Rochelle Hudson (born Rachael Elizabeth Hudson; March 6, 1916 – January 17, 1972) was an American film actress from the 1930s through the 1960s.
'' Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages''. Gale. 2007. Hudson was a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1931.

Early years

Hudson was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, the daughter of Ollie Lee Hudson and Lenora Mae Hudson. While in Oklahoma, she studied dancing, drama, piano, and voice. Hudson began her acting career as a teenager, and completed her high school education at a high school on the Fox studios lot.

Career

Hudson signed a contract with

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

on November 22, 1930, when she was 14 years old. She may be best remembered today for costarring in '' Wild Boys of the Road'' (1933), playing Cosette in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (1935), playing Mary Blair, the older sister of

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

's character in ''Curly Top'', and for playing

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...

's mother in '' Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). During her peak years in the 1930s, notable roles for Hudson included Richard Cromwell’s love interest in the

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

showcase '' Life Begins at 40'' (1935), the daughter of carnival barker W.C. Fields in ''

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

'' (1936), and Claudette Colbert’s adult daughter in '' Imitation of Life'' (1934). She played Sally Glynn, the fallen ingenue to whom

Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...

imparts the immortal wisdom "When women go wrong, men go right after them!" in the 1933 Paramount film, '' She Done Him Wrong''. In the 1954–1955 television season, Hudson co-starred with Gil Stratton and Eddie Mayehoff in the sitcom '' That's My Boy,'' based on a 1951

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

and

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

film of the same name.

Personal life

Hudson was married four times. All the unions were childless. Her first marriage was to Harold Thompson, in 1939. He was the head of the Storyline Department at Disney Studios. After their divorce in 1947 (although the trade publication ''Billboard'' reported that they divorced on September 4, 1945), she married a second time the following year, to ''Los Angeles Times'' sportswriter Dick Irving Hyland. The marriage lasted two years before the couple divorced. Hudson married her third husband, Charles K. Brust, in Jackson, Missouri on September 28, 1956. Little is known of the marriage other than they were divorced by June 1962 (he remarried). Hudson's final marriage was to Robert Mindell, a hotel executive. The two remained together for eight years before they divorced in 1971. Hudson actually was born in 1916, but the studio reportedly made her two years older for her to play a wider variety of roles, including romantic roles. In ''That's My Boy,'' she was cast as the mother of Gil Stratton, who was only six years her junior.

Death

In 1972, Hudson was found dead in her home at the Palm Desert Country Club. A business associate with whom she had been working in real estate discovered her body sprawled on the bathroom floor. She was 55 years old. Hudson died of a heart attack brought on by a liver ailment.Beaver County Times: "Death is investigated". January 19, 1972.

Filmography

* '' Sinkin' in the Bathtub'' (1930 short) as Honey (uncredited voice) * '' Laugh and Get Rich'' (1931) as Miss Jones - at Dance (uncredited) * '' Everything's Rosie'' (1931) as Lowe Party Guest by Punch Bowl (uncredited) * '' Fanny Foley Herself'' (1931) as Carmen * ''

Are These Our Children? ''Are These Our Children?'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Wesley Ruggles and written by Howard Estabrook. The film stars Eric Linden, Ben Alexander, Beryl Mercer, Mary Kornman, Arline Judge, and Rochelle Hudson. The f ...

'' (1931) as Mary * ''

Girl Crazy ''Girl Crazy'' is a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Co-leads Ginger Rogers and Ethel Merman made their stage debuts in the first production and Rogers became an overnight sta ...

'' (1932) as San Luz Señorita (uncredited) * ''

Is My Face Red? ''Is My Face Red?'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by William A. Seiter and written by Ben Markson and Casey Robinson. The film focuses on Bill Poster, a hugely successful newspaper and radio columnist, who pursues scandal in ...

'' (1932) as Newlywed Bride on Leviathon (uncredited) * '' Beyond the Rockies'' (1932) as Betty Allen * '' Hell's Highway'' (1932) as Mary Ellen * '' Secrets of the French Police'' (1932) as K-31 * '' The Savage Girl'' (1932) as The Girl * '' The Penguin Pool Murder'' (1932) as Telephone Operator * '' The Past of Mary Holmes'' (1933) as Betty * '' She Done Him Wrong'' (1933) as Sally * '' Lucky Devils'' (1933) as Visitor * '' Scarlet River'' (1933) as Rochelle Hudson (uncredited) * '' Love Is Dangerous'' (1933) as Gwendolyn * '' Notorious But Nice'' (1933) as Constance Martin * '' Doctor Bull'' (1933) as Virginia (Muller) / Banning * '' Wild Boys of the Road'' (1933) as Grace * '' Walls of Gold'' (1933) as Joan Street * '' Mr. Skitch'' (1933) as Emily Skitch * '' Harold Teen '' (1934) as Lillian 'Lillums' Lovewell * '' Such Women Are Dangerous'' (1934) as Vernie Little * '' Bachelor Bait '' (1934) as Cynthia Douglas * '' Judge Priest'' (1934) as Virginia Maydew * '' Imitation of Life'' (1934) as Jessie Pullman * '' The Mighty Barnum'' (1934) as Ellen * '' I've Been Around'' (1935) as Drue Waring * '' Life Begins at 40'' (1935) as Adele Anderson * ''

'' (1935) as Cosette * '' Curly Top'' (1935) as Mary Blair * ''

Way Down East ''Way Down East'' is a 1920 American silent film, silent melodrama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. It is one of four film adaptations of the 19th century play of the same name by Charlotte Blair Parker, Lottie Blair ...

'' (1935) as Anna Moore * '' Show Them No Mercy!'' (1935) as Loretta Martin * '' The Music Goes 'Round'' (1936) as Susanna Courtney * '' Everybody's Old Man'' (1936) as Cynthia Sampson * '' The Country Beyond'' (1936) as Jean Alison * ''

'' (1936, with W.C. Fields) as Poppy * '' Reunion'' (1936) as Mary MacKenzie * '' Woman-Wise'' (1937) as Alice Fuller * '' That I May Live'' (1937) as Irene Howard * '' Born Reckless'' (1937) as Sybil Roberts * '' She Had to Eat'' (1937) as Ann Garrison * '' Rascals'' (1938) as Margaret Adams * '' Mr. Moto Takes a Chance'' (1938) as Victoria Mason * '' Storm Over Bengal'' (1938) as Joan Lattimore * '' Pride of the Navy'' (1939) as Gloria Tyler * '' Pirates of the Skies'' (1939) as Barbara Whitney * '' Missing Daughters'' (1939) as Kay Roberts * '' Smuggled Cargo'' (1939) as Marian Franklin * '' Konga, the Wild Stallion'' (1939) as Judith Hadley * '' A Woman Is the Judge'' (1939) as Justine West * '' Convicted Woman'' (1940) as Betty Andrews * '' Men Without Souls'' (1940) as Suzan Leonard * '' Island of Doomed Men'' (1940) as Lorraine Danel * '' Babies for Sale'' (1940) as Ruth Williams * '' Girls Under 21'' (1940) as Frances White Ryan * '' Meet Boston Blackie'' (1941) as Cecelia Bradley * '' The Stork Pays Off'' (1941) as Irene Perry * '' The Officer and the Lady'' (1941) as Helen Regan * '' Rubber Racketeers'' (1942) as Nikki * '' Queen of Broadway'' (1942) as Sherry Baker * '' Bush Pilot'' (1947) as Hilary Ward * '' Devil's Cargo'' (1948) as Margo Delgado * '' Sky Liner'' (1949) as Amy Winthrop * ''Roots in the Soil'' (1949) * '' Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955) as Judy's mother * '' Strait-Jacket'' (1964) as Emily Cutler * '' The Night Walker'' (1964) as Hilda * '' Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors'' (1967) as Helen Spalding (final film role)

References

Sources

* ''Forty Years of Screen Credits, 1929-1969''. Two volumes. Compiled by John T. Weaver. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1970. Entries begin on page 57. * Biography and Genealogy Master Index. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, Cengage Learning. 1980–2009.

External links

*
Photographs of Rochelle Hudson

Hudson, Rochelle (1916–1972)
in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Rochelle 1916 births 1972 deaths American child actresses American film actresses Actresses from Oklahoma City People from Palm Desert, California 20th-century American actresses