Shirley Ross, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Shirley Ross
Acting

Shirley Ross
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1913-01-07,Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Gender
Female
Biography
Blonde, vivacious and obviously talented, Shirley Ross had the promisings of a big musical film star, but her career remained strictly second-string throughout her fairly short career. She is best remembered through her pairing with an entertainment legend: Shirley was afforded the opportunity of duetting with Bob Hope on the song "Thanks for the Memory" in the splashy musical The Big Broadcast of 1938. The song, of course, became Bob's beloved signature tune. Shirley was born Bernice Gaunt in Omaha, Nebraska in 1913. Her family moved west and she attended Hollywood High School, later studying at UCLA. Blessed with a gorgeous musical instrument, and an adept piano player as well, Shirley went on to sing with Gus Arnheim's band on the west coast, appearing at all the swanky clubs of the day, including the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, while making a decent name for herself on radio. She also appeared in a west coast production of "Anything Goes". MGM initially scooped her up, making her unbilled debut in the Jean Harlow starrer Blonde Bombshell (1933). She continued on just as obscurely in the films Hollywood Party (1934), Manhattan Melodrama (1934), The Girl from Missouri (1934), The Merry Widow (1934), and Age of Indiscretion (1935), but was finally promoted to a minor featured role in the classic earthquake epic San Francisco (1936) with Clark Gable and Jeanette MacDonald, in which Shirley sang "Happy New Year". In 1936, she found more visible work over at Paramount and spent the next few years there paired up vocally and romantically with either Bing Crosby or Bob Hope in their popular vehicles - The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936), Waikiki Wedding (1937), Thanks for the Memory (1938), Paris Honeymoon (1939), and Some Like It Hot (1939). Though most were trifling, insignificant time fillers, she was a diverting beauty and quite serviceable in them. She was even given the chance to topline a few of her own movies such as Prison Farm (1938), Sailors on Leave (1941), and A Song for Miss Julie (1945), which was her swan song. After leaving pictures, Shirley Ross was little heard or seen. Married first to agent John Kenneth 'Ken' Dolan, then to Everett S. 'Eddie' Blum, she had three children - two sons and a daughter. She died in Menlo Park, California of cancer in 1975.

Filmography

6.5

Bombshell
1933-10-13

The Big Broadcast of 1938

6.2

The Big Broadcast of 1938
1938-02-11

What Price Jazz

7.7

What Price Jazz
1934-05-28

Waikiki Wedding

5.9

Waikiki Wedding
1937-03-23

6.4

Buried Loot
1935-01-19

Some Like It Hot

7.6

Some Like It Hot
1939-05-19

Kisses for Breakfast

6.3

Kisses for Breakfast
1941-07-05

Thanks for the Memory

5.8

Thanks for the Memory
1938-11-11

Blossoms On Broadway

4.8

Blossoms On Broadway
1937-11-19

The Big Broadcast of 1937

6.2

The Big Broadcast of 1937
1936-10-05

Age of Indiscretion

4.9

Age of Indiscretion
1935-05-10

Paris Honeymoon

5.5

Paris Honeymoon
1939-01-27

A Song for Miss Julie

5.5

A Song for Miss Julie
1945-02-19

Manhattan Melodrama

7

Manhattan Melodrama
1934-05-04

6

Calm Yourself
1935-06-28

Two Hearts in Wax Time

5.1

Two Hearts in Wax Time
1935-03-23

6.8

Prison Farm
1938-06-17

7.5

Cafe Society
1939-03-03

Devil's Squadron

7

Devil's Squadron
1936-04-30

Sailors on Leave

8

Sailors on Leave
1941-09-30

Unexpected Father

6.2

Unexpected Father
1939-06-14

It's in the Air

6.3

It's in the Air
1935-10-10

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara

6.1

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
1935-12-07

6.6

I Live My Life
1935-10-04

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2

7

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
1941-12-05

7

Hideaway Girl
1936-11-20

6.6

San Francisco
1936-06-26

Jail Birds of Paradise

10

Jail Birds of Paradise
1934-03-10

Matinee Theater

5.3

Matinee Theater
1955-10-31