| Patricia Ellis | |
| Birthname: | Patricia Gene O'Brien |
| Other Names: | Patricia Leftwich |
| Birth Date: | 20 May 1918[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] |
| Birth Place: | Birmingham, Michigan, U.S. |
| Death Date: | March 26, 1970 (aged 51) |
| Death Place: | Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation: | American singer and film actress |
| Years Active: | 1932 - 1941 |
| Children: | 1 |
Patricia Ellis (born Patricia Gene O'Brien; May 20, 1918 – March 26, 1970) was an American film actress from 1932 to 1939, who then had a brief singing career until 1941.
Born in Birmingham, Michigan,[7] [8] [9] in 1918 (although she gave her year of birth to the Social Security Administration as 1920), Ellis was the eldest of four children born to Eugene Gladstone O'Brien, a Detroit insurance salesman, and his wife, Florence (Calkins), who married on April 16, 1917.[10] [11] [12] [13] Ellis's younger siblings were Joseph, Eugene, and Margery. Her parents divorced 12 years later, on April 19, 1929, when Patricia was 10 years old, reportedly "with the understanding that during the summer months the children ... were to remain with their mother and the father was to keep them during the school year".[14] [15] She was later known as Patricia Leftwich[16] after her mother married Alexander Leftwich, described as[17] "an eminent New York producer of musical shows."[18] She had a step-brother, Alexander Leftwich Jr.[17] Her childhood activities included singing and dancing, and she reportedly studied French and German.
A 1932 newspaper article said, "Since she was able to walk, Patricia has been familiar with the world of the theater, accompanying her father constantly to rehearsals and performances."[19] That same year, another newspaper reported, "She understudied all her father's leading women in the last few years, assisted him with lighting and costuming, and knows stage production, too."[20]
Patricia Leftwich attended Brantwood Hall School and Gardner School for Girls,[19] and began her stage career after leaving school. She took classes in studio facilities while pursuing her acting career.[21]
Ellis appeared with Chamberlain Brown's stock company at Mount Vernon, New York, and at the Riviera Theater, New York City.[19]
Given a film test while appearing on stage in New York City,[18] Ellis was put under contract by Warner Bros.[19] In 1932, she had two small parts, both uncredited, in the films Three on a Match and Central Park. That same year, she was the youngest of the 14 girls chosen as WAMPAS Baby Stars. Her first credited role was in the 1933 film The King's Vacation, starring George Arliss and Marjorie Gateson. After that film, her career took off, with her appearing mostly in lower-budget B movies, but still working steadily. She had roles in eight films in 1933, co-starring that year with James Cagney in Picture Snatcher, and in another seven in 1934. She appeared in 1935's A Night at the Ritz, opposite William Gargan. She appeared in seven films that year and another seven in 1936. Starring alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names, including James Cagney, Ricardo Cortez, and Bela Lugosi, Ellis's career was at its peak by 1937. Most of her roles were in comedy films, along with some mysteries and crime dramas, and by 1936, she was playing the female lead in almost all her films. She was in five films that year, then only three in 1938, and finally just two in 1939, making her last feature film appearance (at age 21) in Fugitive at Large.
After her work in film, Ellis ventured into music, saying, "I was just getting into a rut in Hollywood ... I want to start a new career – singing."[22] She made a soundie in 1941. A review in the trade publication Billboard commented: "Miss Ellis isn't bad on voice and excells (sic) on appearance. Men will pay attention to her."[23] In 1941, she and Henny Youngman headlined with Blue Barron and his Orchestra at Hamid's Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[24] She reportedly appeared on Broadway in Louisiana Purchase, a musical comedy.[25]
On July 12, 1941,[22] [26] she married George Thomas O'Maley (died 2000), future president of Protection Securities Systems in Kansas City, Missouri.[27] [28] and settled into private life in Kansas City, Missouri.[29] The O'Maleys had one child, a daughter.[22]
Ellis remained married to O'Maley for the remainder of her life, dying of colon cancer on March 26, 1970 in Kansas City, aged 51.[30] She was cremated.