Bonnie Lenora "Jane" Nigh (February 25, 1925 – October 5, 1993) was an American actress who appeared in more than 40 films and television shows.
Early years Jane Nigh was born Bonnie Lenora Nigh in Hollywood, California, on February 25, 1925. She graduated from Los Angeles Polytechnic High School and Long Beach College, and her interest in acting began while she was in college. Her sister Nancy was also an actress, and her mother worked in research at a film studio. Nigh worked as a stenographer at a Sears Roebuck store before she became an actress, and she participated in amateur theatrical productions.
Career 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.) 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.Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 104. 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 Nigh was married four times, to three men, all ending in divorce. Her longest marriage was to her second husband, Navy lieutenant John Baker, while she was married twice to Norman Davidson Jr.
She had four children, three girls and a boy, though her first, a girl, died very soon after birth in 1952.
Filmography + Films Year Title Role Notes1944 Laura Secretary Uncredited1944 Something for the Boys Army Wife Uncredited1945 State Fair Eleanor 1945 House of Dracula Villager Uncredited1946 Whistle Stop Josie Veech 1946 Dragonwyck Tabitha Wells Uncredited1947 The Shocking Miss Pilgrim Cynthia's Sister (scenes deleted)1947 Unconquered Evelyn 1948 Sitting Pretty Mabel Phillips Uncredited1948 Give My Regards to Broadway May Norwick 1948 Cry of the City Nurse Uncredited1948 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
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