Elaine Shepard

Elaine Shepard
Sept 14 1945 pin-up photo from Yank
Background information
Born as:	Elaine Elizabeth Shepard
Born	Apr 2, 1913 Olney, Illinois, U.S.
Died	Sep 6, 1998 - age  84 New York City, U.S.
Spouse(s):	Terry Hunt (1937 - 1940) George F. Hartman (1943 - 1958)
Occupation:	Actor, journalist
Years active:	1936-1951

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Elaine Shepard (born 2 April 1913, Olney, Illinois, USA, died 2 April 1913, Olney, Illinois, USA)

Shepard was active in Comedy, Western films in the '30s-'40s in the films "The Falcon in Danger", "I Cover Chinatown," "Law of the Ranger"

Her first major screen credit was in "The Fighting Texan" (1937)

Biography

Blonde and uncommonly pretty, Elaine Shepard had her hands full in her first screen assignment, Republic Pictures' 15-chapter serial Darkest Africa (1936), what with Big Game hunter Clyde Beatty and pudgy circus tyke Manuel King attempting (and succeeding) in stealing every scene. She had even less luck in her second film, the "Our Gang" short "Night N' Gales" (1937), in which she was Darla's mother and married to the fey Johnny Arthur. The remainder of Shepard's ten-year or so screen career was spent playing secretaries and chorus girls and is rather less memorable. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide.

Film and stage

Shepard worked as a model on the West Coast before she became active in films. Her first film appearance was in the 1936 Republic serial Darkest Africa, in which she played Valerie Tremaine, the heroine of the film. This was followed by a series of leading roles in other minor films, such as You Can't Fool Your Wife, a 1940 comedy starring Lucille Ball. She then had several minor roles in major films, including playing a secretary in Topper and uncredited roles in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo and the 1946 Ziegfeld Follies. A more prominent role came in Seven Days Ashore, a musical in which she plays the principal love interest for the band of sailors on shore leave.

Shepard's Broadway credits included performing in the ensemble in Nina Rosa (1931) and portraying Mildred Hunter in Panama Hattie (1940) and a maid in The Land Is Bright (1942).

Freelance journalism

Shepard abandoned acting and turned to freelance journalism, reporting from international trouble spots including the Congo and Northern Ireland. She interviewed international leaders, and in 1959 she was the only female reporter accredited to travel with President Dwight Eisenhower when he toured the Middle East. She is best known in this role for her Vietnam War coverage, which became the basis for her 1967 book "The Doom Pussy", recounting her experiences with aviators in the early part of the war. This book includes use of the phrase "the whole nine yards", an old American colloquialism.

Pin-up Gallery

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  Pinup Picture

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  Ad for Chesterfield Cigarettes

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  Pinup Picture

• Elaine Shepard appeared in YANK magazine on 14 September 1945

Filmography

• Ziegfeld Follies (1946) (uncredited) .... Showgirl

... aka Ziegfeld Follies of 1946 (USA: poster title)

• Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) (uncredited) .... Girl in Officers' Club
• Seven Days Ashore (1944) .... Annabelle Rogers
• The Falcon in Danger (1943) .... Nancy Palmer
• You Can't Fool Your Wife (1940) .... Peggy
• There Goes My Heart (1938) (uncredited) .... Customer
• Professor Beware (1938) (uncredited) .... Anebi
• Night 'n' Gales (1937) .... Darla's mother
• Topper (1937) .... Secretary
• The Fighting Texan (1937) .... Judy Walton
• Law of the Ranger (1937) .... Evelyn Polk
• I Cover Chinatown (1936) .... Gloria Watkins
• Darkest Africa (1936) .... Valerie Tremaine

... aka Bat Men of Africa (USA: TV title)

... aka King of Jungleland (USA: reissue title)

External links

Elaine Shepard at the Internet Movie Database

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