- Born
- Died
- Birth nameElla Wallace Raines
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- Ella Raines was born in Snoqualmie Falls, Washington, in 1920. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at the University of Washington as a drama student and participated in many plays. Following graduation, she traveled to New York and the lights of Broadway. She was eventually signed by Howard Hawks and played in Corvette K-225 (1943) as the love interest of Randolph Scott. She appeared in many A pictures very quickly, including Tall in the Saddle (1944) opposite John Wayne. She co-starred in many other films opposite such stars as Vincent Price, William Powell and Brian Donlevy (turning in a good performance as a spunky garage owner in director Arthur Lubin's underrated Impact (1949)). In the early 1950s she had her own TV series, Janet Dean, Registered Nurse (1954), and also had a short-lived recording career during that period. She died in 1988.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bill Hafker, pakhuntz @ runestone.net
- SpousesRobin Olds(February 6, 1947 - 1976) (divorced, 2 children)Kenneth W. Trout(August 11, 1942 - December 18, 1945) (divorced)
- ParentsErnest N RainesBird Zachary Raines
- Penetrating gaze.
- Her second husband, Robin Olds, was a famous fighter pilot. Son of a World War I pilot, Olds was an ace (shot down 12 enemy aircraft) in WWII and 4 in Vietnam. They separated in 1975 and were divorced in 1976. Ella moved back to Hollywood and lived in Sherman Oaks until her death in 1988. She is survived by two daughters, Christina Eloise Olds of Vail, Colorado and Susan Olds Scott-Risner of North Bend, Washington and a granddaughter, Jennifer Newman of Santa Monica, CA.
- Cousin of Gore Vidal.
- Broke into films in 1943 as the sole contract star of a new production company, B-H Productions, established by actor Charles Boyer and director Howard Hawks. She later signed with Universal Pictures.
- She retired in 1956 after filming The Man in the Road (1956)
- In the mid-1970's, she returned to her alma mater to teach drama at the University of Washington in Seattle.
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