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Nancy Saunders

1925 - 2020 (age 94) • Acting

This pretty, blonde 1940s B-movie starlet was the daughter of newspaperman Leonard Sanders and showgirl Blanche Thompson (who also appeared in a few silent pictures). By her own account, she was born in Hollywood as Nancy Lou Sanders on June 29 1925, the day of the Santa Barbara earthquake. Curiously, being in the movies had not been her primary career choice when she was spotted dancing at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub by journeyman actor and talent scout Don Dillaway. Dillaway took an instant shine to Nancy and managed to arrange a screen test at RKO. She passed muster and was rewarded with a six-month contract (being an experienced equestrian from the age of eight also helped clinch the deal). Before long, she found herself on the cover of Life magazine -- along with Jane Greer and Martha Hyer -- as one of 'nine hopefuls'. After five pictures, RKO dropped her option and Nancy moved over to Columbia where she went on to appear in no less than thirteen pictures in 1947 alone. Many of these were horse operas, including half a dozen of the Durango Kid series with Charles Starrett, shot at the Columbia ranch in Burbank. Nancy also doubled for Rita Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai (1947) (wearing a blonde wig) and The Loves of Carmen (1948) (dressed as a gypsy). She was Gerald Mohr's leading lady in The Lone Wolf in London (1947) and popped up in a few Three Stooges comedies which she later said to have really enjoyed being in. When her Hollywood career began to falter in the early 50s, Nancy found work as a tour booking agent with Air Cal Airlines. In 1996, she came out of retirement for occasional TV guest appearances. She was predeceased by her husband of 43 years, a sales rep for Seagram and Jim Bean.

Known For

The Ghost Talks

66%

Lady Godiva (uncredited)

1949

The Millerson Case

59%

Belle Englehart

1947

Stone Age Romeos

66%

Maggie (archive footage)

1955

I'm a Monkey's Uncle

61%

Maggie

1948

Outlaw Country

45%

Jane Evans

1949

The Lone Wolf in London

63%

Ann Klemscott

1947

Arizona Territory

75%

Doris Devin

1950

Whirlwind Raiders

75%

Claire Ross

1948

The Shunning

61%

Ella Mae Zook

2011

Love-Struck

48%

Sr. Jean-Marie

1997

Stone Age Romeos

66%

Maggie (archive footage)

1955

Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone

70%

Joanie

1950

Arizona Territory

75%

Doris Devin

1950

The Ghost Talks

66%

Lady Godiva (uncredited)

1949

Outlaw Country

45%

Jane Evans

1949

I'm a Monkey's Uncle

61%

Maggie

1948

Whirlwind Raiders

75%

Claire Ross

1948

Six-Gun Law

65%

June Wallace

1948

It Had to Be You

78%

Nancy (uncredited)

1947

The Lone Wolf in London

63%

Ann Klemscott

1947

The Woman on the Beach

61%

Girl at Party (uncredited)

1947

Prairie Raiders

65%

Ann Bradford

1947

The Millerson Case

59%

Belle Englehart

1947

Law of the Canyon

70%

Mary Coleman

1947

A Likely Story

48%

Blonde on Train (uncredited)

1947

West of Dodge City

70%

Anne Avery

1947

South of the Chisholm Trail

100%

Nora Grant

1947

The Locket

63%

Miss Wyatt (uncredited)

1946

Slappily Married

65%

Bellhop (uncredited)

1946

The Bamboo Blonde

56%

Glamour Girl (uncredited)

1946

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