Jane Greer

Born: 1924-09-09

Jane Greer was a film and television actress who was perhaps best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past. A beauty-contest winner and professional model from her teens, Greer began her show-business career as a big-band singer. She sang in Washington, DC, with the orchestra of Enric Madriguera. She "sang phonetically in Spanish" with the group. Howard Hughes spotted Greer modeling in the June 8, 1942 issue of Life, and sent her to Hollywood to become an actress. Hughes lent her to RKO to star in many films (another source says Greer's husband, Rudy Vallee, "helped her get out of her contract with Hughes and secure another pact with RKO Studios") including Dick Tracy, Out of the Past, They Won't Believe Me, and the comedy/suspense film The Big Steal, with Out of the Past co-star Robert Mitchum. Hughes refused to let her work for a time; when she finally began film acting, she appeared in You're in the Navy Now, The Prisoner of Zenda, Run for the Sun, and Man of a Thousand Faces. In 1984, she was cast in Against All Odds, a remake of Out of the Past, as the mother of the character she had played in 1947. In 1952, Greer obtained a release from her contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. She said, "When there is a good role at MGM, the producers want Lana or Ava. There is no chance for another actress to develop into important stardom at the studio". Greer's noteworthy roles in television included guest appearances on episodes of numerous shows over the decades, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, Quincy, M.E., Murder, She Wrote, and a 1975 gig with Peter Falk and Robert Vaughn in an episode of Columbo titled Troubled Waters. She even got to make fun of Out of the Past in a parody with Robert Mitchum on TV's Saturday Night Live in 1987. Greer joined the casts of Falcon Crest in 1984 and Twin Peaks in 1990 in recurring roles until her retirement in 1996. Greer was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1634 Vine Street for her contributions to the motion picture industry. The star was dedicated on February 8, 1960. Greer died of cancer on August 24, 2001, at the age of 76, in Bel Air, Los Angeles. Her body was interred at Los Angeles' Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jane Greer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Against All Odds

as Mrs. Wyler
Released: 1984-03-02

She was a beautiful fugitive. Fleeing from corruption. From power. He was a professional athlete...

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Out of the Past

as Kathie Moffat
Released: 1947-11-25

Jeff Bailey seems to be a mundane gas station owner in remote Bridgeport, California. He is...

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Man of a Thousand Faces

as Hazel Bennet Chaney
Released: 1957-08-15

The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon...

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The Big Steal

as Joan 'Chiquita' Graham
Released: 1949-07-01

Army Lieutenant Halliday, accused of stealing the Army payroll, pursues the real thief on a...

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Immediate Family

as Michael's Mother
Released: 1989-10-27

Linda and Michael, married for ten years, desperately want a baby and turn to an adoption agency...

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They Won't Believe Me

as Janice Bell
Released: 1947-07-16

On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand...

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The Outfit

as Alma
Released: 1973-10-19

A two-bit criminal takes on the Mafia to avenge his brother's death. Earl Macklin is a small...

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The Prisoner of Zenda

as Antoinette de Mauban
Released: 1952-11-04

An Englishman vacationing in Ruritania is recruited to impersonate his cousin, the...

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Sinbad the Sailor

as Pirouze
Released: 1947-01-13

Daredevil sailor Sinbad embarks on a voyage across the Seven Seas to find the lost riches of...

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The Shadow Riders

as Ma Traven
Released: 1982-09-28

After starring in "The Sacketts", Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott team up again but this time as Mac...

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The Falcon's Alibi

as Lola Carpenter
Released: 1946-04-12

A society sleuth sets out on the trail of a society matron's lost jewels.

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Station West

as Charlie
Released: 1948-09-01

When two US cavalrymen transporting a gold shipment get killed, US Army Intelligence...

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The Clown

as Paula Henderson
Released: 1953-01-16

Once a famous Ziegfeld star, Dodo Delwyn is reduced to playing clowns in burlesque and amusement...

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Run for the Sun

as Katherine 'Katie' Connors
Released: 1956-07-30

Mike, a Hemingway-esque adventure novelist, is spending his days in a self-imposed exile...

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Just Between Friends

as Ruth Chadwick
Released: 1986-03-21

Holly and Sandy strike up an instant friendship; they don't know however that they have more in...

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The Company She Keeps

as Diane Stuart aka Mildred Lynch
Released: 1951-01-27

A lady con artist sets out to steal her parole officer's fiance.

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Dick Tracy

as Judith Owens
Released: 1945-12-01

Detective Tracy (Morgan Conway) rescues Tess Trueheart (Anne Jeffreys) and Junior from a killer...

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Two O'Clock Courage

as Helen Carter (as Bettejane Greer)
Released: 1945-04-13

A cab driver nearly hits a man with amnesia, then helps him unravel his past, only to discover...

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Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star

as Self
Released: 1991-03-10

A retrospective on the career of Robert Mitchum through interviews with friends and co-workers,...

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Desperate Search

as Julie Heldon
Released: 1952-11-19

A man (Howard Keel), his wife (Jane Greer) and his famous-aviator ex-wife (Patricia Medina)...

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You're in the Navy Now

as Ellie C. Harkness
Released: 1951-02-23

When Lt. John Harkness is assigned as the new skipper of a submarine chaser equipped with an...

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Where Love Has Gone

as Marian Spicer
Released: 1964-11-02

A divorced couple's teen-age daughter stands trial for stabbing her mother's latest lover.

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Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero

as Self
Released: 1998-03-17

Known for his personification of the Western Hero, it was Montana-born Gary Cooper's...

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Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light

as Self
Released: 2006-07-18

Film Noir burrows into the mind; it's disorienting, intriguing and enthralling. Noir brings us...

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The Bamboo Blonde

as Eileen Sawyer
Released: 1946-07-15

A pilot of a B 29 meets Louise Anderson, a singer in a New York nightclub. He falls in love with...

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No Time at All

as Karen
Released: 1958-02-13

An airliner flying nonstop at night from Miami to New York fails to check in, then disappears...

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Billie

as Agnes Carol
Released: 1965-12-13

A 16-year-old tomboy and high school athlete becomes embroiled with the lives around her...

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George White's Scandals

as Billie Randall
Released: 1945-10-09

Two couples work through their issues in this backstage Broadway musical.

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Pan-Americana

as Miss Downing (uncredited)
Released: 1945-03-22

A New York magazine sends its editors to South America to find beautiful girls.

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Sunset Pass

as Lolite Baxter
Released: 1946-07-08

A young outlaw gets involved with a gang of crooks. When he tells them he is breaking away, they...

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Down Among the Sheltering Palms

as Diana Forrester
Released: 1953-03-01

War-weary Captain Willoby and his men are the occupation force on an island of lovely...

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You for Me

as Katie McDermad
Released: 1952-07-19

A good-hearted nurse gets mixed up with a millionaire who could help her hospital.

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Columbo

as Sylvia Danziger
First aired: 1971-09-15

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently...

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Falcon Crest

as Charlotte Pershing
First aired: 1981-12-04

Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for...

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Bonanza

as Julia Bulette
First aired: 1959-09-12

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch...

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Twin Peaks

as Vivian Smythe Niles
First aired: 1990-04-08

The body of Laura Palmer is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin...

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Quincy, M.E.

as uncredited
First aired: 1976-10-03

Los Angeles County medical examiner Quincy routinely engages in police investigations.

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Murder, She Wrote

as Bonnie Phelps
First aired: 1984-09-30

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life...

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Burke's Law

as Lonnie Smith
First aired: 1963-09-20

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on...

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Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Ellen Morrow
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

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Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Ellie Matson
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

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Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Julie Benton
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

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Thriller

as Ann Moffat
First aired: 1960-09-13

Thriller is an American anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62...

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Playhouse 90

as Karen
First aired: 1956-10-04

Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to...

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Mrs. Cannon-Hughes
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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The Ford Television Theatre

as Mona Patton
First aired: 1952-10-02

This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to...

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The Ford Television Theatre

as uncredited
First aired: 1952-10-02

This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to...

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Suspicion

as Clare Stengler
First aired: 1957-09-30

Suspicion is the title of an American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC...

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The Insiders

as Mrs. West
First aired: 1985-09-25

The Insiders is a mid-1980s American television detective series starring Nicholas Campbell,...

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The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood

as Self
First aired: 1987-07-03

Ed Asner tells the story of RKO Pictures from the 1920s to the 1960s.

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