Evelyn Ankers
Encyclopedia
Evelyn Ankers was a British actress born in Chile
. She often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady
in many American horror film
s during the 1940s, most notably The Wolf Man (1941) at age 23 opposite Lon Chaney, Jr.
, a frequent screen partner. Known as "the Queen of the Screamers", her 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).
Ankers also 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), for which she received top billing.
Ankers made over fifty films between 1936 and 1950, then retired from movies to be a housewife
. She occasionally played television roles and returned ten years later to make one more film, No Greater Love
(1960), with her husband Richard Denning
.
She died of ovarian cancer
at the age of 67 on 29 August 1985 in Maui, Hawaii.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. She often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady
Leading lady
Leading lady is an informal term for the actress who plays a secondary lead or supporting role, usually a love interest, to the leading actor in a film or play. It is not usually applied to the leading actress in the performance if her character is the protagonist.A leading lady can also be an...
in many American horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s during the 1940s, most notably The Wolf Man (1941) at age 23 opposite Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
, a frequent screen partner. Known as "the Queen of the Screamers", her other films include The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein, is an American monster horror film released in 1942. The movie is the fourth in a series of films produced by Universal Studios based upon characters in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and features Lon Chaney, Jr...
(1942), Captive Wild Woman
Captive Wild Woman
Captive Wild Woman is a sci-fi horror film, starring John Carradine, Milburn Stone, Evelyn Ankers, and Acquanetta. It was released by Universal Pictures and was directed by Edward Dmytryk.-Plot:...
(1943), Son of Dracula
Son of Dracula (1943 film)
Son of Dracula is a 1943 American horror film directed by Robert Siodmak - his first film for Universal studios - with a screenplay based on an original story by his brother Curt. The film stars Lon Chaney, Jr. and his frequent co-star Evelyn Ankers. Notably it is the first film where a vampire...
(1943), The Mad Ghoul
The Mad Ghoul
The Mad Ghoul is a science fiction horror film featuring George Zucco as Dr. Alfred Morris. It was also known as Mystery of the Ghoul.- Plot :...
(1943), Jungle Woman
Jungle Woman
Jungle Woman is a 1944 horror film released by Universal Pictures. The movie features Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds, Lois Collier, Milburn Stone, Douglass Dumbrille, and Acquanetta...
(1944), Weird Woman
Weird Woman
Weird Woman is an Inner Sanctum mystery film directed by Reginald Le Borg, and starring Lon Chaney, Jr., Anne Gwynne, and Evelyn Ankers. The "Inner Sanctum" franchise originated with a popular radio series and all of the films star Lon Chaney, Jr....
(1944), The Invisible Man's Revenge
The Invisible Man's Revenge
The Invisible Man's Revenge is a 1944 horror film directed by Ford Beebe and written by Bertram Millhauser. It stars John Carradine as a mad scientist who tests his experiment on Jon Hall....
(1944) and The Frozen Ghost
The Frozen Ghost
The Frozen Ghost is a mystery film starring Lon Chaney, Jr. and Evelyn Ankers, and directed by Harold Young. It is the fourth of the six "Inner Sanctum" mystery films.-Plot:...
(1945).
Ankers also appeared in Hold That Ghost
Hold That Ghost
Hold That Ghost is a 1941 comedy horror film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello and featuring Joan Davis, Evelyn Ankers, and Shemp Howard....
(1941), Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror is the third film in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes movies. Made in 1942, the film combines elements of the Arthur Conan Doyle story "His Last Bow" and loosely parallels the real-life activities of Lord Haw-haw...
(1942), His Butler's Sister
His Butler's Sister
His Butler's Sister is a 1943 comedy film directed by Frank Borzage. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording His Butler's Sister is a 1943 comedy film directed by Frank Borzage. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording His Butler's Sister is a 1943...
(1943), The Pearl of Death
The Pearl of Death
The Pearl of Death is a 1944 Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. The story is loosely based on Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" but features some additions, such as Evelyn Ankers as an accomplice of the villain, played...
(1944), Pardon My Rhythm
Pardon My Rhythm
Pardon My Rhythm is a 1944 movie starring Gloria Jean, Patric Knowles, and Evelyn Ankers, featuring Mel Tormé and Bob Crosby, and directed by Felix E...
(1944), Tarzan's Magic Fountain
Tarzan's Magic Fountain
Tarzan's Magic Fountain is a 1949 Tarzan film starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Brenda Joyce as his companion Jane. The film also features Albert Dekker and Evelyn Ankers, was co-written by Curt Siodmak, and directed by Lee Sholem....
(1949), and played Calamity Jane
Calamity Jane
Martha Jane Cannary Burke , better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, and professional scout best known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok, but also for having gained fame fighting Native Americans...
in The Texan Meets Calamity Jane
The Texan Meets Calamity Jane
The Texan Meets Calamity Jane is a 1950 Western movie starring Evelyn Ankers as Calamity Jane and written and directed by Ande Lamb. The film is notable for being Ankers' last movie appearance for ten years.-Cast:*Evelyn Ankers ... Calamity Jane...
(1950), for which she received top billing.
Ankers made over fifty films between 1936 and 1950, then retired from movies to be a housewife
Housewife
Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...
. She occasionally played television roles and returned ten years later to make one more film, No Greater Love
No Greater Love (1960 film)
No Greater Love is a 1960 film starring Evelyn Ankers and Richard Denning and is notable for being Ankers' last movie.-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
(1960), with her husband Richard Denning
Richard Denning
Richard Denning , was an American actor who starred in such movies as Creature from the Black Lagoon and An Affair to Remember , and on radio with Lucille Ball as her husband George Cooper in My Favorite Husband , the forerunner of television's I Love Lucy, for which Denning was replaced by Ball's...
.
She died of ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
at the age of 67 on 29 August 1985 in Maui, Hawaii.
Selected filmography
- Second ThoughtsSecond Thoughts (1938 film)Second Thoughts is a 1938 British drama film directed by Albert Parker and starring Frank Fox, Evelyn Ankers, Frank Allenby and Joan Hickson. It was also released as Crime of Peter Frame. A chemist is left unhinged following a laboratory explosion and begins to plot a murder.-Cast:* Frank Fox -...
(1938) - The Wolfman (1941)
- His Butler's SisterHis Butler's SisterHis Butler's Sister is a 1943 comedy film directed by Frank Borzage. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording His Butler's Sister is a 1943 comedy film directed by Frank Borzage. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording His Butler's Sister is a 1943...
(1943) - Son of DraculaSon of DraculaSon of Dracula can refer to:* Son of Dracula , a 1943 horror film starring Lon Chaney Jr.* Son of Dracula , a 1974 film starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr, as well as a soundtrack album of the same title....
(1943)