Star of MGM Musicals & Broadway Vet Gloria DeHaven Dies at 91

Deadline reports that Gloria DeHaven, best known for her feature roles in the MGM movie musicals during the golden age of Hollywood, has passed away at the age of 91.

DeHaven began her career as a child actor with a bit part in Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (1936).She was signed to a contract with MGM. She went on to featured roles in such films as Best Foot Forward (1943),The Thin Man Goes Home (1944), Scene of the Crime (1949) and Summer Stock (1950). She portrayed her own mother, Flora Parker DeHaven, in the Fred Astaire film Three Little Words (1950). Her last film role would be decades later, portraying the love interest of Jack Lemmon in the 1997 comedy Out to Sea, also starring Walter Matthau.

DeHaven also appeared as a regular in the television series and soap operas Ryan's Hope (as Bess Shelby), As the World Turns (as Sara Fuller), and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. She guest starred in such television series as Robert Montgomery Presents, Appointment with Adventure , The Love Boat, Highway to Heaven, Murder, She Wrote and Touched by an Angel.

DeHaven's Broadway debut came in 1955. She played Diane in the musical version of SEVENTH HEAVEN. She also toured in a summer stock production of NO, NO, NANETTE.

Image courtesy of MGM

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