Grace McDonald Green (June 15, 1918 – October 30, 1999) was an American actress who appeared in films in the early 1940s, mostly B movies. Born in New York City, she and her brother

Ray McDonald Raymondo Antoine McDonald (born September 2, 1984) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida, where he was a member o ...

had their Broadway debut in 1937 in ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a wor ...

'' as part of the dance team and singing ''

I Wish I Were in Love Again "I Wish I Were in Love Again" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical ''Babes in Arms''. In the original show, Dolores, the Sheriff's daughter (played by Grace McDonald), talks to Gus, her former boyfriend (Rolly Pickert), who tries ...

''. Other Broadway plays in which she performed included ''One for the Money'' (1939), ''

Very Warm for May ''Very Warm for May'' is a musical composed by Jerome Kern, with a libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was the team's final score for Broadway, following their hits ''Show Boat'', '' Sweet Adeline'', and '' Music in the Air''. It marked a return ...

'' (1939), and ''The More the Merrier'' (1941). McDonald's work in ''Babes in Arms'' led to a film contract with

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. She made her screen debut in 1940's ''

Dancing on a Dime Dancing on a Dime is a 1940 Paramount Pictures movie directed by Joseph Santley about five actors and dancers putting on a show while living in a theatre. It is adapted from a novel of the same name written by Dorothy Young, which itself is bas ...

'',(4 October 1940)
Screen Debut
, ''Milwaukee Journal''(27 January 1943)
Theater Gossip
''

Evening Independent The ''Evening Independent'' was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper. The sister evening newspaper of the '' St. Petersburg Times'', it was launched as a weekly newspaper in March 1906 under the ownership of Willis B. Powell. In Nov ...

'' and appeared in ''

Give Out, Sisters ''Give Out, Sisters'' is a 1942 American film starring The Andrews Sisters. The film co-stars Dan Dailey and the teenage couple of the time, Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan. Dailey and O'Connor went on to be in the 1954 film '' There's No Busin ...

'' (1942), ''

It Ain't Hay ''It Ain't Hay'' is a 1943 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. Plot Cab driver Wilbur Hoolihan accidentally kills a hack horse owned by King O'Hara and his daughter, Princess O’Hara, by feeding it candy. In hopes of raising ...

'' (1943), ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

'' (1944), ''

See My Lawyer ''See My Lawyer'' is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Edmund Hartmann and Stanley Davis. It is based on the 1939 musical ''See My Lawyer'' by Richard Maibaum and Harry Clork. The film stars Ole Olsen, Chi ...

'' (1945), and '' Strictly in the Groove'' in 1942. McDonald also performed in vaudeville. During World War II, she participated in publicity campaigns related to gasoline rationing, donations of books for military personnel, saving cooking fat for military use, rag salvage, and other public-service activities. She also worked as a hostess at the

Hollywood Canteen The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard in the Los Angeles, California, neighborhood of Hollywood between October 3, 1942, and November 22, 1945 (Thanksgiving Day), as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for serv ...

and entertained troops during tours of Army camps. In late 1944 she married Lt. Ralph Green and soon moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, leaving Hollywood behind, and eventually having three children. She died of pneumonia in Scottsdale,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

on October 30, 1999.Hischak, Thomas S.
The Oxford companion to the American musical: theatre, film, and television
p. 481 (2008)(3 November 1999)

, '' Star Tribune''

Filmography

References

External links

* 1918 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American actresses American stage actresses American film actresses Deaths from pneumonia in Arizona Vaudeville performers {{US-film-actor-1910s-stub