Donna Lee Custer (née Hickey, January 8, 1928 – March 22, 2021), better known as May Wynn, was an American dancer, singer, and actress.

Early life

Wynn was born in New York City. She grew up in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast and Flushing ...

, and was descended from a line of performers: Her grandfather, Bertie Black, worked as a musician in vaudeville, and her father, Ray Hickey, was a song-and-dance performer in vaudeville. She was of Irish descent. Her early jobs included modeling, working in a department store, and being a page at La Guardia Field. Outside of work, she won a variety of talent contests.

Career

Wynn began performing under her birth name at New York's Copacabana nightclub at 17. She was tested for a key supporting role in ''

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American romantic Drama (film and television)#War drama, war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 From Here to Eternity (novel), novel of the same name by J ...

'' (1953), but Donna Reed played the part. In 1954, she adopted the stage name of May Wynn after she played a character of that name in ''

The Caine Mutiny ''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the mo ...

'' (1954). Wynn later was cast as the lead actress in the feature films '' The Man Is Armed'' and ''The White Squaw'' (both 1956), and in

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise), ''Dragnet'' franchise ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television series, ''Noah's Ark'', in which she played opposite Paul Burke and Victor Rodman. She guest-starred on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'' as Donna Sherwood in "The Case of the Glittering Goldfish" (1959). In 1958, she starred with her then-husband Jack Kelly in ''The Hong Kong Affair''. Wynn worked in real estate after leaving acting, and in 1989, she began work as a part-time aide with Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic School in Newport Beach, California. In January 2018, Wynn, then known as Donna Custer, was feted by the school on her 90th birthday. A ''Los Angeles Times'' profile stated that she "now uses her experience to help students at Our Lady Queen of Angels build confidence during her after-school public speaking classes."

Personal life

Wynn married actor Jack Kelly in October 1956. The couple divorced in 1964. She was married to Jack W. Custer from 1968 to 1979, when they were divorced.Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen: May Wynn profile
/ref> Wynn died in

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

in March 2021 at the age of 93.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1954) *''

They Rode West ''They Rode West'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Phil Karlson. It reunites two of the stars of ''The Caine Mutiny'', Robert Francis and May Wynn. It also stars Donna Reed and Philip Carey. Based on the story ''Wood Hawk'' by Le ...

'' (1954) *'' The Violent Men'' (1955) *''

The White Squaw ''The White Squaw'' is a 1956 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring David Brian, May Wynn and William Bishop (actor), William Bishop. Plot A Swedish settler (David Brian) starts a war when he tries to drive ...

'' (1956) *'' Hong Kong Affair'' (1958)

References

External links

*
AllMovie.com entry

Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynn, May 1928 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York (state) American Roman Catholics American dancers American female dancers American film actresses American people of Irish descent American television actresses California Republicans New York (state) Republicans Entertainers from New York City Western (genre) film actresses Western (genre) television actors 21st-century American women