Alma Mabel Conner (February 12, 1927 [4] – January 31, 2018), known professionally as Ann Gillis, was an American actress, best known for her film roles as a child actress. She performed the voice of Faline (as young adult) in the 1942 Disney animated film Bambi.
Ann Gillis | |
|---|---|
 Gillis in 1966 | |
| Born | Alma Mabel Conner February 12, 1927 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | January 31, 2018 (aged 90)[1] Horam, East Sussex, England |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, voice artist |
| Years active | 1934–1968 |
| Spouse(s) |
Paul Ziebold
(m. 1947; div. 1951)René Van Hulst
(m. 1991; died 1999) |
| Children | 3 |
Biography
editGillis was born in Little Rock, Arkansas.[5] She started her career in the early 1930s, when she was age 7. After small roles, she got her first major part in King of Hockey (1936). In the following years, she played supporting roles, and Warner Brothers Pictures wanted her to be another Shirley Temple, but she mostly played "spoiled brats".[citation needed]
Among her bigger roles were Becky Thatcher in David O. Selznick's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) and Annie in Little Orphan Annie (1938). She also provided the voice of Faline in Bambi (1942).[6]
She ended her Hollywood film career in 1947 and married her second husband, British actor Richard Fraser in 1952. Following her Hollywood career, she turned to occasional television work in the UK. Gillis appeared in two episodes of The Saint in 1964-1965, followed by a small part in 2001: A Space Odyssey, playing Dr. Poole's mother. She is seen onscreen congratulating her son on his birthday. She later lived in Belgium.[7]
On January 31, 2018, Gillis died in a nursing home in Horam, East Sussex, England, at the age of 90.[8]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | Men in White | Flower Girl | uncredited |
| 1936 | The Great Ziegfeld | Mary Lou as a Child | Uncredited |
| The Singing Cowboy | Lou Ann Stevens | ||
| Postal Inspector | Little Alice | uncredited | |
| The Garden of Allah | Convent Girl #2 | uncredited | |
| The Man I Marry | Little Girl | uncredited | |
| Under Your Spell | Gwendolyn | uncredited | |
| King of Hockey | Peggy 'Princess' O'Rourke | ||
| 1937 | Off to the Races | Winnie Mae | |
| You Can't Buy Luck | Peggy | uncredited | |
| The Californian | Rosalia as a Child | ||
| 1938 | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | Becky Thatcher | |
| Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus | Fleurette de Cava | ||
| Little Orphan Annie | Annie | ||
| 1939 | Beau Geste | Isobel Rivers as a Child | |
| The Under-Pup | Letty Lou | ||
| 1940 | Edison, the Man | Nancy Grey | |
| All This, and Heaven Too | Emily Schuyler | ||
| My Love Came Back | Valerie Malette | ||
| Little Men | Nan | ||
| 1941 | Nice Girl? | Nancy Dana | |
| Mr. Dynamite | Joey, a.k.a. Abigail | ||
| Glamour Boy | Brenda Lee | ||
| 1942 | Meet the Stewarts | Jane Goodwin | |
| Tough As They Come | Frankie Taylor | ||
| Bambi | Faline (as a young adult) | voice, uncredited | |
| 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge | Sylvia | ||
| 1943 | Stage Door Canteen | Herself | |
| The Man from Music Mountain | Penny Winters | ||
| 1944 | Since You Went Away | Becky Anderson – Class President | uncredited |
| Janie | Paula Rainey | ||
| In Society | Gloria | ||
| A Wave, a WAC and a Marine | Judy | ||
| 1945 | The Cheaters | Angela Pidgeon | |
| 1946 | Gay Blades | Helen Dowell | |
| Janie Gets Married | Paula Rainey | ||
| The Time of Their Lives | Nora O'Leary | ||
| Sweetheart of Sigma Chi | Sue | ||
| 1947 | Big Town After Dark | Susan Peabody LaRue | |
| 1968 | 2001: A Space Odyssey | Poole's Mother |
References
edit- ^ "Ann Gillis, Young Leading Lady in 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' Dies at 90". The Hollywood Reporter. February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Magers, Donna. "Ann Gillis Interview". Westernclippings.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 4, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Encyclopedia of Arkansas".
- ^ Phillips, Robert W. (1995). Roy Rogers: A Biography, Radio History, Television Career Chronicle, Discography, Filmography, Comicography, Merchandising and Advertising History, Collectibles Description, Bibliography, and Index. McFarland. pp. 95–. ISBN 9780899509372. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
- ^ Cochran, Robert; McCray, Suzanne (2015). Lights! Camera! Arkansas!: From Broncho Billy to Billy Bob Thornton. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 14–15. ISBN 9781610755580. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ "An Interview with...Ann Gillis". WesternClippings.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Barnes, Mike (February 2, 2018). "Ann Gillis, Young Leading Lady in 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' Dies at 90". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
Bibliography
edit- Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen (South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971), pp. 95–99.
External links
edit- Ann Gillis at IMDb
- Ann Gillis at the American Film Institute
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