Sheila Ryan

Sheila Ryan
Born	Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin June 8, 1921(1921-06-08) Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Died	November 4, 1975(1975-11-04) (aged 54) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1939–1958
Spouse	Edward Norris (1940s) Allan Lane (1945–1946) Pat Buttram (1952–1975)

Sheila Ryan, (June 8, 1921 – November 4, 1975) was an American actress who starred in over 60 movies.

Acting career

Born as Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin in Topeka, Kansas, she went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18. She was signed by 20th Century Fox in 1940 and was credited in her early films as Bettie McLaughlin. Adopting the name Sheila Ryan, she starred in Dressed to Kill the following year. She appeared in other memorable films, including two Laurel and Hardy movies, Great Guns (1941) and A-Haunting We Will Go (1942), and the Busby Berkeley musical The Gang's All Here (1943). Ryan appeared in several Charlie Chan and Michael Shayne mysteries, starring alongside Cesar Romero.

By the late 1940s, however, her career waned and she began appearing mostly in B movies, especially low budget westerns. In 1945 she married actor Allan Lane, but the marriage ended in divorce after a few months.

She later worked with Gene Autry, starring in several of his films, including The Cowboys and the Indians (1949), and Mule Train (1950). She also had roles in several television shows such as "The Lone Ranger (Pete and Pedro episode)".

Personal life

Ryan was married first to Edward Norris, but they later divorced. Ryan then married actor Allan Lane in 1945, but divorced him a year later in 1946. While working with Autry, Ryan met actor Pat Buttram. They married in 1952 and remained together until her death in 1975. They had a daughter, Kathleen Buttram, nicknamed Kerry.

Sheila Ryan retired from acting in 1958. She died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California in 1975 from lung cancer. She was 54 years old. She was survived by Pat and their daughter Kerry. Pat later died of kidney failure on January 8, 1994. Their daughter Kerry Buttram-Galgano died of cancer in 2007.

External links

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sheila Ryan

• Sheila Ryan at the Internet Movie Database
• Sheila Ryan at AllRovi
• Sheila Ryan at Find a Grave
• B-Western Ladies, Shiela Ryan

This article about a United States film and television actor or actress born in the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v d e