Louise Stanley (born Louise Keyes; January 28, 1915 – December 28, 1982), was an American actress.

Early years

Born in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest ...

, Keyes was the daughter of Alvin Keyes, who was assistant director of the Illinois State Department of Public Safety. She changed her name to Stanley when she decided to embark on an acting career.

Film

Although obtaining many minor roles, her career never lifted her to major stardom, but she did star in roughly twenty-four

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s during her short career, most of which were B-Westerns. In 1935 she signed a contract with

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

, which was not renewed after the initial six months. She then began working for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, and was from time to time "loaned out" for use in westerns. In 1937 she was cast in the leading role, starring alongside

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason an ...

, in the western ''

Riders of the Rockies ''Riders of the Rockies'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Robert North Bradbury and written by Robert Emmett Tansey and Norman Leslie. The film stars Tex Ritter, Louise Stanley, Horace Murphy, Snub Pollard, Earl Dwire and Charles ...

'', directed by Robert N. Bradbury. Also in 1937, she began working for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

, where she made two films starring alongside

Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...

and

Andy Clyde Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967) was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned more than four decades. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer ...

. In 1939 she starred in '' The Oregon Trail'', starring alongside

Johnny Mack Brown John Brown (September 1, 1904 – November 14, 1974) was an American college football player and film actor billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career. He acted and starred mainly in Western films. Early life Born and raise ...

. She starred in several films with cowboy star Bob Steele and others with Ritter.

Personal life

Stanley's first husband was actor, writer and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer. Early years Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...

, whose career spanned more than 35 years before he died at age 60. They were married on March 10, 1937, and divorced on August 12, 1938. Following the end of her first marriage, Stanley married

singing cowboy A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and ...

, and romantic lead for many B-Westerns,

Addison Randall Addison Byron Owen Randall (May 12, 1906 – July 16, 1945) was an American film actor, chiefly in Westerns. He often used a pseudonym for his film work, chiefly Jack Randall, though he played roles as Allen Byron and Byron Vance too. Earl ...

. She and Randall divorced, then remarried. The second marriage between the two ended after Randall became involved in an affair with actress

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...

. On August 25, 1942, Stanley married

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

Charles Munn Jr. That marriage also was short-lived, ending in divorce only a short time later with allegations that he beat her. Louise Stanley retired from acting, and died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

Cocoa Beach, Florida Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,539 at the 2018 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The first non-native ...

in 1982.

Partial filmography

* '' Fugitive in the Sky'' (Unbilled) (1936) * ''

Lawless Land ''Lawless Land'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Albert Ray and starring Johnny Mack Brown and Louise Stanley. Originally made by Supreme Pictures in 1936, it was released by Republic Pictures the following year. Cast * Johnny Ma ...

'' (1937) * ''

Sing, Cowboy, Sing ''Sing, Cowboy, Sing'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring Tex Ritter and White Flash. Plot Drifters Tex and Duke happen to ride upon the massacre of a group hauling freight for the community by a gang hi ...

'' (1937) * ''

Durango Valley Raiders ''Durango Valley Raiders'' is a 1938 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by George H. Plympton. The film stars Bob Steele, Louise Stanley, Karl Hackett, Ted Adams, Forrest Taylor and Steve Clark. The film was released o ...

'' (1938) * '' Thunder in the Desert'' (1938) * ''

Danger on the Air ''Danger on the Air'' is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Otis Garrett. The film was based on the novel ''Death Catches Up with Mr. Kluck'' by author Xanthippe. Plot summary Nan Grey, as Christina "Steenie" MacCorkle, a radio advertisi ...

'' (1938) * '' The Oregon Trail'' (1939) * '' Yukon Flight'' (1940) * '' Pinto Canyon'' (1940) * '' Sky Bandits'' (1940) * ''

The Cheyenne Kid ''The Cheyenne Kid'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code Western film directed by Robert F. Hill and written by Jack Curtis. The film stars Tom Keene, Mary Mason, Roscoe Ates, Otto Hoffman and Al Bridge. The film was released on January 20, 193 ...

'' (1940)

References

External links

* * *
B-Western Ladies, Louise Stanley
People from Springfield, Illinois Actresses from Illinois Deaths from cancer in Florida American film actresses 1915 births 1982 deaths Warner Bros. contract players 20th-century American actresses {{US-film-actor-1910s-stub