Bonita Granville
59 movies · 5 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Feb 2, 1923
- Died
- Oct 11, 1988 (age 65)
- Place of birth
- New York City, New York, USA
- Also known as
- Bonita Granville Wrather · Bonita Gloria Granville Wrather
Biography
Daughter of Bernard 'Bunny' Granville and Rosina Timponi, Bonita Granville was born into an acting family on 2 Febuary 1923, in New York, New York. It's not surprising that she herself became a child actor, first on the stage and, at the age of 9, debuting in movies in Westward Passage (1932). She was regularly cast as a naughty little girl, as in These Three (1936) where she played Mary, an obnoxious girl spreading lies about her teachers. Her performance left an impression on the audience, and she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award.
In 1938-39 came the movies she is now best remembered for -- playing the bright and feisty detective/reporter Nancy Drew in the Nancy Drew series. She also appeared with Mickey Rooney in a few Andy Hardy movies. She never really had a movie breakthrough, and after marrying oil millionaire and later producer Jack Wrather, she retired from acting in the middle of the 1950s, although she went on to produce the Lassie (1954) TV series.
Read the full biography
After her marriage to oil millionaire Jack Wrather in 1947, she appeared in only three more movies. She became an executive in the Wrather Corp., and first associate producer, then executive producer of the Lassie (1954) TV series. After Wrather's death in 1984, she took over as chairman of the board. She was also involved in many civic and cultural groups, and she was chair of American Film Institute, trustee of John F. Kennedy Center, as well as other well known organizations and charities.
Walt Disney personally convinced the Wrathers to build the Disneyland Hotel when Disney could not raise the money to do so -- his credit was all tied up in building the theme park itself. After the phenomenal success of Disneyland, Disney attempted to buy the hotel; but the Wrathers steadfastly refused to sell. Long after Jack and Bonita Wrather's and Walt Disney's deaths, the Disney Company bought the Wrather Corporation. The Disney Company thus acquired the Disneyland Hotel, the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose attractions in Long Beach, California, the rights to The Lone Ranger (1949) TV series, as well as other properties.
Bonita Granville Rather died of cancer on 11 October 1988, in Santa Monica, California. She and Wrather had four children (two from Wrather's first marriage).
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Bonita Granville: movies and TV shows
Acting (61)
- 1981 The Legend of the Lone Ranger
as Woman (uncredited)
- 1959 The Velvet Alley
as Mrs. Kirkley
- 1956 The Lone Ranger
as Welcome Kilgore
- 1954
- 1954
- 1951
- 1950
- 1950 Guilty of Treason
as Stephanie Varna
- 1948 Strike It Rich
as Julie Ann Brady
- 1948
- 1947 The Guilty
as Estelle Mitchell / Linda Mitchell
- 1946 Love Laughs at Andy Hardy
as Kay Wilson
- 1946 Suspense
as Ronnie
- 1946 The Truth About Murder
as Christine Allen
- 1946 Breakfast in Hollywood
as Dorothy Larson
- 1945 Senorita from the West
as Jeannie Blake
- 1945 The Beautiful Cheat
as Alice
- 1944 Youth Runs Wild
as Toddy Jones
- 1944 Song of the Open Road
as Bonnie
- 1944 Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
as Kay Wilson
- 1943 Hitler's Children
as Anna Miller
- 1942 Seven Miles from Alcatraz
as Anne Porter
- 1942 Now, Voyager
as June Vale
- 1942 The Glass Key
as Opal 'Snip' Madvig
- 1942 Syncopation
as Kit Latimer
- 1942 Soaring Stars
as Passenger
- 1941 H.M. Pulham, Esq.
as Mary Pulham
- 1941 Down in San Diego
as Betty Haines
- 1941 The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
as Frances Marlowe
- 1941 The Wild Man of Borneo
as Francine 'Frankie' Diamond
- 1940 Gallant Sons
as Kate Pendleton
- 1940 Escape
as Ursula
- 1940 Third Finger, Left Hand
as Vicky Sherwood
- 1940 Those Were the Days!
as Martha Scroggs
- 1940 The Mortal Storm
as Elsa
- 1940 Forty Little Mothers
as Doris
- 1939 Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
as Nancy Drew
- 1939 Angels Wash Their Faces
as Peggy Finnegan
- 1939 Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
as Nancy Drew
- 1939 Nancy Drew... Reporter
as Nancy Drew
- 1938 Breakdowns of 1938
as Nancy Drew (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1938 Nancy Drew… Detective
as Nancy Drew
- 1938 Hard to Get
as Connie Richards
- 1938 My Bill
as Gwen Colbrook
- 1938 White Banners
as Sally Ward
- 1938 The Beloved Brat
as Roberta Morgan
- 1938 Merrily We Live
as Marian Kilbourne
- 1937 It's Love I'm After
as Gracie Kane
- 1937 Call It a Day
as Ann Hilton
- 1937 Quality Street
as Isabella
- 1937 Maid of Salem
as Ann
- 1936 The Plough and the Stars
as Mollser Gogan
- 1936 The Garden of Allah
as Convent Girl (uncredited)
- 1936 These Three
as Mary Tilford
- 1936 Song of the Saddle
as Jen as a Child
- 1935 Ah, Wilderness!
as Mildred Miller
- 1934 The Life of Vergie Winters
as Joan Shadwell as a Child (uncredited)
- 1933 Cradle Song
as Carmen (uncredited)
- 1933 Cavalcade
as Young Fanny
- 1932 Silver Dollar
as Liddy (uncredited)
- 1932 Westward Passage
as Little Olivia Allen (age 9)
Behind the camera (4)
- 1978 The Magic of Lassie
Producer
- 1972 Lassie: Peace Is Our Profession
Producer
- 1969 Lassie: The Adventures of Neeka
Associate Producer
- 1954
Talk shows and appearances (4)
- 1982
- 1971 V.I.P. Schaukel
1 episode
- 1961 The Mike Douglas Show
2 episodes
- 1941