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Jane Greer

Jane Greer

Birthday: 1924-09-09 | Place of Birth: Washington, D.C., United States

Jane Greer was a film and television actress who was perhaps best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past. 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. 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, Out of the Past, They Won't Believe Me, and the comedy/suspense film The Big Steal, with Out of the Past co-star Robert Mitchum. Hughes refused to let her work for a time; when she finally began film acting, she appeared in You're in the Navy Now, The Prisoner of Zenda, Run for the Sun, and Man of a Thousand Faces. 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". 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 gig 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. 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 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jane Greer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1989
Immediate Family

as    Michael's Mother

1986
Just Between Friends

as    Ruth Chadwick

1984
Against All Odds

as    Mrs. Wyler

1973
The Outfit

as    Alma

1965
Billie

as    Agnes Carol

1964
Where Love Has Gone

as    Marian Spicer

1957
Man of a Thousand Faces

as    Hazel Bennet Chaney

1956
Run for the Sun

as    Katherine 'Katie' Connors

1953
Down Among the Sheltering Palms

as    Diana Forrester

1952
The Prisoner of Zenda

as    Antoinette de Mauban

1952
Desperate Search

as    Julie Heldon

1952
You for Me

as    Katie McDermad

1951
The Company She Keeps

as    Diane Stuart aka Mildred Lynch

1951
You're in the Navy Now

as    Ellie C. Harkness

1949
The Big Steal

as    Joan 'Chiquita' Graham

1948
Station West

as    Charlie

1947
They Won't Believe Me

as    Janice Bell

1947
Out of the Past

as    Kathie Moffat

1947
Sinbad the Sailor

as    Pirouze

1946
The Bamboo Blonde

as    Eileen Sawyer

1946
The Falcon's Alibi

as    Lola Carpenter

1946
Sunset Pass

as    Lolite Baxter

1945
George White's Scandals

as    Billie Randall

1945
Two O'Clock Courage

as    Helen Carter (as Bettejane Greer)

1945
Dick Tracy

as    Judith Owens

1945
Pan-Americana

as    Miss Downing (uncredited)