Virginia Pound (July 26, 1917 – April 30, 2017), known professionally as Lorna Gray and (after 1945) Adrian Booth, was an American film actress known for her comic roles, and later as a villainess. She is best known for her roles in

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

comedy shorts and

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

serials.

Lorna Gray Federal Operator 99 02 (cropped)

Early years

Gray was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. After her father's millinery business was a victim of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the family split up. Before appearing in films, Gray sang with a group in Cleveland called Ben Yost's Varsity Coeds, who performed primarily in movie theaters before the movie began.

Career

Although she had a film test at

Universal Studios 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 ...

and a brief contract with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, she made her first big film for

. As a Columbia contract player she appeared in the studio's shorts and serials, including ''

Flying G-Men ''Flying G-Men'' is a 15-episode 1939 adventure film Film serial, directed by James W. Horne and Ray Taylor. The serial was the sixth of the 57 serials released by Columbia. Four "Flying G-Men" battle with enemy saboteurs intent on destroying A ...

'' (starring

Robert Paige Robert Paige (born John Arthur Paige, December 2, 1911 – December 21, 1987) was an actor and a TV newscaster and political correspondent and Universal Pictures leading man who made 65 films in his lifetime: he was the only actor ever allowed t ...

), ''

Pest from the West ''Pest from the West'' is the first short subject starring American comedian Buster Keaton made for Columbia Pictures. Keaton made a total of ten films for the studio between 1939 and 1941. Synopsis Keaton is a millionaire vacationing in Mexico ...

'' (starring

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

), and ''

You Nazty Spy! ''You Nazty Spy!'' is a 1940 comedy film directed by Jules White and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard). It is the 44th short film released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedi ...

'' (starring

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

). When her Columbia contract lapsed, she found work at

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

, where she worked with action star

Frankie Darro Frankie Darro (born Frank Johnson, Jr.; December 22, 1917 – December 25, 1976) was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles ...

. Gray also starred opposite

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

in ''

Red River Range ''Red River Range'' is a 1938 "Three Mesquiteers" Western film starring John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, and Polly Moran. Wayne played the lead in eight of the fifty-one movies in the popular series. The director was George Sherman. Plot ...

'' (1938) and appeared in the title role in ''

O, My Darling Clementine ''O, My Darling Clementine'' is a 1943 American musical film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars Roy Acuff, Isabel Randolph, Harry Cheshire, Frank Albertson, Lorna Gray, and Irene Ryan ...

'' (1943), a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

film starring

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

as a singing sheriff. In her Paramount films, such as ''

Hold 'Em Navy ''That Navy Spirit'' is a 1937 American sports film directed by Kurt Neumann (director), Kurt Neumann and starring Lew Ayres, Mary Carlisle and John Howard (American actor), John Howard.Quinlan p.274 It is also known by the alternative title ''Ho ...

'', she was credited as Virginia Pound, but she was given the name Lorna Gray by Columbia and she used it from 1938 until 1945, when she left Columbia and moved to

. She appeared as Lorna Gray in Republic's ''

Federal Operator 99 ''Federal Operator 99'' is a 1945 Republic film serial. It was later edited down into a feature version titled ''F.B.I. 99'' for television. The serial is about an FBI agent named Jerry Blake who battles gentleman thief Jim Belmont, who escapes ...

'', but subsequently adopted the name Adrian Booth."Yo, Adrian! Adrian Booth at the Memphis Film Festival" ''The Blood-shot Eye'' (2007)
At Republic, she often received co-star billing in Westerns, the only woman other than

Dale Evans Dale Evans Rogers (born Frances Octavia Smith; October 31, 1912 – February 7, 2001) was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers. Early life Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on Oc ...

to be billed so highly at that studio. She also starred in Republic's serial about the comic book superhero ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

''.

Personal life

In 1945, shortly after signing a contract with Republic Pictures, she and the

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

Ruel F. Taylor were arrested for "suspicion of possessing

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

in Los Angeles." A $1,000

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

set her free. She was later exonerated after Taylor testified at his preliminary hearing that Gray had not used the marijuana and was not aware of it. She married actor

David Brian Brian James Davis (August 5, 1914 – July 15, 1993), better known as David Brian, was an American actor. He is best known for his role in ''Intruder in the Dust'' (1949), for which he received critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination. ...

on July 19, 1949, and retired from motion pictures in 1951. As Adrian Booth, she was awarded the

Golden Boot Award Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

in 1998 and attended film festivals into her nineties. She appeared as a guest at the annual Three Stooges convention held in

Fort Washington, Pennsylvania Fort Washington is a census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census. History Prior to the Revolutionary War the Fort Washington area was settle ...

, on April 30, 2011.

Death

Gray died in Sherman Oaks, California on April 30, 2017, aged 99.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Lorna 1917 births 2017 deaths Actresses from Grand Rapids, Michigan American film actresses Film serial actresses Paramount Pictures contract players Western (genre) film actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women