Jane Greer
Born Bettejane Greer September 9, 1924 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died August 24, 2001 (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place Westwood Memorial Park
Occupation Actress Years active 1945–1996
Spouses Rudy Vallée
(m. 1943; div. 1944)
Edward Lasker (m. 1947; div. 1963)
Children 3, including Lawrence Lasker
Partner Frank London (1965–2001; his death)
Jane Greer (born Bettejane Greer; September 9, 1924 – August 24, 2001) was an American film and television actress best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past.
In 2009, The Guardian named her one of the best actors to have never received an Academy Award nomination.
Early life
Greer was born in Washington, DC, the daughter of Charles Durell McClellan Greer, Jr., and his wife, Bettie.
In 1940, at age 15, Greer suffered from a facial palsy, which paralyzed the left side of her face.
She recovered, but the condition may have contributed to her "patented look" and "a calm, quizzical gaze and an enigmatic expression that would later lead RKO to promote her as 'The Woman with the Mona Lisa smile'."
She claimed that the facial exercises used to overcome the paralysis taught her the importance of facial expression in conveying human emotion.
On December 4, 1945, Greer had her name legally changed to Jane Greer by a court in Los Angeles.
She said of her previous name: "Mine is a sissy name. It's too bo-peepish, ingenueish, for the type of role I've been playing.
It's like Mary Lou or Mary Ann."
Career
Music
A beauty contest winner and professional model from her teens, Greer began her show-business career as a big-band singer. She sang in Washington, DC, with the orchestra of Enric Madriguera. She "sang phonetically in Spanish" with the group.
Film
With Robert Mitchum in Out of the Past
Howard Hughes spotted Greer modeling in the June 8, 1942, issue of Life, and sent her to Hollywood to become an actress. Hughes lent her to RKO to star in many films (another source says Greer's husband, Rudy Vallee, "helped her get out of her contract with Hughes and secure another pact with RKO Studios" including Dick Tracy (1945), Out of the Past (1947),
They Won't Believe Me (1947), and the comedy/suspense film The Big Steal (1949), with Out of the Past co-star Robert Mitchum.
Howard Hughes refused to let her work and when she finally resumed film acting, she was in You're in the Navy Now (1951), The Prisoner of Zenda (1952), Run for the Sun (1956), and Man of a Thousand Faces (1957).
In 1984, she was cast in Against All Odds, a remake of Out of the Past, as the mother of the character she had played in 1947.
In 1952, Greer obtained a release from her contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.
She said, "When there is a good role at MGM, the producers want Lana or Ava. There is no chance for another actress to develop into important stardom at the studio."
Television
Greer's noteworthy roles in television included guest appearances on episodes of numerous shows over the decades, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, Quincy, M.E., Murder, She Wrote, and a 1975 role with Peter Falk and Robert Vaughn in an episode of Columbo titled Troubled Waters.
She even got to make fun of Out of the Past in a parody with Robert Mitchum on TV's Saturday Night Live in 1987.
Greer joined the casts of Falcon Crest in 1984 and Twin Peaks in 1990 in recurring roles until her retirement in 1996.
Recognition
Greer was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1634 Vine Street for her contributions to the motion picture industry. The star was dedicated on February 8, 1960.
Greer was Catholic.
Greer died of cancer on August 24, 2001, at the age of 76, in Bel Air, Los Angeles.
Her body was interred at Los Angeles' Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
Complete filmography
Year Film Role Director Notes
1945 Pan-Americana Miss Downing Ruby Rosenberg (assistant) uncredited
1945 Two O'Clock Courage Helen Carter Anthony Mann as Bettejane Greer
1945 George White's Scandals Billie Randall Felix E. Feist as Bettejane Greer
1945 Dick Tracy Judith Owens William A. Berke
1946 The Falcon's Alibi Lola Carpenter James Anderson (assistant)
1946 Sunset Pass Lolita Baxter Doran Cox (assistant)
1946 The Bamboo Blonde Eileen Sawyer Anthony Mann
1947 Sinbad the Sailor Pirouze Richard Wallace
1947 They Won't Believe Me Janice Bell Irving Pichel
1947 Out of the Past Kathie Moffat Jacques Tourneur
1948 Station West Charlie Sidney Lanfield
1949 The Big Steal Joan Graham Don Siegel
1951 The Company She Keeps Diane Stuart John Cromwell
1951 You're in the Navy Now Ellie C. Harkness Henry Hathaway
1952 You for Me Katie McDermad Don Weis
1952 The Prisoner of Zenda Antoinette de Mauban Richard Thorpe
1952 Desperate Search Julie Heldon Joseph H. Lewis
1953 The Clown Paula Henderson Robert Z. Leonard
1953 Down Among the Sheltering Palms Diana Forrester Edmund Goulding
1956 Run for the Sun Katherine "Katie" Connors Roy Boulting
1957 Man of a Thousand Faces Hazel Bennet Chaney Joseph Pevney
1964 Where Love Has Gone Marian Spicer Edward Dmytryk
1965 Billie Agnes Carol Don Weis
1973 The Outfit Alma Macklin John Flynn
1979 A Christmas for Boomer TV movie
1982 The Shadow Riders Ma Traven Andrew V. McLaglen TV movie
1984 Against All Odds Mrs. Wyler Taylor Hackford
1986 Just Between Friends Ruth Chadwick Allan Burns
1989 Immediate Family Michael's Mother Jonathan Kaplan
1996 Perfect Mate Mom final film role
Partial television credits
The Ford Television Theatre - "Look for Tomorrow" (1953), "One Man Missing (1955)", "Moment of Decision" (1957)
Celebrity Playhouse - "Diamonds in the Sky" (1955) as Nina
Zane Grey Theater - "A Gun for My Bride" (1957), "The Vaunted" (1958), "Stagecoach to Yuma" (1960)
Playhouse 90 - "No Time at All" (1958) as Karen
Alfred Hitchcock Presents - "A True Account" (1959) as Mrs. Cannon-Hughes
Bonanza - "The Julia Bulette Story" (1959) as Julia Bulette
Stagecoach West - "High Lonesome" (1960) as Kathleen Kane
Thriller - "Portrait Without a Face" (1961) as Ann Moffat
Burke's Law - "Who Killed My Girl?" (1964) as Lonnie Smith
Columbo - "Troubled Waters" (1975) as Sylvia Danziger
Quincy, M.E. - "The Depth of Beauty" (1979) as Dorrie Larkin
Falcon Crest (1984) as Charlotte Pershing (recurring role, 6 episodes)
The Law & Harry McGraw - "Murder by Landslide" (1987) as Augusta Stillman
Saturday Night Live - "Robert Mitchum/Simply Red" (1987) as Kathy (uncredited)
Murder, She Wrote - "The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel" (1988) as Bonnie Phelps
Twin Peaks (1990) as Vivian Smythe Niles
Amanda S. Stevenson 
