Nancy Welford (May 31, 1904 – September 30, 1991), also known as Christine Welford, was a British-born American actress in the early sound film era.
Early life The daughter of actress Ada Loftus and actor Dallas Welford, she was born in London, England and came to the United States when she was six years old.
Career Welford's stage debut came as a member of the ensemble for Mimic World. As early as 1921, she was active in vaudeville. In 1922, she appeared at the Fulton Theatre on Broadway in the musical Orange Blossoms by Victor Herbert. In 1923 she starred in the title role of the Broadway musical Cinders which used a score by Rudolf Friml. That same year, a caption of a photograph in the New York Daily News described her as the prima donna of a musical comedy and noted, "She has come up from the chorus and come to stay." She next joined the Gallagher and Shean duo in their performances. In 1926, Welford starred in Nancy, a musical for which she was the inspiration. This was followed by the role of Mary Wheeler in the hit 1928 musical Rain or Shine.
She acted in five films between 1929 and 1933. She is probably today mostly known for starring in the 1929 Warner Brothers musical Gold Diggers of Broadway.
Personal life On October 24, 1924, Welford married film director F. Heath Cobb in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents learned of the marriage about a month later, prompting her father to say, "I don't believe it", and putting her mother under a doctor's care at her home. She married, secondly, to Henry C. Morris, in 1945.
Death Welford died in San Francisco, California on September 30, 1991, aged 87.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1929 Gold Diggers of Broadway Jerry Lamar Incomplete film, final two reels survive and Vitaphone soundtrack The Phantom of the House Dorothy Milburn 1930 The Jazz Cinderella Patricia Murray 1931 A Safe Affair Mary Bolton 1933 Yours Sincerely Betty Braley
References
External links
Michael G. Morris, "She's Just a Baby" Gershwin 100 (March 25, 2021), a blog post about Welford