Shirley Ross

Blonde, vivacious and obviously talented, Shirley Ross had the promisings of a big musical film star, but her career remained strictly second-string throughout her fairly short career. She is best remembered through her pairing with an entertainment legend: Shirley was afforded the opportunity of duetting with Bob Hope on the song "Thanks for the Memory" in the splashy musical The Big Broadcast of 1938. The song, of course, became Bob's beloved signature tune. Shirley was born Bernice Gaunt in Omaha, Nebraska in 1913. Her family moved west and she attended Hollywood High School, later studying at UCLA. Blessed with a gorgeous musical instrument, and an adept piano player as well, Shirley went on to sing with Gus Arnheim's band on the west coast, appearing at all the swanky clubs of the day, including the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, while making a decent name for herself on radio. She also appeared in a west coast production of "Anything Goes". MGM initially scooped her up, making her unbilled debut in the Jean Harlow starrer Blonde Bombshell (1933). She continued on just as obscurely in the films Hollywood Party (1934), Manhattan Melodrama (1934), The Girl from Missouri (1934), The Merry Widow (1934), and Age of Indiscretion (1935), but was finally promoted to a minor featured role in the classic earthquake epic San Francisco (1936) with Clark Gable and Jeanette MacDonald, in which Shirley sang "Happy New Year". In 1936, she found more visible work over at Paramount and spent the next few years there paired up vocally and romantically with either Bing Crosby or Bob Hope in their popular vehicles - The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936), Waikiki Wedding (1937), Thanks for the Memory (1938), Paris Honeymoon (1939), and Some Like It Hot (1939). Though most were trifling, insignificant time fillers, she was a diverting beauty and quite serviceable in them. She was even given the chance to topline a few of her own movies such as Prison Farm (1938), Sailors on Leave (1941), and A Song for Miss Julie (1945), which was her swan song. After leaving pictures, Shirley Ross was little heard or seen. Married first to agent John Kenneth 'Ken' Dolan, then to Everett S. 'Eddie' Blum, she had three children - two sons and a daughter. She died in Menlo Park, California of cancer in 1975.

Known For: Acting

Born: Omaha, Nebraska, USA, 1913-01-07

Died: 1975-03-09

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1933	Bombshell	Singer (uncredited)	65
2	1934	Jail Birds of Paradise	Herself	0
3	1934	Manhattan Melodrama	Singer in Cotton Club	70
4	1934	What Price Jazz	Singer	70
5	1935	Buried Loot	Girl in Apartment (uncredited)	60
6	1935	Two Hearts in Wax Time	Mannequin Shirley (uncredited)	44
7	1935	Age of Indiscretion	Dotty	52
8	1935	Calm Yourself	Ruth Rockwell	45
9	1935	I Live My Life	Vi (Uncredited)	64
10	1935	It's in the Air	Cigar Stand Clerk (uncredited)	50
11	1935	La Fiesta de Santa Barbara	Self	59
12	1936	Devil's Squadron	Eunice	60
13	1936	San Francisco	Trixie	66
14	1936	The Big Broadcast of 1937	Gwen Holmes	54
15	1936	Hideaway Girl	Toni Ainsworth	0
16	1937	Waikiki Wedding	Georgia Smith	55
17	1937	Blossoms On Broadway	Sally Shea	40
18	1938	The Big Broadcast of 1938	Cleo Fielding	61
19	1938	Prison Farm	Jean Forest	57
20	1938	Thanks for the Memory	Anne Merrick	56
21	1939	Paris Honeymoon	Barbara Wayne	30
22	1939	Cafe Society	Bells Browne	60
23	1939	Some Like It Hot	Lily Racquel	72
24	1939	Unexpected Father	Dianna Donovan	0
25	1941	Kisses for Breakfast	Juliet Marsden	55
26	1941	Sailors on Leave	Linda Hall	0
27	1941	Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2		60
28	1945	A Song for Miss Julie	Valerie Kimbro	10

Shirley Ross

Film

Television