PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Lorna Gray
Lorna Gray
	Autographed photo as Adrian Booth Brian
Born	Virginia Pound; July 26, 1917; Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Died	April 30, 2017 (aged 99); Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Other names	Adrian Booth; Adrian Brian; Adrian Booth Brian;
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1937–1951
Spouse	David Brian (m. 1949)
Signature

Virginia Pound (July 26, 1917 – April 30, 2017), known professionally as Lorna Gray and (after 1945) Adrian Booth, was an American film actress known for her comic roles, and later as a villainess. She is best known for her roles in Columbia Pictures comedy shorts and Republic Pictures serials.

Early years

Gray was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.^[1] After her father's millinery business was a victim of the Great Depression, the family split up. Before appearing in films, Gray sang with a group in Cleveland called Ben Yost's Varsity Co-eds, who performed primarily in movie theaters before the movie began.^[2]

Career

Although she had a film test at Universal Studios and a brief contract with Paramount Pictures, she made her first big film for Columbia Pictures.

As a Columbia contract player she appeared in the studio's shorts and serials, including Flying G-Men (starring Robert Paige), Pest from the West (starring Buster Keaton), and You Nazty Spy! (starring The Three Stooges). When her Columbia contract lapsed, she found work at Monogram Pictures, where she worked with action star Frankie Darro.^[3]

Gray also starred opposite John Wayne in Red River Range (1938) and appeared in the title role in O, My Darling Clementine (1943), a country music film starring Roy Acuff as a singing sheriff.^[4]

In her Paramount films, such as Hold 'Em Navy, she was credited as Virginia Pound, but she was given the name Lorna Gray by Columbia and she used it from 1938 until 1945, when she left Columbia and moved to Republic Pictures. She appeared as Lorna Gray in Republic's Federal Operator 99, but subsequently adopted the name Adrian Booth.^[5]

At Republic, she often received co-star billing in Westerns, the only woman other than Dale Evans to be billed so highly at that studio.^[2] She also starred in Republic's serial about the comic book superhero Captain America.

Personal life

In 1945, shortly after signing a contract with Republic Pictures, she and the stunt performer Ruel F. Taylor were arrested for "suspicion of possessing marijuana in Los Angeles." A $1,000 bail set her free.^[6] She was later exonerated after Taylor testified at his preliminary hearing that Gray had not used the marijuana and was not aware of it.^[7]

She married actor David Brian^[8] on July 19, 1949,^[2] and retired from motion pictures in 1951. As Adrian Booth, she was awarded the Golden Boot Award in 1998 and attended film festivals into her nineties.^[5] She appeared as a guest at the annual Three Stooges convention held in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, on April 30, 2011.

Death

Gray died in Sherman Oaks, California on April 30, 2017, aged 99.^[9]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1937	Hold 'Em Navy	Girl
1937	Thrill of a Lifetime	Chorus girl	Uncredited
1938	The Buccaneer		Uncredited
	The Big Broadcast of 1938	Divorcee
	Scandal Street		Uncredited
	Adventure in Sahara	Carla Preston
	Red River Range	Jane Mason
	Smashing the Spy Ring	Anna Loring
1939	The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt	Girl Michael runs into in nightclub	Uncredited
	Flying G-Men	Babs McKay
	Outside These Walls	Secretary	Uncredited
	Missing Daughters	Nan	Uncredited
	Good Girls Go to Paris	Bridesmaid	Uncredited
	Coast Guard		Uncredited
	The Man They Could Not Hang	Janet Savaard
	Those High Grey Walls	Nurse	Uncredited
	Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise	May Jenkins	Short, Uncredited
	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	Woman at station	Uncredited
	Beware Spooks!		Uncredited
	The Amazing Mr. Williams	Nurse	Uncredited
	Three Sappy People	Sherry Rumsford	Short
	The Stranger from Texas	Jean Browning
	Pest from the West	Conchita	Short
1940	Cafe Hostess	Cafe hostess	Uncredited
	You Nazty Spy!	Mattie Herring	Short, Uncredited
	Convicted Woman	Frankie Mason
	Bullets for Rustlers	Ann Houston
	Rockin' thru the Rockies	Flossie	Short
	Deadwood Dick	Anne Butler	Serial
	Up in the Air	Rita Wilson
	Drums of the Desert	Helene Laroche
1941	Father Steps Out	Helen Matthews
1941	Tuxedo Junction	Joan Gordon
1942	Perils of Nyoka	Vultura
1942	Ridin' Down the Canyon	Barbara Joyce
1943	So Proudly We Hail!	Lt. Tony Dacelli
1943	O, My Darling Clementine	Clementine Cheshire
1944	Captain America	Gail Richards	Serial
1944	The Girl Who Dared	Ann Carroll
1945	Adventures of Kitty O'Day	Gloria Williams
	Fashion Model	Yvonne Brewster
	Federal Operator 99	Rita Parker
	Tell It to a Star	Mona St. Clair
	Dakota	Entertainer	Uncredited
1946	Home on the Range	Bonnie Garth
	Valley of the Zombies	Susan Drake
	Man from Rainbow Valley	Kay North
	Daughter of Don Q	Dolores Quantero
	Out California Way	Gloria McCoy
1947	Last Frontier Uprising	Mary Lou Garnder
	Spoilers of the North	Jane Koster
	Along the Oregon Trail	Sally Dunn
	Exposed	Judith Bentry
	Under Colorado Skies	Julia Collins
1948	Lightnin' in the Forest	Dell Parker
	California Firebrand	Joyce Mason
	The Gallant Legion	Connie Faulkner
	The Plunderers	Julie Ann McCabe
1949	The Last Bandit	Kate Foley
	Hideout	Betty / Hannah Kelly
	Brimstone	Molly Bannister
1950	Rock Island Trail	Aleeta
1950	The Savage Horde	Livvy Weston
1951	Oh! Susanna	Lia Wilson
	Yellow Fin	Jean Elliott
	The Sea Hornet	Ginger Sullivan