Elaine Devry (born Thelma Elaine Mahnken) is an American actress.
Early life
Devry was born Thelma Elaine Mahnken to Fred P. and Hortense Mahnken in
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporate ...
, where she was raised. Her brother, Jeff, was three years her senior.
[ She began to ]model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
at age fifteen.[ She graduated from ]Compton High School
Compton High School is a high school in Compton, California, United States, part of the Compton Unified School District.
History
The school opened in 1896 as Compton Union High School and was later re-established as Compton Senior High School in ...
and later attended Compton Junior College
Compton College is a public community college in Compton, California. From 2006, when it lost its regional accreditation, to 2017, when it regained that accreditation, it operated as a part of El Camino College. Before and after the partnership ...
,Butte, Montana
Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to th ...
, until their 1952 divorce, upon which Devry returned to California, working as a carhop
A carhop is a waiter or waitress who brings fast food to people in their cars at drive-in restaurants. Carhops usually work on foot but sometimes use roller skates, as depicted in movies such as ''American Graffiti'' and television shows such a ...
at the Dolores Drive-In on Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the prin ...
.[
]
Career
She was billed as Elaine Davis in her early acting roles, including her first film, ''