Vivian Austin
Vivian Austin (February 23, 1920 – August 1, 2004) was an American actress who appeared in a number of films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, although most were B movies.
She was born Irene Vivian Coe in Hollywood, California, and attended Hollywood High School.The young Vivian won numerous beauty contests and played a variety of bit parts (as well as extra and stunt work) in movies before being cast as the female romantic lead in The Adventures of Red Ryder (1940).[1]
Austin was signed to a stock contract in 1943 by Universal and as Vivian Austin (for Universal) or Terry Austin (under contract to Eagle-Lion Films) appeared in movies such as Destiny (1944), Trigger Trail (1944), Born To Speed (1947) and Philo Vance Returns (1947). Her career was cut short in the late 1940s by kidney failure and resultant blindness.[2]
After her retirement Austin helped Jane Russell to found the World Adoption International Fund (WAIF) and herself founded the Braille Auxiliary of the Desert, an organisation to support the charitable activities of the Braille Institute. In 1996 she lived in Palm Springs, California.[3]
She was married twice: to millionaire auto dealer Glenn Austin (d. 1967) and to ophthalmic surgeon Kenneth A. Grow (d. 1993), who had operated on her and helped to improve her sight. As Kenneth Grow had served in the United States Army, she and he are interred at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California[4]
References
- ↑ "An Interview with Vivian Austin". Western Clippings. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ↑ "Vivian Grow, 84; Pageant Winner Was B-Movie Actress". Los Angeles Times. 12 August 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ↑ Meeks, Eric G. (2012). Palm Springs Celebrity Homes: Little Tuscany, Racquet Club, Racquet Club Estates and Desert Park Estates Neighborhoods (Kindle). Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe. p. location number 318. ASIN B00A2PXD1G.
- ↑ Vivian Austin Grow at Find a Grave