| Elyse Knox | |
| Birthname: | Elsie M. Kornbrath |
| Birth Date: | 14 December 1917 |
| Birth Place: | Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education: | Traphagen School of Fashion |
| Occupation: | Actress, model, fashion designer |
| Years Active: | 1937–1949 |
| Spouse: | |
| Children: | Kristin Nelson Kelly Harmon Mark Harmon |
Elyse Knox (born Elsie M. Kornbrath,[1] December 14, 1917 – February 16, 2012) was an American actress, model, and fashion designer. She was the mother of actor Mark Harmon.
Knox was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Austrian immigrants Hermine Sophie (née Muck) and Frederick Kornbrath.[2] [3] [4] She had a brother, Fred.[5]
She attended Hartford Public High School,[6] graduating in 1936, and studied at the Traphagen School of Fashion in Manhattan, New York.
She was signed to a movie contract (as Elsie M. Kornbrath) by 20th Century-Fox in November 1939,[7] and played incidental roles for one year. Fox dropped her option and she was signed by comedy producer Hal Roach, who featured her in four films. After two minor features (a Roy Rogers western and an RKO comedy), she found a home at Universal, appearing in 11 films as a featured ingenue. She had a leading role with Lon Chaney Jr. in The Mummy's Tomb,[8] one of the series of Mummy horror films made by Universal Studios. She appeared as herself in the Universal Studios 1944 production Follow the Boys, one of the World War II morale-booster films made both for the soldiers serving overseas and civilians at home. Knox also was a pin-up girl during the war, appearing in such magazines as Yank, a weekly published and distributed by the United States military.
In late 1945, Knox was signed by Monogram Pictures to portray Anne Howe, the love interest of fictional boxer Joe Palooka in Joe Palooka, Champ. Based on the very popular comic strip, the instant success of the May 1946 film led to Knox appearing in another five Joe Palooka productions. After acting in 39 films, Knox retired in 1949 following her performance in the musical film There's a Girl in My Heart.
On February 21, 1942, Knox married commercial photographer Paul Hesse in Coronado, California.[9]
Following her divorce and Tom Harmon's return from World War II (during which he survived two plane crashes and being lost in the jungle), she and Harmon married in 1944. Her wedding dress was made of silk from the parachute Harmon used when bailing out of his plane.[10] After Harmon's demobilization, they settled in the Los Angeles area.
The couple had three children: Kristin, Kelly, and Mark. Kristin became an actress and painter, who at 17 married recording artist Ricky Nelson and gave birth to four children: Tracy, twins Gunnar and Matthew, and Sam. Kelly, a model turned interior designer, was once married to automaker John DeLorean, and has two daughters and a son and two other stepchildren. Mark played quarterback at UCLA, became an actor, and has two sons with wife Pam Dawber.
On February 16, 2012, Knox died at her home in Los Angeles at age 94.[11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Wake Up and Live | Nurse | uncredited | |
| 1940 | Lillian Russell | Lillian Russell's Sister | performer: "Brighten the Corner Where You Are" | |
| 1940 | Youth Will Be Served | Pamela | ||
| 1940 | Yesterday's Heroes | Undetermined role | uncredited | |
| 1940 | Girl from Avenue A | Angela | ||
| 1940 | Girl in 313 | Judith Wilson | ||
| 1940 | Star Dust | Girl | uncredited | |
| 1940 | Free, Blonde and 21 | Marjorie | ||
| 1941 | Miss Polly | Barbara Snodgrass | ||
| 1941 | All-American Co-Ed | Co-ed | uncredited | |
| 1941 | Tanks a Million | Jeannie | ||
| 1941 | Sheriff of Tombstone | Mary Carson | ||
| 1941 | Footlight Fever | Eileen Drake | ||
| 1942 | Arabian Nights | Duenna | uncredited | |
| 1942 | The Mummy's Tomb | Isobel Evans | ||
| 1942 | Top Sergeant | Helen Gray | ||
| 1942 | Hay Foot | Betty Barkley | ||
| 1943 | Hi'ya, Sailor | Pat Rogers | ||
| 1943 | So's Your Uncle | Patricia Williams | ||
| 1943 | Hit the Ice | Nurse Peggy Osborne | ||
| 1943 | Mister Big | Alice Taswell | ||
| 1943 | Keep 'Em Slugging | Suzanne | ||
| 1943 | Don Winslow of the Coast Guard | Mercedes Colby | ||
| 1944 | Army Wives | Jerry Van Dyke | ||
| 1944 | A Wave, a WAC and a Marine | Marian | ||
| 1944 | Moonlight and Cactus | Louise Ferguson | ||
| 1944 | Follow the Boys | Herself | ||
| 1946 | Sweetheart of Sigma Chi | Betty Allen | ||
| 1946 | Gentleman Joe Palooka | Anne Howe | ||
| 1946 | Joe Palooka, Champ | Anne Howe | ||
| 1947 | Linda, Be Good | Linda Prentiss | ||
| 1947 | Joe Palooka in the Knockout | Anne Howe | ||
| 1947 | Black Gold | Ruth Frazer | ||
| 1948 | Joe Palooka in Winner Take All | Anne Howe | ||
| 1948 | I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes | Ann Quinn | ||
| 1948 | Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad | Anne Howe | ||
| 1949 | There's a Girl in My Heart | Claire Adamson | ||
| 1949 | Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch | Anne Howe | ||
| 1949 | Forgotten Women | Kate Allison | ||
| 1953 | I Was a Burlesque Queen | Linda Prentiss | archive footage | |
| 1999 | Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed | Isobel Evans | archive footage |