Nancy Coleman (December 30, 1912 – January 18, 2000) was an American film, stage, television and radio actress. After working on radio and appearing on the Broadway stage, Nancy Coleman moved to Hollywood to work for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

studios.

Early life

Coleman was born December 30, 1912, in Everett, Washington, where her father, Charles Sumner Coleman, was editor of ''The Daily Herald''. Her mother, Grace Sharplass Coleman, was "an accomplished violinist." The family lived in Everett, Washington, where she graduated with honors from Everett High School. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle where she majored in English and was a member of the Alpha Lambda chapter of

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arch ...

. After graduating, she was accepted at Columbia University's Teacher's College in New York. She attended the university, but dropped out, moving to San Francisco, California, where she worked as an elevator operator of a department store.

Career

Early in her career as an actress, Coleman portrayed Alice Hughes on the radio version of the soap opera ''

Young Doctor Malone ''Young Doctor Malone'' (a.k.a. ''Young Dr. Malone'') is an American soap opera, created by Irna Phillips, which had a long run on radio and television from 1939 to 1963. The producer was Betty Corday (1912–1987), who also produced '' Pepper You ...

''. Coleman also appeared as the lead in the 04/13/1943 episode of "Suspense", entitled "Fear Paints a Picture". On television, she played Helen Emerson on ''

Valiant Lady ''Valiant Lady'' is an American soap opera which ran daily on CBS radio and television from October 12, 1953, to August 16, 1957, at 12:00 PM (EST). The show's title was taken from a 1930s radio soap opera about a young woman struggling through ...

''. Coleman's Broadway credits include ''Liberty Jones'' (1941), ''The Sacred Flame'' (1952), and '' The Desperate Hours'' (1955). Memorable roles include playing the mistress to a Nazi (played by

Helmut Dantine Helmut Dantine (7 October 1918 – 2 May 1982) was an Austrian-American actor who often played Nazis in thriller films of the 1940s. His best-known performances are perhaps the German pilot in '' Mrs. Miniver'' and the desperate refugee in '' ...

) in ''

Edge of Darkness ''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and politica ...

'' and co-starring with

Paul Henreid Paul Henreid (November 10, 1908 – March 29, 1992) was an Austrian-British-American actor, director, producer, and writer. He is best remembered for two film roles; Victor Laszlo in ''Casablanca'' and Jerry Durrance in ''Now, Voyager'', bo ...

in ''

In Our Time In Our Time may refer to: * ''In Our Time'' (1944 film), a film starring Ida Lupino and Paul Henreid * ''In Our Time'' (1982 film), a Taiwanese anthology film featuring director Edward Yang; considered the beginning of the "New Taiwan Cinema" * ''In ...

''. In the 1950s, Coleman began making guest appearances on television. She also played

Anne Brontë Anne Brontë (, commonly ; 17 January 1820 – 28 May 1849) was an English novelist and poet, and the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Anne Brontë was the daughter of Maria (born Branwell) and Patrick Brontë, a poor Irish cl ...

in the film ''

Devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Cat ...

'' (1946) opposite

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

and

Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...

Personal life

Coleman married Whitney Bolton, a publicity director, on September 16, 1943. They remained wed until his death in 1969. She gave birth to twin girls, Charla Elizabeth and Grania Theresa, on July 13, 1944. Coleman was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who supported Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential election.''Motion Picture and Television Magazine'', November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* * 1912 births 2000 deaths American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Washington (state) People from Everett, Washington 20th-century American actresses University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni Washington (state) Democrats California Democrats New York (state) Democrats {{US-screen-actor-1910s-stub