Noreen Nash (born Norabelle Jean Roth; April 4, 1924 – June 6, 2023) was an American film and television actress, who after working as a model, had a two-decade long career during the Classical Hollywood Cinema era. In the beginning of her career, she had uncredited parts at MGM. In 1945, she appeared in The Southerner, after which she had mostly leading roles in B movies of the late 1940s and 1950s, such as The Red Stallion (1947), The Checkered Coat (1948), and Phantom from Space (1953). After leaving the acting profession in 1962, she attended college and became a writer, publishing several books.
Early life
Nash was born Norabelle Jean Roth on April 4, 1924, in Wenatchee, Washington. Her parents were Albert, who was in the beverage industry, and Gail Roth, a teacher.[1] Gail died in 1998, at the age of 99.[2]
Early Hollywood career
Nash's career started in 1942 when she was crowned ”Apple Blossom Queen” in her home town.[3] With help from Louis Shurr, Bob Hope’s agent, she entered showbusiness and eventually got a contract with MGM as a showgirl.[4] She had initially declined, since she had planned to attend Stanford University. She had previously tested for Warner Brothers, but wasn't signed.[5] In 1942, she worked as a model alongside Marilyn Monroe.[6] Her screen debut came in the 1943 musical film Girl Crazy, which starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Her MGM contract lapsed in 1944, having had mostly bit parts and appearing as a showgirl.[1]
A 1945 newspaper article reported Nash being helped by actress Paulette Goddard. Goddard, the article said, was "sponsoring the career of shapely, brunette, blue-eyed and very beautiful Noreen Nash." The article added that her screen tests at Paramount Pictures were "arranged through the instigation of Paulette. As a result, Noreen was signed to a term contract.[7]
Uncredited in her first movies, Nash eventually landed a role in director Jean Renoir's 1945 film The Southerner as farmer Henry's daughter Becky Devers. The film was nominated in three categories at the 18th Academy Awards in 1946.[8] During this time, she changed her screen surname to Nash, inspired by her father in the film, J. Carroll Naish. She and Renoir remained friends for the rest of his life.[9]
Although the film was described by writer Robert Nott as one of Budd Boetticher's worst, Nash considered him to be "the best director [she] ever worked with", praising the way he worked with the actors on set.[10] She was the leading lady in the 20th Century Fox drama The Checkered Coat (1948), playing psychiatrist Dr. Michael Madden's (played by Tom Conway) wife Betty.
Nash played ranch owner Chris Marvin in the RKO Pictures Western Storm Over Wyoming (1950). The film also starred Tim Holt and Richard Martin. She worked with both of them a couple of years later in the same genre in Road Agent (1952). She played Cora Drew, daughter of rancher George Drew. She played scientist Barbara Randall in the 1953 independentscience fictionPhantom from Space. One of her most noted films was one about a ranch owner, Giant (1956), in which she played the film star Lona Lane.[9]
Nash retired from acting in 1962, having been encouraged to do so by her youngest son.[6] She attended UCLA, majoring in history, and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1971.[1]
Publishing
She published the novel By Love Fulfilled in 1980, which was about a doctor in the 16th century.[5] It was partly based on the Flemish anatomist and physician Vesalius. In 2013, she published another book, titled Agnes Sorèl, Mistress of Beauty. In 2015, she and Jeanne Rejaunier published Titans of The Muses: When Henry Miller Met Jean Renoir; she had worked with Renoir on The Southerner, and she was also friends with the American novelist Henry Miller.[6]
Personal life
Nash married Dr. Lee Siegel on December 12, 1942, in Las Vegas, after only having known each other for little over a month.[5][11] They had two sons, Lee Siegel Jr.,[12] a novelist and religion professor, and Robert James Siegel, a cardiologist.[11][13] Dr. Siegel worked as a medical director at the film studio 20th Century Fox. He died on May 7, 1990.[14] In 2001, she married actor James Whitmore, who died in 2009.[4] Nash was Jewish and was a frequent visitor at the Jewish Home for the Aged in Boyle Heights, California.[15]
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