Donna Reed

Donna Reed (January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Born Donna Belle Mullenger to William Richard Mullenger (whose paternal grandparents were born in England) and Hazel Jane Shives on a farm near Denison, Iowa.

Related Topics:
January 27 - 1921 - January 14 - 1986 - American - Actress - England - Denison - Iowa

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Reed is probably best remembered for her roles as the wholesome housewife "Donna Stone" on television's The Donna Reed Show and as "Mary Bailey" in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. She won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for playing a prostitute in 1953's From Here to Eternity.

Related Topics:
Television - The Donna Reed Show - Capra's - It's a Wonderful Life - Academy Award - 1953 - From Here to Eternity

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In her later years she temporarily replaced an ailing Barbara Bel Geddes as "Miss Ellie" in the television series Dallas in the 1984–1985 season. When Bel Geddes was well enough to return to the role, Reed was fired. She sued the show's production company and received an undisclosed seven-figure settlement, but it was not long before her own death.

Related Topics:
Barbara Bel Geddes - Dallas - 1984 - 1985

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She died at age 64 in Beverly Hills, California from pancreatic cancer, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Related Topics:
Beverly Hills, California - Pancreatic - Cancer - Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery - Los Angeles, California

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The Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts, based in Reed's hometown of Denison, was organized after Reed's death in 1986. The non-profit organization grants scholarships for performing arts students, runs an annual festival of performing arts workshops, and operates The Donna Reed Center for the Performing Arts. The performing arts center was formerly an opera house built in 1914, and later renovated into the Ritz Movie Theater where Donna Reed, as a young girl in Denison, first fell in love with movies.

Related Topics:
1986 - 1914

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