Evelyn Felisa Ankers (August 17, 1918 – August 29, 1985) was a British-American actress who often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American

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 ...

s during the 1940s, most notably '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) opposite Lon Chaney Jr., a frequent screen partner.

Early years

Ankers was born to British parents in

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. She was educated at The Latymer School, the Godolphin School, the Tacchomo School of Music and Dramatic Art, and the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

in London.

Stage

Ankers' stage debut came in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

at age 10 when she had the title role in ''The Daughter of Dolores''. On Broadway, she had the role of Lucy Gilham in ''Ladies in Retirement'' (1940). In London, she acted in ''Bats in the Belfry''.

Film

Known as "the Queen of the Bs", Ankers starred in films including ''The Wolf Man'' (1941), '' The Ghost of Frankenstein'' (1942), '' Captive Wild Woman'' (1943), '' Son of Dracula'' (1943), '' The Mad Ghoul'' (1943), '' Jungle Woman'' (1944), '' Weird Woman'' (1944), '' The Invisible Man's Revenge'' (1944), and '' The Frozen Ghost'' (1945). She appeared in ''

Hold That Ghost ''Hold That Ghost'' is a 1941 American horror comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello and featuring Joan Davis, Evelyn Ankers and Richard Carlson. It was produced and distributed by Universa ...

'' (1941), '' Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror'' (1942), '' His Butler's Sister'' (1943), '' The Pearl of Death'' (1944), '' Pardon My Rhythm'' (1944), '' Tarzan's Magic Fountain'' (1949), and played Calamity Jane in '' The Texan Meets Calamity Jane'' (1950), one of many movies for which she received top billing. A frequent screen partner was Lon Chaney Jr., although they privately disliked each other. Ankers made over fifty films between 1936 and 1950, then retired from movies at the age of 32 to be a

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which may include Parenting, caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; Sew ...

. She occasionally played television roles, such as that of saloon owner Robbie James in the 1958 episode "Gambler" of the ABC/ Warner Brothers

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series '' Cheyenne'', with Clint Walker in the title role. Ten years later she made her last film, '' No Greater Love'' (1960), with her husband Richard Denning.

Personal life

On September 6, 1942, Ankers married Richard Denning, to whom she remained married until her death in 1985. The couple had one child, Diana Denning (later Dwyer).Evelyn Ankers obituary
nytimes.com, August 31, 1985; accessed June 20, 2016. Ankers moved to Hawaii when her husband accepted the role of the governor in '' Hawaii 5-0''.Actress Evelyn Ankers, 67, Former `Queen` Of B Movies
August 31, 1985, Chicago Tribune; retrieved August 16, 2016. She died of ovarian cancer at the age of 67 on August 29, 1985, in

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. Ankers and Denning are buried at Makawao Veterans' Cemetery in Makawao, Hawaii. Ankers became an American citizen in August 1946.

Selected filmography

* '' Land Without Music'' (1936) as A Lady of the Court (segment "Who said Carlini?") (uncredited) * ''

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

'' (1936) as Party Girl (uncredited) * '' Fire Over England'' (1937) as Lady-in-Waiting (uncredited) * '' Wings of the Morning'' (1937) as Party Guest (uncredited) * '' Knight Without Armour'' (1937) as Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Murder in the Family'' (1938) as Dorothy Osborne * '' The Claydon Treasure Mystery'' (1938) as Rosemary Shackleford * ''

Coming of Age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

'' (1938) as Christine Squire * '' The Villiers Diamond'' (1938) as Joan Raymond * '' Second Thoughts'' (1938) as Molly Frame * '' Over the Moon'' (1939) as Sanitarium Patient (uncredited) * '' Bachelor Daddy'' (1941) as Beth Chase * '' Hit the Road'' (1941) as Patience Ryan * ''

'' (with Abbott and Costello) (1941) as Norma Lind * '' Burma Convoy'' (1941) as Ann McBragel * '' The Wolf Man'' (with Lon Chaney Jr. and

Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...

) (1941) as Gwen Conliffe * '' North to the Klondike'' (with Broderick Crawford and Lon Chaney Jr.) (1942) as Mary Sloan * '' The Ghost of Frankenstein'' (with Lon Chaney Jr. and

) (1942) as Elsa Frankenstein * '' Eagle Squadron'' (with

Robert Stack Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor and television host. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the America ...

and Diana Barrymore) (1942) as Nancy Mitchell * '' Pierre of the Plains'' (1942) as Celia Wellsby * '' Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror'' (with Basil Rathbone) (1942) as Kitty * '' The Great Impersonation'' (1942) as Lady Muriel Dominey * '' Keep 'Em Slugging'' (1943) as Sheila * '' Captive Wild Woman'' (1943) as Beth Colman * '' All by Myself'' (1943) as Jean Wells * ''

Hers to Hold ''Hers to Hold'' (aka ''Three Smart Girls Join Up'') is a 1943 American romantic musical comedy film and is the third film in '' Three Smart Girls'' trilogy. In ''Hers to Hold'', Deanna Durbin reprises her role as Penny Craig, who is the only ...

'' (1943) as Flo Simpson * '' Crazy House'' (1943) as Evelyn Ankers (uncredited) * '' Son of Dracula'' (with Lon Chaney Jr.) (1943) as Claire Caldwell * '' You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith'' (1943) as Lynn Smith * '' The Mad Ghoul'' (with Robert Armstrong) (1943) as Isabel Lewis * '' His Butler's Sister'' (1943, directed by

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage ( né Borzaga; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director for his film ''7th Heaven ...

) as Elizabeth Campbell * '' Ladies Courageous'' (with

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

and Diana Barrymore) (1944) as Wilhelmina * '' Weird Woman'' (1944) as Ilona Carr * '' Follow the Boys'' (1944) as Evelyn Ankers (uncredited) * '' Pardon My Rhythm'' (1944) as Julia Munson * '' Jungle Woman'' (1944) as Beth Mason * '' The Invisible Man's Revenge'' (with John Carradine) (1944) as Julie Herrick * '' The Pearl of Death'' (with Basil Rathbone and Rondo Hatton) (1944) as Naomi Drake * '' Bowery to Broadway'' (1944) as Bonnie Latour * '' The Frozen Ghost'' (with Lon Chaney Jr.) (1945) as Maura Daniel * '' The Fatal Witness'' (1945) as Priscilla Ames * '' The French Key'' (1946) as Janet Morgan * '' Queen of Burlesque'' (1946) as Crystal McCoy * '' Black Beauty'' (with Richard Denning) (1946) as Evelyn Carrington * '' Flight to Nowhere'' (1946) as Catherine Forrest * '' Spoilers of the North'' (1947) as Laura Reed * '' Last of the Redmen'' (1947) as Alice Munro * '' The Lone Wolf in London'' (with Gerald Mohr and Eric Blore) (1947) as Iris Chatham * '' Parole, Inc.'' (with Michael O'Shea and Turhan Bey) (1948) as Jojo Dumont * '' Tarzan's Magic Fountain'' (with Lex Barker) (1949) as Gloria James Jessup * '' The Texan Meets Calamity Jane'' (1950) as Calamity Jane * '' No Greater Love'' (with Richard Denning) (1960, Short) (final film role)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ankers, Evelyn 1918 births 1985 deaths American film actresses American television actresses British film actresses British television actresses Deaths from ovarian cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Hawaii Naturalized citizens of the United States 20th-century British actresses British expatriates in Chile British emigrants to the United States 20th-century American actresses People from Valparaíso Actors educated at The Latymer School