Lois Collier


Lois Collier was an American actress born in Salley, South Carolina. She was sometimes credited as Lois Collyer.

Early years

Collier's father was Ernest Jones, a pharmacist, of Salley, South Carolina. Chaperoned by her grandmother, she visited Hollywood when she was 15, later describing herself as "movie-struck" at the time. She attended Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina.

Film

Collier's acting career started as a model in the 1935 romance-comedy "Women Must Dress". From 1940 through 1949, her career would be active and somewhat successful, with her playing mostly heroine roles in B-movies. Her best known film is probably A Night in Casablanca starring the Marx Brothers. During the 1940s, she often starred opposite western stars Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, and Dennis Moore. In 1950, she starred in the sci-fi serial The Flying Disc Man from Mars.
Collier was sometimes called the Fourth Mesquiteer because seven of Republic Pictures' The Three Mesquiteers movies featured her as the female lead.

Radio

Collier played Carol in the soap opera Dear John, which ran on CBS in the 1930s and 1940s. Beginning December 6, 1948, she was featured in You, a program on KMGM in Los Angeles, California.

Television

In 1949, Collier co-starred in City Desk, a drama about activity in the newsroom of a newspaper. From 1950 through 1957, she starred mostly on television series episodes. She played Mary, the hero's girlfriend and sidekick, in 58 episodes of the television series Boston Blackie, which ran from 1951 to 1954. She retired from acting after 1957.

Personal life

Collier was married to bank executive Robert A. Duncan. She was granted a divorce from him on September 3, 1943. On August 4, 1945, Collier married Robert Jackson Oakley, an agent for actors. They divorced in 1956.

Filmography

Film

Television

Dick Tracy – Fluff Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance – Anne Howe PalookaRhythm Inn – Betty ParkerThe Unexpected – "Beyond Belief" Boston Blackie – Mary Wesley Letter to Loretta – "600 Seconds" Gloria JoyCavalcade of America – "Sunrise on a Dirty Face" – MarionDamon Runyon Theater – "A Job for Macarone" – Mary PeeringCheyenne – "West of the River" – Ruth McKeeverScreen Directors Playhouse – "The Sword of Villon" – ElaineIt's a Great Life – "Operation for Earl" – NurseStrange Stories – "Con Game" Broken Arrow – Johnny FlagstaffThe George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
  • *"Ronnie Gets an Agent" – Devlin's Secretary
  • *"The Plumber's Union" – Julie AmesThe Web – Easy Money Missile Monsters re-edited feature version of the 1950 serial ''Flying Disc Man from Mars''