Kay Aldridge

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Katharine Gratten Aldridge July 9 1917 January 12 1995 was an American actress and model best known for playing feisty and imperiled heroines in blackandwhite serials during the 1940s A notable role was as Nyoka Gordon in Perils of Nyoka Aldridge was born on July 9 1917 in Tallahassee Florida Her father was a surveyor and her mother was an artist and writer After attending her first year of high school in Westminster Maryland she enrolled in St Marys Female Seminary now St Marys College of Maryland in St Marys City Maryland While at St Marys she acted in plays played basketball and was a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority Following her high school graduation in 1934 Aldridge found work with the John Powers modeling agency in New York She appeared on the covers of magazines such as Life Ladies Home Journal Redbook and Look In 1937 Aldridge was chosen as one of the ten most photographed girls in the world and was selected to go to Hollywood to appear in the United Artists film Vogues of 1938 In 1939 she signed a contract with 20th Century Fox and in the next few years landed a number of minor and largely decorative roles credited as Katherine Aldridge The films she made during this period include Shooting High 1940 playing Evelyn Trent Sailors Lady 1940 playing Georgine Down Argentine Way 1940 playing Helen Carson and Dead Men Tell 1941 playing Laura Thursday She was among the actresses screen tested for the part of Scarlett OHara in Gone With the Wind After her contract with 20th Century Fox expired in 1941 she was approach by Republic Pictures to star in an upcoming film serial Although she considered serial work a comedown from being a featured player at Fox she accepted the offer because it offered her a lead role and a salary of about 650 a week good money at the time Her first serial for Republic was Perils of Nyoka 1942 which offered dramatic cliffhanger scenes at the end of each episode She retired from acting in 1945 Aldridge was married three times to Arthur Cameron from 1945 to 1954 to Richard Derby Tucker from 1956 until his death in 1979 and lastly to Harry Nasland until his death in 1988 In her later years she lived in Camden Maine and was a locally renowned hostess Aldridge died of a heart attack on January 12 1995 in Rockport Maine She is interred at Sea View Cemetery in Rockport Maine