Ann Sheridan

She was Warner Brothers' "Oomph Girl" and a popular WWII pin-up but Ann Sheridan fought to be taken seriously in Hollywood. After a fruitless start at Paramount, the ravishing redhead allowed the Warners publicity mill to make her an overnight sensation, channeling the buzz to barter for better roles. She enjoyed name-above-the-title status for "It All Came True" (1940), in a role rejected by Bette Davis, then teamed with Davis for the screwball classic "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (1942), and more than held her own opposite studio mates George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in "They Drive By Night" (1940). It was as the small town heroine of "King's Row" (1942) opposite Ronald Reagan, that Sheridan became a bone fide star, but her tenure at Warners was punctuated by suspensions for turning down roles. Prior to breaking with the studio in 1948, she scored as a Frisco chanteuse who compels doctor Kent Smith to fake his own death in the noir sleeper "Nora Prentiss" (1947). As a free agent, Sheridan enjoyed one of her better roles opposite Cary Grant in "I Was a Male War Bride" (1949) but a downturn in her industry stock drove the aging actress to television. She capped her 30-year career as the star of the CBS western sitcom "Pistols 'n' Petticoats" (1966-67) but was felled by cancer before the end of the first season. Gone at 51, Ann Sheridan escaped in death the humiliating career twilights of aging rivals Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, remaining in the eyes of movie lovers a quick-witted comedienne and a sensuous dramatic actress rolled into one unforgettable package.