Jane Nigh

Jane Nigh
Nigh in 1944
Born
Bonnie Lenora Nigh

(1925-02-25)February 25, 1925
DiedOctober 5, 1993(1993-10-05) (aged 68)
OccupationActress
Years active1944–1961
Spouses
Victor Cutler
(m. 1946; div. 1946)
[1]
John E. Baker
(m. 1952; div. 1961)

Norman Davidson, Jr.
(m. 1963; div. 1964)
(m. 1966; div. 1968)
Children4

Bonnie Lenora "Jane" Nigh[2] (February 25, 1925 – October 5, 1993)[citation needed] was an American actress who appeared in more than 40 films and television shows.[3]

Early years

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Her sister Nancy was also an actress, and her mother worked in research at a film studio.[4] Nigh worked as a stenographer at a Sears Roebuck store before she became an actress.[2]

Career

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She was discovered in 1944 by Arthur Wenzler while working in a defense plant. (Another source identifies Ivan Kahn as the 20th Century Fox talent scout.)[5] That same year she signed a five-year contract with Fox, and joined the studio's stock company. Her first screen appearance was in the major motion picture Laura. She continued to play incidental roles in Fox features, including State Fair (1945), Dragonwyck (1946), and Give My Regards to Broadway (1948, as June Nigh).

When her Fox contract lapsed, she began freelancing and appeared in minor features for Columbia, RKO, and Robert L. Lippert. In 1949, she participated in a Life magazine photo layout, in which she posed with up-and-coming actresses Marilyn Monroe, Lois Maxwell, Cathy Downs, Suzanne Dalbert, Enrica Soma, and Laurette Luez. This led to a contract with Monogram Pictures, where at last Jane Nigh received starring roles. She was usually cast in wholesome outdoor features filmed in Cinecolor, including County Fair (1950), Blue Grass of Kentucky (1950), and Rodeo (1952).

In 1952 Nigh joined the cast of the TV series Big Town, with Patrick McVey as the city editor of a newspaper, and Nigh as his secretary Lorelei Kilbourne. She played the role for two seasons.[6] She remained a working actress in television through 1961, returning to the motion-picture screen only once, back at Monogram (renamed Allied Artists); she was featured as a dumb blonde in Hold That Hypnotist (1957) with The Bowery Boys.

Personal life

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Nigh was married four times, to three men, all ending in divorce. Her longest marriage was to her second husband, Navy lieutenant John Baker,[5] while she was married twice to Norman Davidson Jr.[citation needed]

She had four children, three girls and a boy, though her first, a girl, died very soon after birth in 1952.[7]

Filmography

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Films
Year Title Role Notes
1944 Laura Secretary Uncredited
1944 Something for the Boys Army Wife Uncredited
1945 State Fair Eleanor
1945 House of Dracula Villager Uncredited
1946 Whistle Stop Josie Veech
1946 Dragonwyck Tabitha Wells Uncredited
1947 The Shocking Miss Pilgrim Cynthia's Sister (scenes deleted)
1947 Unconquered Evelyn
1948 Sitting Pretty Mabel Phillips Uncredited
1948 Give My Regards to Broadway May Norwick
1948 Cry of the City Nurse Uncredited
1948 Leather Gloves Cathy
1949 Red, Hot and Blue Angelica Roseanne aka No-No
1949 Zamba Carol
1949 Fighting Man of the Plains Florence Peel
1949 Captain Carey, U.S.A. Nancy
1950 Blue Grass of Kentucky Pat Armistead
1950 Operation Haylift Pat Rogers
1950 Motor Patrol Sherry Bliss
1950 County Fair Loretta Ryan
1950 Border Treasure Stella
1950 Rio Grande Patrol Sherry Bliss
1951 Blue Blood Eileen Buchanan
1951 Disc Jockey Marion
1952 Fort Osage Ann Pickett
1952 Rodeo Nancy Cartwright
1957 Hold That Hypnotist Cleo Daniels

References

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  1. ^ "Gets Divorce". Santa Cruz Sentinel. California, Santa Cruz. United Press. September 6, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved June 10, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ a b "Her Typing Or Something Was So Good That She Got To Hollywood". The Des Moines Register. April 29, 1945. p. Magazine Section - 3. Retrieved September 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Hollywood Film Shop". The Bakersfield Californian. California, Bakersfield. United Press. September 7, 1949. p. 19. Retrieved June 10, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Carroll, Harrison (October 4, 1948). "Behind the Scenes in Hollywood". The Daily Clintonian. Indiana, Clinton. King Features Syndicate. p. 4. Retrieved June 10, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b "Shy Jane Nigh Conquers TV". Tucson Daily Citizen. Arizona, Tucson. January 12, 1953. p. 56. Retrieved June 10, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 104.
  7. ^ "Jane Nigh - The Private Life and Times of Jane Nigh. Jane Nigh Pictures". www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com.
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