Sheila Ryan
| Sheila Ryan | |
|---|---|
Ryan in 1941
|
|
| Born |
Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin June 8, 1921 Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | November 4, 1975 (aged 54) Woodland Hills Los Angeles, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Lung Disease |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1939–1968 |
| Spouse(s) |
Allan Lane (m. 1945; div. 1946) Edward Norris (1950s) Pat Buttram (m. 1952; her death 1975) |
| Children | 1 (deceased) |
Sheila Ryan (June 8, 1921 – November 4, 1975) was an American actress who appeared in more than 60 movies.
Ryan had brown hair, was 5 feet, 2 inches tall, and weighed 107 pounds. A 1940 newspaper story included her in a group of actresses "whose alluring curves alone might have disqualified them from screen careers not so long ago," in the words of Travis Banton, a Hollywood stylist.
Born as Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin in Topeka, Kansas, she went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18.
Ryan's acting career began when she tried out for a role on a program at television station W6XAO (later KCBS) in Los Angeles, California. An article in a contemporary magazine reported, "She proved to be a perfect television type and was given a role at once."
She also had roles in several television shows such as The Lone Ranger, notably the Pete-and-Pedro episode (#7 in 1949) and another entitled "The Whimsical Bandit" in 1950.
At age 19, Ryan was selected by a group of Hollywood directors as one of 13 "baby stars of 1940." She was signed by 20th Century Fox in 1940 and was credited in her early films as Bettie McLaughlin. Adopting the name Sheila Ryan, she starred in the crime drama Dressed to Kill the following year.
Ryan appeared in other memorable films, including two Laurel and Hardy movies, Great Guns (1941) and A-Haunting We Will Go (1942), and the Busby Berkeley musical The Gang's All Here (1943). Ryan also was featured in several Charlie Chan and Michael Shayne mysteries.
By the late 1940s, however, her career waned and she began appearing mostly in B movies, especially low-budget westerns.
She worked with Gene Autry, co-starring in several of his films, including The Cowboys and the Indians (1949), and Mule Train (1950) as well as with Roy Rogers in films like Song of Texas.
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