Renee Godfrey
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2018) |
Renee Godfrey | |
|---|---|
| File:Renee Godfrey in Terror By Night.jpg Renee Godfrey in Terror By Night 1946 | |
| Born | Renee Vera Haal September 1, 1919 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | May 24, 1964 (aged 44) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress and singer |
| Years active | 1940–1964 |
| Spouse | (her death) |
| Children | 3 |
Renee Godfrey (born Renee Vera Haal; September 1, 1919 – May 24, 1964) was an American stage and motion picture actress and singer.
Biography
Haal was born September 1, 1919, in New York, with Dutch and French ancestry[1] as the daughter of Emil Haall, a Dutch diamond merchant, and his wife.[2]
Haal competed in the 1935 and 1937 Miss America pageants as Miss New York.[citation needed]
Beginning at age 11, she worked as a model, and as a sophomore in high school she switched to night classes so that she could model during the day.[2] She posed for artist John La Gatta and photographers Edward Steichen, Victor Keppler, John Hutchins,[3] and others. She appeared in advertisements that were published nationally, and she had the most-photographed hands and legs in New York.[4] When a film executive saw her image on a billboard, that led the way to her work in motion pictures.[1]
In 1938, she went to London for a singing engagement and met the actor/director/screenwriter Peter Godfrey,[citation needed] whom she married on August 6, 1941.[5] He was almost 20 years her senior.[citation needed] She was featured on both radio and television programs in Britain.[6]
She initially entered films at RKO, working as Renee Haal, and made her début in Sam Wood's Kitty Foyle (1940). Also in 1940, she was selected by RKO as that studio's actress most likely to succeed in a film career.[1]
Her next movie, Unexpected Uncle (1941), was directed by Peter Godfrey, who also directed her in the romantic thriller Highways by Night in 1942.[citation needed] Her work in Unexpecte Uncle resulted in her signing a long-term contract with RKO early in 1942.[7] She began working as Renee Godfrey in Up in Arms (1944).
During World War II, she and her husband entertained troops with amateur magic shows that they put on through the USO. She continued working in small roles, such as Vivian Vedder in Terror by Night (1946), in which she sported a particularly unconvincing English accent, and Mrs. Stebbins in Stanley Kramer's Inherit the Wind. She worked into the 1960s, appearing in Can-Can and Tender Is the Night.
With primary focus on raising her three children (which included a set of twins), she was seen only sporadically on TV during the 1950s with guest roles on programs hosted by Loretta Young and Jane Wyman.
For the most part, however, Haal was out of view. Her director-husband, who had flourished on 50s TV, was in ill health by the end of the decade. Taking secretarial and real estate classes to help support the family income, Haal tried making a comeback of sorts, finding bit roles in the films. She was also a guest player on such shows as Perry Mason, Hazel, The Donna Reed Show and Wagon Train.
Death
She died in Los Angeles, California, on 24 May 1964 from the effects of cancer. She was 44 years old.[8] Her final performance in the film, Those Calloways was released posthumously. Her body was buried at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.[9]
Filmography
Films roles
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Television roles
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References
- ^ a b c Heffernan, Harold (October 6, 1940). "'Infant Stars of 1941' Named by Movie Studios". Hartford Courant. Connecticut, Hartford. p. 59. Retrieved May 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Todd, John (January 25, 1945). "In Hollywood". The Times. Indiana, Munster. p. 6. Retrieved May 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Renee Haal Posed for $10 an Hour WITH Her Clothes". The Des Moines Register. Iowa, Des Moines. November 2, 1941. p. Magazine - 3. Retrieved May 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Perfect Model for 1942". The Minneapolis Star. Minnesota, Minneapolis. December 21, 1941. p. Magazine - 5. Retrieved May 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Renee Haal Wed to Film Director". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. August 7, 1941. p. 30. Retrieved May 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "One from London". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. October 3, 1943. p. 50. Retrieved May 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sign Renee Haal". The Times. Indiana, Munster. January 25, 1942. p. 8. Retrieved May 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Actor's Wife". The Town Talk. Louisiana, Alexandria. May 26, 1964. p. 15. Retrieved May 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 283. ISBN 9781476625997. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
External links
- Renee Godfrey at IMDb
- Renee Godfrey at weblo.com
- Biography at New York Times online
- Renee Godfrey at Find a Grave
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1919 births
- 1964 deaths
- Deaths from cancer in California
- Actresses from New York (state)
- Singers from New York (state)
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- American film actresses
- 20th-century American actresses
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American women singers
- Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)