Gloria Grahame
Acting • Born 1923-11-28 – Died 1981-10-05
Biography
Gloria Grahame (November 28, 1923 – October 5, 1981) was an American actress. Grahame began her acting career in theatre, and in 1944 she made her first film for MGM. Despite a featured role in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), MGM did not believe she had the potential for major success, and sold her contract to RKO Studios. Often cast in film noir projects, Grahame received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Crossfire (1947), and she won this award for her work in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). She achieved her highest profile with Sudden Fear (1952), Human Desire (1953),The Big Heat (1953), and Oklahoma! (1955), but her film career began to wane soon afterwards. She returned to work on the stage, but continued to appear in films and television productions, usually in supporting roles. Diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1980, Grahame refused to accept the diagnosis and travelled to England to work in a play. Her health rapidly failed and she returned to New York City, where she died in 1981.
Filmography
67 credits
It's a Wonderful Life
Movie • 1946
Violet
Human Desire
Movie • 1954
Vicki Buckley
'In a Lonely Place' Revisited
Movie • 2003
Self (archive footage)
The Bad and the Beautiful
Movie • 1952
Rosemary Bartlow
Macao
Movie • 1952
Margie
Odds Against Tomorrow
Movie • 1959
Helen
The Greatest Show on Earth
Movie • 1952
Angel
The Glass Wall
Movie • 1953
Maggie Summers
Crossfire
Movie • 1947
Virginia "Ginny" Tremayne
Mansion of the Doomed
Movie • 1976
Katherine
Naked Alibi
Movie • 1954
Marianna
Oklahoma!
Movie • 1955
Ado Annie Carnes
Chilly Scenes of Winter
Movie • 1979
Clara
The Big Heat
Movie • 1953
Debby Marsh
Song of the Thin Man
Movie • 1947
Fran Page
The Man Who Never Was
Movie • 1956
Lucy Sherwood
Tarot
Movie • 1973
Natalie
The Good Die Young
Movie • 1954
Denise Blaine
In a Lonely Place
Movie • 1950
Laurel Gray
Sudden Fear
Movie • 1952
Irene Neves
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Movie • 1983
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Girl on the Late, Late Show
Movie • 1974
Carolyn Porter
A Woman's Secret
Movie • 1949
Susan Caldwell / Estrellita
Blood and Lace
Movie • 1971
Mrs. Deere
Not as a Stranger
Movie • 1955
Harriet Lang
The Cobweb
Movie • 1955
Karen McIver
Ride Beyond Vengeance
Movie • 1966
Bonnie Shelley
Chandler
Movie • 1971
Selma
Merton of the Movies
Movie • 1947
Beulah Baxter
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
Movie • 1980
Ma
Man on a Tightrope
Movie • 1953
Zama Cernik
The Loners
Movie • 1972
Annabelle
Roughshod
Movie • 1949
Mary Wells
Blonde Fever
Movie • 1944
Sally Murfin
The Todd Killings
Movie • 1971
Mrs. Roy
Escape
Movie • 1971
Evelyn Harrison
Ride Out for Revenge
Movie • 1957
Amy Porter
Black Noon
Movie • 1971
Bethia
Prisoners of the Casbah
Movie • 1953
Princess Nadja
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Movie • 1980
Mistress Page
Mama's Dirty Girls
Movie • 1974
Mama Love
It Happened in Brooklyn
Movie • 1947
Nurse
The Dancing Princesses
Movie • 1978
The Witch
Without Love
Movie • 1945
Flower Vendor
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Movie • 1954
Self
Melvin and Howard
Movie • 1980
Mrs. Sisk
The Nesting
Movie • 1981
Florinda Costello
Mr. Griffin and Me
Movie • 1981
Mara Emerson
Akai Ito
Movie • 2025
Burke's Law
TV • 1963
Helen Dekker
The Colgate Comedy Hour
TV • 1950
Self
Tales of the Unexpected
TV • 1979
Olivia
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Elena Carlisle
The Fugitive
TV • 1963
Dorina Pruitt
Daniel Boone
TV • 1964
Molly Hogan
The New Breed
TV • 1961
Nurse Nora Springer
Harrigan and Son
TV • 1960
The Outer Limits
TV • 1963
Florida Patton
Burke's Law
TV • 1963
Doris Landers
Seventh Avenue
TV • 1977
Moll
The Name of the Game
TV • 1968
Madame Noh
Kojak
TV • 1973
Helen
Rich Man, Poor Man
TV • 1976
Sue Prescott
Sam Benedict
TV • 1962
Rita Bain
Mannix
TV • 1967
Mae Darling
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
Then Came Bronson
TV • 1969
Charlene Braden