Jane Greer
Jane Greer (
September 9,
1924 -
August 24,
2001) was a movie actress who was perhaps best known for her role as
femme fatale Kathie Moffat in
Out of the Past (1947).
The five-foot five Greer began life as
Bettejane Greer in Washington D.C. A beauty-contest winner and professional model from her teens, Greer began her show business career as a big band singer.
Howard Hughes spotted Greer modeling on the cover of
Life magazine on June 8, 1942 and sent her to Hollywood to become an actress. She married
Rudy Vallee, her senior by 22 years, the same year. Hughes lent out the actress to
RKO to star in many films including
Dick Tracy (1945),
The Falcon's Alibi (1946),
Out of the Past (1947),
They Won't Believe Me (1947), and the comedy/suspense film
The Big Steal (1949), alongside
Out of the Past co-star
Robert Mitchum. Hughes refused to let her work for a time; when she finally began film acting again, she appeared in
The Prisoner of Zenda (1952),
The Clown (1953),
Run for the Sun (1956),
The Man of a Thousand Faces (1957),
Where Love Has Gone (1964) and
The Outfit (1973). In 1984 she was cast in
Against All Odds, a remake of
Out of the Past, playing
Rachel Ward's mother. She also participated in an
Out of the Past parody on TV's
Saturday Night Live with her original costar
Robert Mitchum.
Her son
Lawrence Lasker is a movie producer. He has co-produced several films, including
WarGames (1983) and
Sneakers (1992).
Greer died of cancer at the age of 76 in 2001 and was interred in the
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in
Los Angeles.
She was married to
Rudy Vallee (1943 - 1944) (divorced) and to
Edward Lasker (1947 - 1963) (divorced). She had three children with Lasker.
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Classic Movies (1939 - 1969): Jane Greer*
Find-A-Grave profile for Jane Greer
