Evelyn Ankers

Evelyn Ankers

Evelyn Ankers pin-up from Yank, the Army Weekly, July 1945
Born Evelyn Felisa Ankers
(1918-08-17)August 17, 1918
Valparaíso, Chile
Died August 29, 1985(1985-08-29) (aged 67)
Maui, Hawaii, U.S.
Cause of death Ovarian cancer
Resting place Maui Veterans Cemetery, Makawao, Hawaii
Occupation Actress
Years active 1936–1960
Spouse(s) Richard Denning (m. 1942–85) (her death)
Children Diana Denning Dwyer[1]
Ankers, Turhan Bey and David Bruce in The Mad Ghoul (1943)
Nigel Bruce, Ankers and Basil Rathbone in Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

Evelyn Felisa Ankers (August 17, 1918 – August 29, 1985) was a British-American actress born in Valparaiso, Chile.[1] She often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American horror films during the 1940s, most notably The Wolf Man (1941) opposite Lon Chaney, Jr., a frequent screen partner. She was relatively tall, standing 5' 6 1/2" without heels.

Career

Known as "the Queen of the Bs",[1] Ankers' other films include The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Captive Wild Woman (1943), Son of Dracula (1943), The Mad Ghoul (1943), Jungle Woman (1944), Weird Woman (1944), The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944), and The Frozen Ghost (1945). She appeared in Hold That Ghost (1941), Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), His Butler's Sister (1943), The Pearl of Death (1944), Pardon My Rhythm (1944), Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949), and played Calamity Jane in The Texan Meets Calamity Jane (1950), one of many movies for which she received top billing.

Ankers made over fifty films between 1936 and 1950, then retired from movies at the age of 32 to be a housewife. She occasionally played television roles, such as that of saloon owner Robbie James in the 1958 episode "Gambler" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series Cheyenne, with Clint Walker in the title role. She returned ten years later to make one more film, No Greater Love (1960), with her husband Richard Denning.

Biography

Ankers moved to Hawaii when her husband took the role of the governor in Hawaii 5-0.[2] She died of ovarian cancer at the age of 67 on August 29, 1985 in Maui.[1]

Selected filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Evelyn Ankers obituary, nytimes.com, August 31, 1985; accessed June 20, 2016.
  2. ↑ Actress Evelyn Ankers, 67, Former `Queen` Of B Movies, 31 August 1985, Chicago Tribune; retrieved August 16, 2016.
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