Father Geek here with a sad bit of news for fans of old B&W "B" Films... Anne Gwynne, a stunning silver screen beauty in such great genre classics as BLACK FRIDAY with Lugosi & Karloff, WEIRD WOMAN with Lon Chaney Jr., and 1944's HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN with horror's 1st team of Karloff, Chaney, Carradine, Lionel Atwill, and George Zucco has died. She was 84. To be honest ol' Father Geek here wasn't aware that she was still with us. I met her once back in the mid 70's when she was at a collectors show along with Buster Crabbe who had played Flash to her Sonja in THE PURPLE DEATH FROM OUTER SPACE. I had her and Buster sign some of the promo paper I had from that early Flash Gordon serial. Buster died just a few months later. They made a striking older couple, their eyes sparkling with the fire of life, and smiling ear to ear as they met a whole new generation of fans for their films.
Here's what the AP Wire had to say about her...
Here's what the AP Wire had to say about her...
Actress Anne Gwynne, who starred in sci-fi and horror films including the 1940 serial "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe," "The Black Cat" and "Black Friday," died March 31 of a stroke following surgery.
Born in Waco, Texas, she studied drama at Stephens College in Missouri and moved to Los Angeles with her family. Her father was a wealthy apparel manufacturer, and the former Miss San Antonio first gained attention as a model for Catalina swimsuits.
She began acting in small theaters and was spotted by a talent scout who invited her to stop by Universal Studios. She was signed to a contract in 1939.
Some of her film credits include "The Black Cat," "House of Frankenstein," "The Strange Case of Doctor Rx," "Weird Woman," "Murder in the Blue Room" and the 1947 movie "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome."
Among Gwynne's favorite films were "The Black Cat" and two Westerns, "Ride 'Em Cowboy" with Abbott and Costello in 1942 and "Men of Texas" with Robert Stack and Broderick Crawford the same year.
She later married Hollywood attorney Max M. Gilford, who died in 1965.
The actress also worked in television, including the 1951-52
series "Public Prosecutor." She continued to appear in TV guest
spots and commercials, and made her final motion picture in 1970,
cast as Michael Douglas' mother in "Adam at 6 A.M."
Click here for a list of Anne's 59 films
