JG
Jane Greer
Actor
Born September 9, 1924Died August 24, 2001 (76 years)
Jane Greer was a film and television actress who was perhaps best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past.
A beauty-contest winner and professional model from her teens, Greer began her show-business career as a big-band singer. She sang in Washington, DC, with the orchestra of Enric Madriguera. She "sang phonetically in Spanish" with the group.
Howard Hughes spotted Greer modeling in the June 8, 1942 issue of Life, and sent her to Hollywood to become an actress. Hughes lent her to RKO to star in many films (another source says Greer's husband, Rudy Vallee, "helped her get out of her contract with Hughes and secure another pact with RKO Studios") including Dick Tracy, Out of the Past, They Won't Believe Me, and the comedy/suspense film The Big Steal, with Out of the Past co-star Robert Mitchum. Hughes refused to let her work for a time; when she finally began film acting, she appeared in You're in the Navy Now, The Prisoner of Zenda, Run for the Sun, and Man of a Thousand Faces. In 1984, she was cast in Against All Odds, a remake of Out of the Past, as the mother of the character she had played in 1947. In 1952, Greer obtained a release from her contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. She said, "When there is a good role at MGM, the producers want Lana or Ava. There is no chance for another actress to develop into important stardom at the studio".
Greer's noteworthy roles in television included guest appearances on episodes of numerous shows over the decades, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, Quincy, M.E., Murder, She Wrote, and a 1975 gig with Peter Falk and Robert Vaughn in an episode of Columbo titled Troubled Waters. She even got to make fun of Out of the Past in a parody with Robert Mitchum on TV's Saturday Night Live in 1987. Greer joined the casts of Falcon Crest in 1984 and Twin Peaks in 1990 in recurring roles until her retirement in 1996.
Greer was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1634 Vine Street for her contributions to the motion picture industry. The star was dedicated on February 8, 1960. Greer died of cancer on August 24, 2001, at the age of 76, in Bel Air, Los Angeles. Her body was interred at Los Angeles' Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jane Greer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
A beauty-contest winner and professional model from her teens, Greer began her show-business career as a big-band singer. She sang in Washington, DC, with the orchestra of Enric Madriguera. She "sang phonetically in Spanish" with the group.
Howard Hughes spotted Greer modeling in the June 8, 1942 issue of Life, and sent her to Hollywood to become an actress. Hughes lent her to RKO to star in many films (another source says Greer's husband, Rudy Vallee, "helped her get out of her contract with Hughes and secure another pact with RKO Studios") including Dick Tracy, Out of the Past, They Won't Believe Me, and the comedy/suspense film The Big Steal, with Out of the Past co-star Robert Mitchum. Hughes refused to let her work for a time; when she finally began film acting, she appeared in You're in the Navy Now, The Prisoner of Zenda, Run for the Sun, and Man of a Thousand Faces. In 1984, she was cast in Against All Odds, a remake of Out of the Past, as the mother of the character she had played in 1947. In 1952, Greer obtained a release from her contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. She said, "When there is a good role at MGM, the producers want Lana or Ava. There is no chance for another actress to develop into important stardom at the studio".
Greer's noteworthy roles in television included guest appearances on episodes of numerous shows over the decades, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, Quincy, M.E., Murder, She Wrote, and a 1975 gig with Peter Falk and Robert Vaughn in an episode of Columbo titled Troubled Waters. She even got to make fun of Out of the Past in a parody with Robert Mitchum on TV's Saturday Night Live in 1987. Greer joined the casts of Falcon Crest in 1984 and Twin Peaks in 1990 in recurring roles until her retirement in 1996.
Greer was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1634 Vine Street for her contributions to the motion picture industry. The star was dedicated on February 8, 1960. Greer died of cancer on August 24, 2001, at the age of 76, in Bel Air, Los Angeles. Her body was interred at Los Angeles' Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jane Greer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
| 2009 | The Rules of Film Noir · as Kathie (clip From Out Of The Past (1947)) |
| 1990 | Twin Peaks (TV Series) · as Vivian Smythe Niles |
| 1989 | Immediate Family · as Michael's Mother |
| 1988 | HeartBeat (TV Series) · as Valerie |
| 1987 | The Law & Harry McGraw (TV Series) · as Augusta Stillman |
| 1986 | Just Between Friends · as Ruth Chadwick |
| 1985 | The Insiders (TV Series) · as Mrs. West |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) · as Bonnie Phelps |
| 1984 | Against All Odds · as Mrs. Wyler |
| 1982 | The Shadow Riders · as Ma Traven |
| 1981 | Falcon Crest (TV Series) · as Charlotte Pershing |
| 1976 | Quincy, M.E. (TV Series) |
| 1975 | Saturday Night Live (TV Series) · as Kathie |
| 1973 | The Outfit · as Alma |
| 1971 | Columbo (TV Series) · as Sylvia Danziger |
| 1965 | Billie · as Agnes Carol |
| 1964 | Where Love Has Gone · as Marian Spicer |
| 1963 | Burke's Law (TV Series) · as Lonnie Smith |
| 1960 | Stagecoach West (TV Series) · as Kathleen Kane |
| 1960 | Thriller (TV Series) · as Ann Moffat |
| 1959 | |
| 1957 | Man of a Thousand Faces · as Hazel Bennet Chaney |
| 1957 | Suspicion (TV Series) · as Clare Stengler |
| 1956 | Zane Grey Theater (TV Series) · as Ellie Matson |
| 1956 | Playhouse 90 (TV Series) · as Karen |
| 1956 | Run for the Sun · as Katherine 'katie' Connors |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) · as Mrs. Cannon-Hughes |
| 1953 | The Revlon Mirror Theater (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1953 | The Clown · as Paula Henderson |
| 1952 | Desperate Search · as Julie Heldon |
| 1952 | The Prisoner of Zenda · as Antoinette De Mauban |
| 1952 | Ford Theatre: All Star Theatre (TV Series) · as Mona Patton |
| 1952 | You for Me · as Katie Mcdermad |
| 1952 | Down Among the Sheltering Palms · as Diana Forrester |
| 1951 | The Company She Keeps · as Diane Stuart Aka Mildred Lynch |
| 1951 | You're in the Navy Now · as Ellie C. Harkness |
| 1949 | The Big Steal · as Joan 'chiquita' Graham |
| 1948 | Station West · as Charlie |
| 1947 | Out of the Past · as Kathie Moffat |
| 1947 | They Won't Believe Me · as Janice Bell |
| 1947 | Sinbad, the Sailor · as Pirouze |
| 1946 | The Bamboo Blonde · as Eileen Sawyer |
| 1946 | Sunset Pass · as Lolite Baxter |
| 1946 | The Falcon's Alibi · as Lola Carpenter |
| 1945 | Dick Tracy · as Judith Owens |
| 1945 | George White's Scandals · as Billie Randall |
| 1945 | Pan-Americana · as Miss Downing (uncredited) |
| 1945 | Two O'Clock Courage · as Helen Carter (as Bettejane Greer) |