Vicky Lane (born Grace Patricia Rose Coghlan (April 23, 1926 – August 1, 1983) was an Irish-American film

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who also worked as a singer.

Life and work

Lane first went to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

with her family, then to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. As a teenager, her first

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

role was in 1942. She became known for her role as the Ape Woman Paula Dupree in the horror film '' The Jungle Captive'' (1945, directed by Harold Young), a role she took over from

Acquanetta Acquanetta (born July 17, 1921 – August 16, 2004), nicknamed "The Venezuelan Volcano", was an American B-movie actress during the 1940s and 1950s. Acquanetta was most known for her "exotic" beauty. Early years The facts of Acquanetta's orig ...

, who had played the character in two previous instalments of Universal's Ape Woman film series. It was followed by supporting roles in films such as '' The Cisco Kid Returns'' (1945) and later appearances in TV series such as ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'', in 'The Day the Balloon went Up', (1969), as the girl on the tandem. After a brief marriage to film actor

Tom Neal Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. (January 28, 1914 – August 7, 1972) was an American actor and Amateur boxing, amateur boxer. Between 1932 and 1934, he was an amateur boxer who fought in many fights. As an actor, he was best known for his co-starring ...

(1948–49), Lane married jazz musician and bandleader

Pete Candoli Walter Joseph "Pete" Candoli(June 28, 1923 – January 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played with the big bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton and worked in the studios of the recording and television industries. Career A native ...

in 1953, with whom she had a daughter. Around 1953, she recorded several songs for the

Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

label with Candoli,

Jimmy Rowles James George Hunter (August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996), known professionally as Jimmy Rowles (sometimes spelled Jimmie Rowles), was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored multiple styles in ...

Joe Mondragon Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin. Career M ...

and

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, ...

such as ''

'S Wonderful "S Wonderful" is a 1927 popular song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced in the Broadway musical ''Funny Face'' (1927) by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns. The song is considered a standard and has ...

'' and ''I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues''. Candoli also arranged the songs for her only solo album, which she recorded with the Candoli Orchestra in 1959 for Time Records, ''I Swing for You''. Then she performed songs in the jazz-oriented style like ''Love Is Not Born'', ''My Romance'', ''The Song Is You'' and ''

The Trolley Song "The Trolley Song" is a song written by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin and made famous by Judy Garland in the 1944 film ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. In a 1989 NPR interview, Blane and Martin reminisced about the song's genesis. They were assigned to ...

''. In 1958, the couple divorced. Lane left Hollywood in 1963 and lived in Florida.

Filmography

*''Inflation'' (short) (1942) *'' Presenting Lily Mars'' (1943) *'' Hitler's Madman'' (uncredited) (1943) *''

Bathing Beauty ''Bathing Beauty'' is a 1944 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney, and starring Red Skelton and Esther Williams. Although this was not Williams' screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The f ...

'' (uncredited) (1944) *'' The Cisco Kid Returns'' (1945) *'' The Jungle Captive'' (1945) *''

Ethel Barrymore Theatre The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 243 West 47th Street (Manhattan), 47th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1928, it ...

'' (TV series) 1 Episode (1956)

References

External links

* * * 20th-century Irish actresses 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Irish expatriate actresses in the United States 1926 births 1983 deaths Actresses from County Dublin {{Ireland-actor-stub