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Cast


Crew

    W.C. Fields: Straight Up

    W.C. Fields: Straight Up

    19860.0 / 10

    Never Give a Sucker an Even Break

    Never Give a Sucker an Even Break

    19416.9 / 10

    Jingle Belles

    Jingle Belles

    19410.0 / 10

    Destiny

    Destiny

    19444.6 / 10

    Copacabana

    Copacabana

    19475.3 / 10

    If I Had My Way

    If I Had My Way

    19406.4 / 10

    Get Hep to Love

    Get Hep to Love

    19424.0 / 10

    Air Strike

    Air Strike

    19555.0 / 10

    Mister Big

    Mister Big

    19432.2 / 10

    I'll Remember April

    I'll Remember April

    19454.0 / 10

    It Comes Up Love

    It Comes Up Love

    19433.0 / 10

    A Little Bit of Heaven

    A Little Bit of Heaven

    19401.0 / 10

    The Under-Pup

    The Under-Pup

    19396.0 / 10

    What's Cookin'?

    What's Cookin'?

    19425.5 / 10

    When Johnny Comes Marching Home

    When Johnny Comes Marching Home

    19424.0 / 10

    There's a Girl in My Heart

    There's a Girl in My Heart

    19490.0 / 10

    I Surrender Dear

    I Surrender Dear

    19480.0 / 10

    Ghost Catchers

    Ghost Catchers

    19445.4 / 10

    Easy to Look At

    Easy to Look At

    19450.0 / 10

    The Ladies Man

    The Ladies Man

    19616.3 / 10

    Manhattan Angel

    Manhattan Angel

    19490.0 / 10

    Pardon My Rhythm

    Pardon My Rhythm

    19445.5 / 10

    An Old-Fashioned Girl

    An Old-Fashioned Girl

    19495.0 / 10

    River Gang

    River Gang

    19450.0 / 10

    Reckless Age

    Reckless Age

    19440.0 / 10

    Moonlight in Vermont

    Moonlight in Vermont

    19436.0 / 10

    Gloria Jean

    Gloria Jean

    Biography

    Gloria Jean (born Gloria Jean Schoonover, April 14, 1926 – August 31, 2018) was an American actress and singer who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films from 1939 to 1959, and made numerous radio, television, stage, and nightclub appearances. She is probably best remembered today for her appearance with W.C. Fields in the film Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941). Gloria Jean was three years old when she first sang on radio; in Scranton, Pennsylvania, she sang, under the name "Baby Skylark", with Paul Whiteman's orchestra on radio broadcasts. When she was 12, she was engaged by a New York opera company and became the youngest member of an opera troupe in the United States. Gloria Jean was being trained as a coloratura soprano when her voice teacher took her to an audition held by Universal Pictures movie producer Joe Pasternak in 1938. Pasternak had guided Deanna Durbin to stardom, and with Durbin now advancing to ingénue roles, Pasternak wanted a younger singer to make the same kind of musicals. He held auditions for a film called The Under-Pup. Up against hundreds of others, Gloria Jean won the audition. Newly under contract to Universal, she was given the leading role in the 1939 feature. The film did well and Gloria Jean became instantly popular with moviegoers. She then co-starred with Bing Crosby in If I Had My Way (1940), then starred in the well-received A Little Bit of Heaven (1940). Her fourth picture became her best known: Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), in which she co-starred with W.C. Fields. Gloria Jean became one of Universal's most prolific performers during the war years; she made 14 feature films. Most were "hepcat" musicals, which were geared to the teenage market of the day. In May 1944 she turned eighteen. After leaving Universal when her contract expired at the end of 1944, Gloria Jean made personal appearances across America; the successful tour prompted a tour of Europe. She then resumed her movie career as a freelance performer appearing in United Artists, Columbia Pictures, and Allied Artists productions, the best-known being Copacabana (1947). Subsequently she began appearing on TV shows. Gloria Jean continued to appear in feature films, albeit low-budget ones. Her last motion picture (in which she appears as an extra with no dialogue) was released in 1961. Her final television appearance was in 1962. In that year she married Franco Cellini, an actor. By 1966 they were divorced. The union produced a son. In 1965 Gloria Jean signed on with an employment agency, which sent her to a cosmetics company, where she worked as a receptionist until 1993. In December 1991, she was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award, recognizing her achievements within the film industry as a juvenile performer. She also participated in various nostalgia and autograph shows, meeting fans and displaying memorabilia. She had always retained her fan following. During her final years she moved to Hawaii to live with her son and his family. Gloria Jean suffered health problems, including two serious falls and a heart condition. She died on August 31, 2018. Her authorized biography, Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven, was published in 2005.

    Personal Info

    Gender

    Female

    Birthday

    1926-04-14

    Place of Birth

    Buffalo, New York, USA