Charlotte Austin (born Jean Charlotte Austin; November 2, 1933) is an American retired actress. She appeared in leading and supporting roles in the 1950s, mostly active in B-films.

Early years

Charlotte Austin was born on November 2, 1933, in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. Her father was the American singer and songwriter

Gene Austin Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for ...

. Her mother (the former Agnes Antelline) was also a singer. While born in North Carolina as Gene was visiting on a performance tour, she was raised in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

by her mother and step-father, Ned Kalmer.

Career

Austin signed a 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 ...

in the early 1950s and attended the studio's school. Her film career began with an uncredited role in '' Belles on Their Toes'' (1952). This was followed by a couple of other uncredited roles. That same year, she had a starring role in the

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

'' Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder'' alongside

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

Billy Daniels William Boone Daniels (September 12, 1915 – October 7, 1988) was an American singer active in the United States and Europe from the mid-1930s to 1988, notable for his hit recording of " That Old Black Magic" and his pioneering performances on ...

, and

Arthur Franz Arthur Sofield Franz (February 29, 1920 – June 17, 2006) was an American actor whose most notable feature film role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade H. Paynter Jr. in ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1954). Early life Franz was born in Perth Amboy, N ...

. In the film, she sang, danced, and did a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

performance. The following year, she had a supporting role in the

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

'' The Farmer Takes a Wife''. It starred

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million, and for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she p ...

and

Dale Robertson Dayle Lymoine Robertson (July 14, 1923 – February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' and railroad own ...

. She had a small role in ''

How to Marry a Millionaire ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays ''The Greeks Had a Word for It'' (1930) by Zoe Akins and '' ...

'' (1953), and was described by

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

as one of the 20th Century Fox's stars of the future. In 1954, Austin had supporting roles in the horror

mystery film A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, ...

Gorilla at Large ''Gorilla at Large'' is a 1954 American horror mystery film made in 3-D. The film stars Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, Lee J. Cobb and Raymond Burr, with Lee Marvin and Warren Stevens in supporting roles. Directed by Harmon Jones, it was ...

'' and in the

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

romance film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

'' Désirée''. The former was the second film distributed by 20th Century Fox to be filmed in 3-DT. he latter was nominated for two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, for Best Art Direction (color) ( Lyle R. Wheeler, Leland Fuller, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox) and Best Costume Design ( René Hubert and

Charles LeMaire Charles LeMaire (April 22, 1897 – June 8, 1985) was an American costume designer. He was born in Chicago. LeMaire's early career was as a vaudeville performer, but he became a costume designer for such Broadway productions as ''Ziegfeld Fol ...

). In 1955, she had supporting roles in '' Daddy Long Legs'' and '' How to Be Very, Very Popular''. In 1958, she starred in the low-budget

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

'' The Bride and the Beast''. The screenplay was made by the future infamous film director

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novelist. In the 1950s, Wood directed several B movie, low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult c ...

. She later stated that she thought the scrpt was awful. She continued to act in film and television series until the early 1960s. After retiring, she ran an

antique store An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

Personal life

Austin married John Antelline in 1965. They later divorced.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Charlotte Living people 1933 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women American film actresses American television actresses People from Charlotte, North Carolina 20th Century Studios contract players