Frances Marion Dee (November 26, 1909 – March 6, 2004) was an American actress. Her first film was the musical '' Playboy of Paris'' (1930). She starred in the film ''

An American Tragedy ''An American Tragedy'' is a 1925 novel by American writer Theodore Dreiser. He began the manuscript in the summer of 1920, but a year later abandoned most of that text. It was based on the notorious murder of Grace Brown in 1906 and the trial ...

'' (1931). She is also known for starring in the 1943 Val Lewton psychological horror film ''

I Walked With a Zombie ''I Walked with a Zombie'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Pictures. It stars James Ellison, Frances Dee, and Tom Conway, and follows a Canadian nurse who travels to care for the aili ...

''.

Early life

The younger daughter of Francis "Frank" Marion Dee and his wife, the former Henriette Putnam, Frances Marion Dee was born in Los Angeles, California, where her father worked as a civil-service examiner. When Dee was seven years old, her family moved to Chicago, Illinois. She attended Shakespeare Grammar School and Hyde Park High School, where she went by the nickname of Frankie Dee. After graduating from Hyde Park High in 1927, of which she was vice president of her senior class, as well as voted Belle of the Year, she spent two years at the University of Chicago, where she participated in dramatic activities, then returned to California.

Career

Following her sophomore year in 1929, she went on summer vacation with her mother and older sister to visit family in the Los Angeles area. She began working as a movie extra as a lark. Her big break came when she was still an extra; she was offered the lead opposite

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", "Valentine", " Louise", "Mimi", and "Thank Heav ...

in '' Playboy of Paris''. The audience appeal established in two films opposite Paramount stars Charles "Buddy" Rogers and

Richard Arlen Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television. Biography Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...

led to the co-starring role of Sondra Finchley, opposite Phillips Holmes and

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen and film actress whose career spanned over 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Aca ...

, in

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

's prestigious and controversial production of ''

'', directed by

Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...

. Dee's additional screen credits included '' June Moon'', '' Little Women'', '' Of Human Bondage'', '' Becky Sharp'', and '' Payment on Demand''. She co-starred with her husband

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Western film, Westerns, for ...

in the Western '' Four Faces West'' (1948).

Personal life

Dee met actor

on the set of the 1933 film ''The Silver Cord''. The couple married on October 20, 1933, after a whirlwind courtship, and remained married until McCrea's death in 1990. During their lifetime together, the McCreas lived, raised their children, and rode their horses on their ranch in what was then an unincorporated area of eastern Ventura County, California. They ultimately donated several hundred acres of their personal property to the newly formed Conejo Valley

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Dee, like McCrea, was a Republican. Joel McCrea died on their 57th wedding anniversary. Dee was honored at the 1998 Memphis Film Festival in Tennessee. In 2004, Frances Dee McCrea died in Norwalk, Connecticut due to complications from a stroke at the age of 94.

Filmography

References

External links

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francesdeemccrea.com
Biography and obituary
Photographs of Frances Dee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dee, Frances 1909 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actors from Norwalk, Connecticut American film actresses University of Chicago alumni Actresses from Chicago Actresses from Los Angeles California Republicans WAMPAS Baby Stars