December 22, 1947. Page 2] Nagel claimed she was unaware of her infertility until January 1947, but Thorpe countered that she was "well aware of the nature of the surgery".
Nagel died at Sunray North Convalescent Hospital in Hollywood, California in 1966, aged 50, following surgery for liver cancer. She is buried, with no marker, in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Filmography
Notes
References
* '' Appleton, Wisconsin Post Crescent'', "Anne Nagel's Death Revives Old Mystery", Monday, August 29, 1966, Page A11.
* ''Los Angeles Times'', "Final Rites Set for Actress Anne Nagel", Page B10.
* ''The New York Times'', "Anne Nagel Dies; Movie Actress, 50", July 8, 1966, Page 26.
* '' Reno, Nevada State Journal'', "Movie Actor Kills Self", January 3, 1937, Page 1.
* '' Photos Ann Nagel'', "https://www.picsofcelebrities.com/celebrity/anne-nagel/pictures/images-of-anne-nagel.html"
External links
*
*
July 21, 1966 Tuscaloosa News Article on Anne Nagel's Death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagel, Anne
1915 births
1966 deaths
American film actresses
American television actresses
Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Deaths from liver cancer in California
Actresses from Boston
Actresses from Los Angeles
20th-century American actresses