Anne Nagel (born Anna Marie Dolan; September 29, 1915 – July 6, 1966) was an American actress. She played in adventures, mysteries, and comedies for 25 years. She also appeared in television series in the 1950s. One book described her as "one of Hollywood's true hard-luck gals".

Early life Born in Malden, Massachusetts,An Associated Press story about Nagel's filing papers to marry Keenan states "The actress...listed her maiden name as Anna Marie Donan, born in Malden, a Boston suburb..." Nagel was enrolled by her parents in Notre Dame Academy, with the expectation that she would become a nun. Membership in the Shubert Theatre company turned her away from religious life. In the meantime, Nagel's mother had divorced and re-married. When Nagel's new stepfather, Curtis Nagel, a Technicolor expert, was hired by Tiffany Pictures in Hollywood, he moved the family to California, where he employed his step-daughter in several experimental Technicolor shorts he had been asked to direct.

Career In 1932 Nagel secured a bit part as a ballet girl in the Mack Sennett comedy feature Hypnotized, her "first documented feature credit". She was one of 14 young women "launched on the trail of film stardom" August 6, 1935, when they each received a six-month contract with 20th Century Fox after spending 18 months in the company's training school. The contracts included a studio option for renewal for as long as seven years. Nagel spent the next few years making uncredited appearances as a dancer or chorus girl.

In 1936, she signed with Warner Bros. and followed the usual path for young actresses under studio contract: incidental roles in major features, featured roles in minor features, and ingenue roles in westerns. She appeared in Here Comes Carter with Warner leading man Ross Alexander; they were married that year. A reviewer wrote "she was just one of those girls who has learned to croon for the microphone, and let the rest of the world go hang".

Warner did not pick up her option after one year, and she began freelancing. Most of her appearances in 1937 and 1938 were for Monogram Pictures, where she usually played leads.

Anne Nagel was signed by Universal Pictures in 1939, and worked there steadily for four years. Her most famous Universal credits are probably the W.C. Fields comedy Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941, as Gloria Jean's movie-stuntwoman mother) and the serials The Green Hornet (1940) and The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1941), reprising her radio role of Lenore Case. She also was featured in Black Friday (1940), The Invisible Woman (1940), and Man Made Monster (1941), among many other films.

From 1942 she worked mostly for the lower-budget independent companies: PRC, Monogram, Republic. She had two assignments with Columbia, the 1943 serial The Secret Code and the 1947 comedy feature Blondie's Holiday. By the late 1940s her roles were smaller and she often worked without screen credit. Nagel later worked on television in episodes of The Range Rider (1951) and Circus Boy (1957).

Radio Vintage-radio buffs best know Anne Nagel as Britt Reid's confidante Lenore Case in The Green Hornet. In 1943, she was the vocalist on the audience-participation musical quiz program Scramby Amby.Radio Life, May 16, 1943, p. 4.

Personal life and death On September 17, 1936, Nagel married actor Ross Alexander, who committed suicide in 1937 Alexander "... went into his Van Nuys barn and reportedly fired a rifle into his mouth as his bride of four months sat quietly knitting in the house". when beset with heavy financial burdens he could not resolve.

Four years later, Nagel married Air Force Lt. Col. James H. Keenan on December 4, 1941. The marriage ended in divorce on May 22, 1951.

In December 1947, Nagel filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against Hollywood physician and surgeon Franklyn Thorpe (former husband of actress Mary Astor). In the suit, Nagel demanded $350,000 in damages and alleged that, while performing an appendectomy on her in 1936, Thorpe had removed other organs without her knowledge or consent, rendering her infertile. "Actress Starts $350,000 Suit".The Milwaukee Sentinel, December 22, 1947. Page 2 Nagel claimed she was unaware of her infertility until January 1947, but Thorpe countered that she was "well aware of the nature of the surgery".

Nagel died at Sunray North Convalescent Hospital in Hollywood, California in 1966, aged 50, following surgery for liver cancer. She is buried, with no marker, in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1932 Hypnotized Ballerina / Performer Uncredited 1933 I Loved You Wednesday Ruby - the Hat Check Girl Uncredited 1933 College Humor Student Uncredited 1933 Sitting Pretty Girl at Window Uncredited 1934 Coming Out Party Suzanne Uncredited 1934 Stand Up and Cheer! Dancer Uncredited 1935 George White's 1935 Scandals Chorine Uncredited 1935 Redheads on Parade Queen of Redheads Uncredited 1935 Music Is Magic Chorine Uncredited 1935 Everybody's Old Man Clerk Uncredited 1936 Bullets or Ballots Bank secretary Uncredited 1936 Hot Money Ruth McElniney 1936 China Clipper Secretary 1936 Love Begins at 20 Miss Perkins - Ramp's Secretary 1936 Guns of the Pecos Alice Burton 1936 Down the Stretch Hat Check Girl Uncredited 1936 Here Comes Carter Linda Warren 1936 Polo Joe Girl at Polo Field Uncredited 1936 King of Hockey Kathleen O'Rourke 1937 The Case of the Stuttering Bishop Janice Alma Brownley 1937 Hoosier Schoolboy Mary Evans Top billing with Mickey Rooney 1937 Three Legionnaires Sonia 1937 The Devil's Saddle Legion Karan Ordley 1937 The Footloose Heiress Linda Pierson 1937 Escape by Night Linda Adams 1937 A Bride for Henry Sheila Curtis Starring opposite Warren Hull 1937 The Adventurous Blonde Grace Brown 1937 She Loved a Fireman Girl at Dance Uncredited 1938 Saleslady Mary Dakin Spencer 1938 Mystery House Gwen Kingery 1938 Under the Big Top Penelope (AKA Penny) 1938 Gang Bullets Patricia Wayne 1939 Convict's Code Julie Warren 1939 Should a Girl Marry? Margaret 1939 Unexpected Father Beulah - showgirl 1939 The Witness Vanishes Laura the Secretary Uncredited 1939 Call a Messenger Frances O'Neill 1939 Legion of Lost Flyers Paula Wilson 1940 The Green Hornet Lenore "Casey" Case 13-chapter Serial 1940 My Little Chickadee Miss Ermingarde Foster - Schoolteacher Uncredited 1940 Black Friday Sunny Rogers 1940 Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me Miss Lansdale 1940 Hot Steel Rita Martin 1940 Winners of the West Claire Hartford Serial 1940 Down Argentine Way Linda 1940 Diamond Frontier Jeanne Kruger 1940 Irene Irene O’Dare 1940 The Green Hornet Strikes Again! Lenore Case Serial 1940 The Invisible Woman Jean 1941 Meet the Chump Miss Burke 1941 Man Made Monster June Lawrence 1941 Mutiny in the Arctic Gloria Adams 1941 Never Give a Sucker an Even Break Madame Gorgeous 1941 Appointment for Love Jennifer Uncredited 1941 Road Agent Lola 1942 Sealed Lips Mary Morton 1942 Don Winslow of the Navy Misty Gaye Serial 1942 Stagecoach Buckaroo Nina Kincaid 1942 The Mad Doctor of Market Street Mrs. William Saunders 1942 The Dawn Express Nancy Fielding 1942 The Mad Monster Lenora Cameron 1942 The Secret Code Jean Ashley Serial 1943 Women in Bondage Deputy District Director Alternative title: Hitler's Women 1946 Murder in the Music Hall Attendant at Mission 1946 Traffic in Crime Ann Marlowe 1946 The Trap Marcia 1947 Blondie's Holiday Bea Mason (Class of '32) Credited as Ann Nagel 1947 The Hucksters Teletype Operator Uncredited 1947 The Spirit of West Point Mrs. Blaik 1948 Homecoming Guest Uncredited 1948 One Touch of Venus Reporter Uncredited 1948 An Innocent Affair Gladys - Receptionist 1948 Bungalow 13 Henrietta Uncredited 1948 Family Honeymoon Irene Bartlett Uncredited 1948 Every Girl Should Be Married Woman Uncredited 1949 The Stratton Story Mrs. Piet Uncredited 1949 Mighty Joe Young Brunette at Bar Uncredited 1949 Prejudice Miss Bennett 1950 Armored Car Robbery Mrs. Marsha Phillips Uncredited Television Year Title Role Notes 1951 The Range Rider Aunt Ginny 2 episodes 1957 Circus Boy Louisa Cody 1 episode, (final appearance)

Notes

References

Appleton, Wisconsin Post Crescent, "Anne Nagel's Death Revives Old Mystery", Monday, August 29, 1966, Page A11. Los Angeles Times, "Final Rites Set for Actress Anne Nagel", Page B10. The New York Times, "Anne Nagel Dies; Movie Actress, 50", July 8, 1966, Page 26. Reno, Nevada State Journal, "Movie Actor Kills Self", January 3, 1937, Page 1. Photos Ann Nagel, "https://www.picsofcelebrities.com/celebrity/anne-nagel/pictures/images-of-anne-nagel.html"

External links

July 21, 1966 Tuscaloosa News Article on Anne Nagel's Death