Gloria Henry

New Orleans-born actress 'Gloria Henry' (qv) was born Gloria Eileen McEniry on April 2, 1923, and lived on the edge of the Garden District growing up. Educated at the Worcester Art Museum School, she moved to Los Angeles in her very late teens and worked on a number of radio shows and commercials using the stage name of 'Gloria Henry' (qv). She also performed in little theatre groups.Signed by an agent, the brunette hopeful transitioned into film work via Columbia Studios and made her debut as the femme lead in the minor horse-racing film _Sport of Kings (1947)_ (qv), instantly moving into the programmer _Keeper of the Bees (1947)_ (qv) as a love interest for 'Michael Duane' (qv) and mystery drama _Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1947)_ (qv) with 'Ron Randell' (qv) as the title sleuth. Now a pert and pretty reddish-blonde, she continued providing decorative duties in such "B" fodder as _Port Said (1948)_ (qv), in a dual role, _Adventures in Silverado (1948)_ (qv),_Air Hostess (1949)_ (qv), _Rusty Saves a Life (1949)_ (qv), _Feudin' Rhythm (1949)_ (qv), a musical western showcasing 'Eddy Arnold' (qv), _Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951)_ (qv), and the 'Gene Autry' (qv) westerns _The Strawberry Roan (1948)_ (qv) and _Riders in the Sky (1949)_ (qv). Some of the better films for her that came out of this period included secondary femme roles in _Johnny Allegro (1949)_ (qv) with 'George Raft' (qv) and 'Nina Foch' (qv), _Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949)_ (qv) starring 'Lucille Ball' (qv) and 'William Holden' (qv), and the classic 'Fritz Lang' (qv) western _Rancho Notorious (1952)_ (qv) top-lining 'Marlene Dietrich' (qv). She also had top billing in a few of her "B" films but to little notice.The 1950s were an uneventful mixture of more "B" films and episodic TV guest parts (_My Little Margie (1952)_ (qv), _Perry Mason (1957)_ (qv)). She also was a regular on the private eye series _The Files of Jeffrey Jones (1952)_ (qv) starring 'Don Haggerty' (qv), but was written out of the show due to pregnancy. All this relative anonymity, ended for her, however, when she won the role of radiant and resilient mom "Alice Mitchell" on the comedy series _Dennis the Menace (1959)_ (qv) shortly after filming a role in _Gang War (1958)_ (qv) starring a young and up-and-coming 'Charles Bronson' (qv). The series co-starred 'Herbert Anderson' (qv) as her hapless, bespectacled husband and young 'Jay North' (qv) as the pint-sized, trouble-making tornado of the title. Gloria was the picture of sunny innocence and maternal warmth and enjoyed four seasons. Sadly, invaluable actor 'Joseph Kearns' (qv), who played the cranky next-door neighbor "Mr. Wilson", died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1962 to the detriment of the show. He provided an important chemistry with North and necessary friction that just wasn't mustered up by his eventual replacement 'Gale Gordon' (qv), a terrific character grump in his own right. _Dennis the Menace (1959)_ (qv) lasted only one more season before being canceled. Gloria's career slowed down considerably after this TV success. She was spotted occasionally in TV-movies playing assorted bit-part matrons and returned to the big screen in a brief role in _Her Minor Thing (2005)_ (qv), a romantic comedy directed by 'Charles Matthau' (qv), 'Walter Matthau' (qv)'s son. She occasionally attended film festivals and nostalgic conventions. Gloria wed architect Craig Ellwood in 1949; they divorced in 1977. She had three children from that marriage: Jeffrey, Adam and 'Erin Ellwood' (qv).::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net