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BAT Modern Beauties 2nd Series Patricia Ellis No 14 1916-1970
Born Patricia Leftwich in Birmingham, Michigan. Patricia began her stage career after leaving school. Given a film test while appearing on stage in New York, she was put under contract by Warner Bros. Patricia Ellis called herself "the Queen of B pictures at Warner Brothers". With only three years of theatrical experience in New York under her belt, she started in films in 1932.
In 1932, she had two small parts, both uncredited, in the films 'Three on a Match' and 'Central Park'.
Her first credited role was in the 1933 film 'The King's Vacation', starring George Arliss and Marjorie Gateson.
After that film, her career took off, with her starring mostly in lower-budget B-movies but still working steadily. She had roles in eight films in 1933, co-starring that year with James Cagney in 'Picture Snatche'r, and in another seven in 1934. She started 1935 off with 'A Night at the Ritz', in which she had the lead female role, opposite William Gargan.
She starred in seven films that year and another seven in 1936. Starring alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names, including James Cagney, Ricardo Cortez, and Bela Lugosi, Ellis's career was at its peak by 1937. Most of her roles were in comedy films, along with some mysteries and crime dramas, and by 1936 she was playing the female lead in almost all her films.
She starred in five films that year, then only three in 1938, and finally just two in 1939.
Reviewers called her "comely and spontaneous" in the baseball farce 'Elmer, the Great' (1933) and "personable" in' Here Comes the Groom' (1934) co-starring Jack Haley and referred to her "blonde winsomeness" 'in Boulder Dam' (1936).
The problem was that the majority of her screen roles were purely ornamental and the films themselves were, without exception, second features. Towards the end of her run, Patricia appeared in the 1937 English comedy 'The Gaiety Girls' on stage (with Jack Hulbert and a young Googie Withers) and, against type, played a femme fatale in '''Fugitive at Large'
(1939).
She retired in 1939, choosing to marry George T. O'Malley, a successful businessman from Kansas City, Missouri, and left Hollywood behind her. She settled into private life, raising her family in Kansas City.
Patricia remained married to O'Malley for the remainder of her life, dying of cancer at age 53 on March 26, 1970, in Kansas City.[
BAT Modern Beauties 2nd Series Patricia Ellis No 14 1916-1970
Born Patricia Leftwich in Birmingham, Michigan. Patricia began her stage career after leaving school. Given a film test while appearing on stage in New York, she was put under contract by Warner Bros. Patricia Ellis called herself "the Queen of B pictures at Warner Brothers". With only three years of theatrical experience in New York under her belt, she started in films in 1932.
In 1932, she had two small parts, both uncredited, in the films 'Three on a Match' and 'Central Park'.
Her first credited role was in the 1933 film 'The King's Vacation', starring George Arliss and Marjorie Gateson.
After that film, her career took off, with her starring mostly in lower-budget B-movies but still working steadily. She had roles in eight films in 1933, co-starring that year with James Cagney in 'Picture Snatche'r, and in another seven in 1934. She started 1935 off with 'A Night at the Ritz', in which she had the lead female role, opposite William Gargan.
She starred in seven films that year and another seven in 1936. Starring alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names, including James Cagney, Ricardo Cortez, and Bela Lugosi, Ellis's career was at its peak by 1937. Most of her roles were in comedy films, along with some mysteries and crime dramas, and by 1936 she was playing the female lead in almost all her films.
She starred in five films that year, then only three in 1938, and finally just two in 1939.
Reviewers called her "comely and spontaneous" in the baseball farce 'Elmer, the Great' (1933) and "personable" in' Here Comes the Groom' (1934) co-starring Jack Haley and referred to her "blonde winsomeness" 'in Boulder Dam' (1936).
The problem was that the majority of her screen roles were purely ornamental and the films themselves were, without exception, second features. Towards the end of her run, Patricia appeared in the 1937 English comedy 'The Gaiety Girls' on stage (with Jack Hulbert and a young Googie Withers) and, against type, played a femme fatale in '''Fugitive at Large'
(1939).
She retired in 1939, choosing to marry George T. O'Malley, a successful businessman from Kansas City, Missouri, and left Hollywood behind her. She settled into private life, raising her family in Kansas City.
Patricia remained married to O'Malley for the remainder of her life, dying of cancer at age 53 on March 26, 1970, in Kansas City.[