Vivian Austin (born Irene Vivian Coe, February 23, 1920 – August 1, 2004) was an American actress who appeared in a number of films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, although most were B movies.
Early years Austin was born Irene Vivian Coe in Hollywood, California, and attended Hollywood High School. In 1937 she was the queen of the International Festival and Water Sports Carnival in Long Beach, California. She was named Miss Hollywood from 1937 through 1940.
Career Austin first had a film contract when she was 17 years old, but the option was not renewed. In 1939 she was a Hollywood showgirl, working for Earl Carroll, one of 50 women selected from more than 11,000 applicants. The selection was accompanied by regulations that made each woman subject to being fined or fired if she changed the style or color of her hair without permission and being weighed nightly to ensure that her weight did not change by more than one pound.
Austin played a variety of bit parts (as well as extra and stunt work) in movies before being cast as the female romantic lead in The Adventures of Red Ryder (1940). She was signed to a stock contract in 1943 by Universal and as Vivian Austin (for Universal) or Terry Austin (under contract to Eagle-Lion Films) appeared in movies such as Destiny (1944), Trigger Trail (1944), Born To Speed (1947) and Philo Vance Returns (1947). Her career was cut short in the late 1940s by kidney failure and resultant blindness.
Later years After her retirement, Austin helped Jane Russell to found the World Adoption International Fund (WAIF) and herself founded the Braille Auxiliary of the Desert, an organisation to support the charitable activities of the Braille Institute. In 1996 she lived in Palm Springs, California.
Personal life Austin married millionaire auto dealer Glenn Austin (d. 1967) when she was 17. She later wed ophthalmic surgeon Kenneth A. Grow (d. 1993), who had operated on her and helped to improve her sight.
Death On August 1, 2004, Austin died from natural causes in a hospital in Los Angeles, California. Because Grow had served in the United States Army, she and he are interred at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1938 The Goldwyn Follies 'Gorgeous' Goldwyn Girl Uncredited1938 Love, Honor and Behave Party Guest Uncredited1938 Men Are Such Fools Nancy Sinclair 1940 Adventures of Red Ryder Beth Andrews Serial1940 Manhattan Heartbeat Young Girl Uncredited1942 Yankee Doodle Dandy Pianist Uncredited1943 Fired Wife Divorcee Uncredited1943 Moonlight in Vermont Brenda Allenby 1944 Sing a Jingle Ann 1944 Ladies Courageous Uncredited1944 Hi, Good Lookin'! Phyllis 1944 Moon Over Las Vegas Grace Towers 1944 Cobra Woman Handmaiden Uncredited1944 Boss of Boomtown Dale Starr 1944 Twilight on the Prairie Sally Barton 1944 Trigger Trail Ann Cattlet 1944 The Singing Sheriff Showgirl Uncredited1944 Destiny Phyllis Prager 1944 Night Club Girl Phyllis Prager 1945 Night Club Girl Eleanor Kendall 1945 She Gets Her Man Maybelle Clark 1945 Honeymoon Ahead Rosita 1945 Men in Her Diary Linda 1947 Born to Speed Toni Bradley 1947 Philo Vance's Gamble Laurian March 1947 Philo Vance Returns Lorena Blendon Simms 1947 Stepchild Millie Lynne 1947 T-Men Genevieve Uncredited, (final film role)
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