Cathy Downs

Cathy Downs

in The Dark Corner (1946)
Born (1924-03-03)March 3, 1924
Port Jefferson, New York, U.S.
Died December 8, 1976(1976-12-08) (aged 52)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death cancer[1]
Occupation Actress
Years active 19451965
Spouse(s) Robert Brunson (1956-1963) (divorced)
Joe Kirkwood, Jr. (1952-1955) (divorced)

Cathy Downs (March 3, 1924 December 8, 1976) was an American film actress.

Biography

Downs was born in Port Jefferson, New York.[2] She was the daughter of James Nelson Downs and Edna Elizabeth Newman. A former Vogue cover model, she was brought to Hollywood in 1944 by a 20th Century-Fox talent scout.[3]

Downs began her film career with a small roles in State Fair (1945) and The Dolly Sisters (1945). In 1946 she played the title role in My Darling Clementine and Clifton Webb's unfaithful wife in The Dark Corner. Following the success of My Darling Clementine, Downs was cast in a prison drama For You I Die (1947), an Abbott & Costello comedy The Noose Hangs High, and several western films.[4]

By the beginning of the 1950s she was appearing in lower budget films, including some science fiction films, with one of these films Missile to the Moon marking her last screen appearance, in 1958.

She worked sporadically in television during the 1960s, with her final television appearance in 1965 on Perry Mason as murder victim and title character Millicent Barton in "The Case of the Hasty Honeymooner." She was unemployed the remaining eleven years of her life before she died in Los Angeles, California.

Downs has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to Television, at 6646 Hollywood Boulevard.[5]

Personal life

She was married first to Joe Kirkwood, Jr. (1952–1955; divorced) who played the character Joe Palooka in films and on TV.[6] They had long been out of touch, when, in 1976 Kirkwood heard that Downs was in dire financial straights.

Kirkwood was setting up a trust fund for her when he learned she had died of cancer at the age of 52. She is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery, Santa Monica.

Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1945 The Dolly Sisters Miss Mascara uncredited
State Fair Girl on carousel uncredited
Diamond Horseshoe Miss Cream Puff uncredited
1946 My Darling Clementine Clementine Carter
Do You Love Me Clothes model uncredited
The Dark Corner Mari Cathcart
1947 For You I Die Hope Novak
1948 The Noose Hangs High Carol Scott
Panhandle Jean 'Dusty' Stewart
1949 Massacre River Katherine 'Kitty' Reid
1950 Short Grass Sharon Lynch
The Sundowners (1950 film) Kathleen Boyce
1951 Joe Palooka in Triple Cross Anne Palooka
1952 Gobs and Gals Betty Lou Prentice
1953 Bandits of the West Joanne Collier
The Flaming Urge Charlotte Cruickshank
1955 The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues Lois King
The Big Tip Off Sister Mary Joan of Arc
1956 The She Creature Dorothy Chappel
Kentucky Rifle Amy Connors
The Oklahoma Woman Susan Grant
1957 The Amazing Colossal Man Carol Forrest
Curfew Breakers Mrs. Bowman
1958 Missile to the Moon June Saxton

References

External links

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