Paula Stone (January 20, 1912 – December 23, 1997) was an American theater and motion pictures actress from New York City.
Early life
She was the daughter of
Fred Stone
Fred Andrew Stone (August 19, 1873 – March 6, 1959) was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act in vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned hi ...
,
[ a stage actor, dancing comedian, and owner of the Fred Stone theatrical stock company. Her mother, Allene Crater Stone, acted with her father and was a singer. The family had a ranch near ]Lyme, Connecticut
Lyme is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States, situated on the eastern side of the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Conn ...
, as well as a home in Forest Hills, Queens, New York.
Theater
Stone made her debut in May 1925, at the Illinois Theater
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
in Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, in ''Stepping Stones''. She was 13 years old. Her sister Dorothy Stone made her stage debut at 16. Dorothy performed with Fred Stone at the Globe Theater in Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
in ''Criss-Cross'' in December 1926. Stone was then 14 and training to be a stage actress within two years. Her first ambition was to be a singer like her mother. Another sister, Carol (age 12), also aspired to go into theater work.
Stone appeared with Fred and Dorothy in ''Ripples
Ripple may refer to:
Science and technology
* Capillary wave, commonly known as ripple, a wave traveling along the phase boundary of a fluid
** Ripple, more generally a disturbance, for example of spacetime in gravitational waves
* Ripple (electr ...
'', a show which debuted in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
, in January 1930. The first New York show of the same production came at the New Amsterdam Theater
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater at 214 West 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. One of the first Broadway venues to open in the Times Square ne ...
in February. Stone and her father teamed in ''Smiling Faces'', produced by the Shubert Theater owners in 1931. Mack Gordon
Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years between 1940 and 1 ...
and Harry Revel wrote the music and lyrics. The musical had its first night in Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
.
Stone toured in ''You Can't Take It With You'', ''Idiots Delight'', and other plays. In November 1940 she was cast with Marcy Wescott for the Dennis King musical show. It debuted at the Forrest Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
When her husband was reported missing during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Stone began doing camp and canteen shows with her father. The two collaborated again in a play produced by the Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of ...
in September 1950.
Stone produced ''Sweethearts'', ''Carnival in Flanders'', ''Rumple'', ''The Rain Prince'' and ''The Red Mill.'' She and Michael Sloane co-produced the Broadway musical '' Top Banana'' (1951).
Films
She signed with RKO Radio
RKO General Inc. (previously General Teleradio Inc. and RKO Teleradio Pictures Inc.) was an American broadcasting company that, from 1952 through 1991, served as the main holding company for the noncore businesses of the General Tire and Rubber C ...
for a singing and dancing role in a musical in May 1935. Her second motion picture role featured her opposite Dick Foran
John Nicholas "Dick" Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American actor and singer, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. He appeared in dozens of movies of every ...
in ''Treachery Rides The Range'' (1936), a Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
release. The movie sought to illustrate injustices perpetrated by buffalo traders against Cheyenne Indians
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...
. Foran and Stone provided the romantic interest. Her first motion picture paired her with William Boyd William, Willie, Will or Bill Boyd may refer to:
Academics
* William Boyd (educator) (1874–1962), Scottish educator
* William Boyd (pathologist) (1885–1979), Scottish-Canadian professor and author
* William Alexander Jenyns Boyd (1842–1928), ...
in ''Hop-Along Cassidy
''Hop-Along Cassidy'' (reissued as ''Hopalong Cassidy Enters'') is a 1935 American Western film that features the character '' Hop-Along Cassidy'' created by writer Clarence E. Mulford. This is the first of 66 ''Hopalong Cassidy'' films produc ...
'' (1935).
She had the role of Mabel, best friend of the leading lady
A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person w ...
Pearl, in ''The Girl Said No'' (1937). The movie was directed by Andrew L. Stone and received an Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nomination. Her final motion picture was ''Laugh It Off'' (1939), a musical released by Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
.
Radio
Stone took singing lessons. She was hired by WNEW in New York City, to broadcast the news and gossip of Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
to servicemen. She wrote the scripts for this program and later secured her own show on the Mutual Radio Network
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. r ...
called ''Leave It to the Girls
''Leave It to the Girls'' is an American radio and television talk show, created by Martha Rountree, and broadcast, in various forms, from the 1940s through the 1980s.
Broadcast details Radio version
The series was originally a radio progra ...
'', a program that would allow a panel of quick-witted women to discuss problems and issues sent in by listeners. Stone served as moderator, and ''Girls'' ran for four years on the Mutual network, finishing its run in 1949. In 1950 she hosted ''Hollywood USA''. The show related entertainment news and she interviewed celebrities. On June 9, 1952, she debuted the ''Paula Stone Show'' on the Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...
. She sought to mix her own knowledge of Hollywood people with interviews of celebrities, including Dennis Morgan
Dennis Morgan (born Earl Stanley Morner; December 20, 1908 – September 7, 1994) was an American actor-singer. He used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting the name under which he gained his greatest fame.
According to one ob ...
, Johnnie Ray
John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...
, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...
, Carlton Carpenter, and Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s.
She was nom ...
.
Television
In 1954 Stone worked for Broadway Angels, Inc., in New York City. She was the MC of ''Angel Auditions'', a television show which examined prospective
Broadway shows. The plays were tried in summer stock and considered for production on Broadway.
Marriage
Stone wed orchestra leader Duke Daly (whose real name was Linwood A. Dingley) on July 16, 1939, at the Wilshire Methodist Church in Los Angeles. Daly, 30, resided in Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, before moving to Beverly Hills in June 1939. He joined the Canadian RAF in January 1942 and flew many missions over Germany before he was killed in action on the return leg of a nighttime bombing raid over Duisburg, Germany, on May 13, 1943. Stone later married Michael Sloane in 1946. She had a son and a daughter.[
Stone died on December 23, 1997, at Sherman Oaks Medical Center in ]Sherman Oaks, California
Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...
, aged 85.[
]
Filmography
References
Notes
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External links
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Corbis page featuring some portraits of Paula Stone
Obscure Actresses
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Paula
American stage actresses
American film actresses
American television actresses
Western (genre) film actresses
American female dancers
American radio actresses
Actresses from New York City
20th-century American actresses
1912 births
1997 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women singers
Dancers from New York (state)
20th-century American dancers