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{{short description|American actress (1918–1970)}}

factoids

USS Roma ship manifest, arriving New York October 1, 1937, listed passenger Patricia Ellis O’Brien, age 19, as born May 20, 1918, Detroit, Michigan, and living in Beverly Hills, California.{{subscription required}}1920 US Census Data for Patricia O’Brien, daughter of Eugene and Florence O’Brien, Detroit, Michigan (Patricia Ellis’s birthplace, Birmingham, Wayne County, is a suburb of Detroit, Michigan){{subscription required}}“Patricia Ellis Feels No Older As She Turns 21”, Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), June 15, 1939, p. 20. “Marriage Revealed by Patricia Ellis”, Detroit Free Press, July 15, 1941, p. 4. USS Roma ship manifest, arriving New York October 1, 1937, listed passenger Patricia Ellis O’Brien, age 19, as born May 20, 1918, Detroit, Michigan, and living in Beverly Hills, California.{{subscription required}} “Hollywood’s Youngest Leading Lady” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 10, 1935, p. 37.“Only 17, But Going Places”, Cincinnati Enquirer, December 8, 1935, p. 100.“Patricia Ellis Weds in East”, Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California), July 15, 1941, p. 23 “Pat’s Pal, ‘Banksy’” by Jeremy Asher, Modern Screen, April 1936, pp. 20-21, 114| birth_place = Birmingham, Michigan, U.S.| death_date = March 26, 1970 (aged 51)| death_place = Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.| occupation = American singer and film actress | years_active = 1932–1941George T. O’Malley|1941}}| children = 1}}Patricia Ellis (born Patricia Gene O’Brien; May 20, 1918 – March 26, 1970) was an American film actress from 1932 to 1939, who then had a brief singing career until 1941.

Early years

Born in Birmingham, Michigan,NEWS,www.newspapers.com/image/100255960/?terms=%22Patricia%2BEllis%22, The Cincinnati Enquirer, December 8, 1935, p. 100, “Only 17, But Going Places”, NEWS, Patricia Ellis Dies; A Screen Actress, New York Times, March 28, 1970, 27, WEB, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Missouri, pg. 37, April 10, 1935, Hollywood’s Youngest Leading Lady,www.newspapers.com/image/139050224/?terms=%22Patricia%2BEllis%22, newspapers.com, most likely in 1918 (although she gave her year of birth to the Social Security Administration as 1920), Ellis was the eldest of four children born to Eugene Gladstone O’Brien, a Detroit insurance salesman, and his wife, Florence Calkins, who married on April 16, 1917.Wedding announcement, Detroit Free Press via newspapers.com. April 17, 1917. Accessed March 24, 2024.BOOK, United States Bureau of the Census, 15th census population, Vol. 168, 1930, Enumeration District 82–551, Sheet 12-A,archive.org/stream/michigancensus00reel1055#page/n766/mode/1up, WEB, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013” database with images, image 154 of 355,familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-B59Y-J?cc=1614804&wc=Q6SP-NN6%3A122424101%2C123582901, FamilySearch, county courthouses, Ohio., January 7, 2017, Her parents divorced 12 years later in 1929.Copy of divorce decree, Wayne County, Michigan: Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Docket # 163383 (April 19, 1929 date of decree or judgement){{Open access}} She was later known as Patricia LeftwichBOOK, Roy Liebman, The Wampas Baby Stars: A Biographical Dictionary, 1922-1934, January 1, 2000, McFarland, 978-0-7864-0756-9, 78, after her step-father, Alexander Leftwich,NEWS, The Final Curtain,books.google.com/books?id=choEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT20, December 15, 2015, Billboard, January 25, 1947, 43, “an eminent New York producer of musical shows.“NEWS, Portrait of Young Girl On Her Way Somewhere, The Salt Lake Tribune,www.newspapers.com/clip/3826273/the_salt_lake_tribune/, The Salt Lake Tribune, October 30, 1932, Utah, Salt Lake City, 38, Newspapers.com, December 15, 2015, {{Open access}} She had a step-brother, Alexander Leftwich Jr. Her childhood activities included singing and dancing, and she reportedly studied French and German.A 1932 newspaper article said, “Since she was able to walk, Patricia has been familiar with the world of the theater, accompanying her father constantly to rehearsals and performances.“NEWS, Daughter of Famous Director Is Signed by Picture Company, Montana Butte Standard,www.newspapers.com/clip/3829787/montana_butte_standard, Montana Butte Standard, June 5, 1932, Montana, Butte, 23, Newspapers.com, December 15, 2015, {{Open access}} That same year, another newspaper reported, “She understudied all her father’s leading women in the last few years, assisted him with lighting and costuming, and knows stage production, too.“NEWS, Baby Role Irks Patricia Ellis; Grown-Up Film Parts Her Goal, Statesville Record and Landmark,www.newspapers.com/clip/3829824/statesville_record_and_landmark/, Statesville Record And Landmark, October 11, 1932, North Carolina, Statesville, 14, Newspapers.com, December 15, 2015, {{Open access}}Patricia Leftwich attended Brantwood Hall School and Gardner School for Girls, and began her stage career after leaving school. She took classes in studio facilities while pursuing her acting career.NEWS, Takes Schoolbooks to Studio, The Gettysburg Times,www.newspapers.com/clip/3829779/the_gettysburg_times/, The Gettysburg Times, May 24, 1932, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg, 3, Newspapers.com, December 15, 2015, {{Open access}}

Stage

Ellis appeared with Chamberlain Brown’s stock company at Mount Vernon, New York, and at the Riviera Theater, New York City.{{When|date=August 2022}}

Film

{{Unsourced | section|date=May 2024}} Given a film test while appearing on stage in New York City, Ellis was put under contract by Warner Bros. In 1932, she had two small parts, both uncredited, in the films Three on a Match and Central Park. That same year, she was one of 14 girls chosen as WAMPAS Baby Stars; Ellis was the youngest. Her first credited role was in the 1933 film The King’s Vacation, starring George Arliss and Marjorie Gateson. After that film, her career took off, with her appearing mostly in lower-budget B movies, but still working steadily. She had roles in eight films in 1933, co-starring that year with James Cagney in Picture Snatcher, and in another seven in 1934. She appeared in 1935’s A Night at the Ritz, opposite William Gargan. She appeared in seven films that year and another seven in 1936. Starring alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including James Cagney, Ricardo Cortez, and Bela Lugosi, Ellis’s career was at its peak by 1937. Most of her roles were in comedy films, along with some mysteries and crime dramas, and by 1936, she was playing the female lead in almost all her films. She was in five films that year, then only three in 1938, and finally just two in 1939.

Singing

After her work in film, Ellis ventured into music, saying, “I was just getting into a rut in Hollywood ... I want to start a new career – singing.“JOURNAL, Wagner, Laura, Patricia Ellis: “I’d Like to Do Characters”, Films of the Golden Age, Fall 2015, 82, 55–56, She made a soundie in 1941. A review in the trade publication Billboard commented: “Miss Ellis isn’t bad on voice and excells (sic) on appearance. Men will pay attention to her.“NEWS, Movie Machine Reviews: Reel 1035,www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/40s/1941/BB-1941-10-25-OCR-Page-0072.pdf, December 15, 2015, Billboard, October 25, 1941, 72, In 1941, she and Henny Youngman headlined with Blue Barron and his Orchestra at Hamid’s Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey.NEWS, AC Trade Best in 12 Seasons,www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/40s/1941/BB-1941-08-09-OCR-Page-0050.pdf, December 15, 2015, Billboard, August 9, 1941, 50, She reportedly appeared on Broadway in Louisiana Purchase, a musical comedy.WEB, Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Michigan, p. 8, May 9, 1941, Patricia Ellis Gets New Broadway Musical Role,www.newspapers.com/image/97497933/?terms=%22Patricia%2BEllis%22%2B%22Louisiana%2BPurchase%22, newspapers.com,

Personal life

On July 12, 1941,NEWS, Los Angeles Times p. A1, Patricia Ellis Weds in the East, Proquest, July 15, 1941, she married George Thomas O’Malley (died 2000), future president of Protection Securities Systems in Kansas City, Missouri.WEB,search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gss=angs-c&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=George&gsln=O%27Mal*&MSAV=1&msbdy=1911&cp=0&catbucket=rstp&uidh=to1&pcat=BMD_MARRIAGE&h=2208462&recoff=6+8&db=MOmarriages&indiv=1&ml_rpos=3&requr=2555265023246336&ur=0&gsfn=George&gsln=O’Mal*&h=2208462, Register, subscription, Ancestry.com, 24 May 2019, WEB,search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=Numident&h=27931249&usePUB=true&rhSource=2442&requr=299067163049984&ur=0&gsfn=&gsln=&h=27931249, Register, subscription, Ancestry.com, May 24, 2019, She settled into private life,WEB,search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=George&gsln=O%27Maley&mswpn__ftp=Kansas+City,+Jackson,+Missouri,+USA&mswpn=48969&mswpn_PInfo=8-%7C0%7C1652393%7C0%7C2%7C3247%7C28%7C0%7C1475%7C48969%7C0%7C&MSAV=1&cp=0&catbucket=rstp&uidh=to1&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=627768033&db=USDirectories&indiv=1&ml_rpos=10&requr=281474977005568&ur=0&gsfn=George&gsln=O’Maley&h=627768033, Register, subscription, Ancestry.com, May 24, 2019, raising her family in Kansas City. The O’Malleys had one daughter.

Death

Ellis remained married to O’Malley for the remainder of her life, dying of colon cancerDeath certificate, giving her year of birth as 1920, findagrave.com; accessed October 3, 2021. on March 26, 1970, in Kansas City, Missouri.U.S. Social Security Death Index. Accessed May 6, 2017.{{subscription required}} She was cremated.

Partial filmography

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• Three on a Match (1932) - Linda
• Central Park (1932) - Vivian (uncredited)
• Lawyer Man (1932) - Law Secretary (uncredited)
• The King’s Vacation (1933) - Millicent Everhardt
• 42nd Street (1933) - Secretary (uncredited)
• Elmer, the Great (1933) - Nellie Poole
• Picture Snatcher (1933) - Patricia Nolan
• The Narrow Corner (1933) - Louise Frith
• The World Changes (1933) - Natalie Clinton Nordholm
• Convention City (1933) - Claire Honeywell
• Easy to Love (1934) - Janet
• Harold Teen (1934) - Mimi Snatcher
• Let’s Be Ritzy (1934) - Ruth Sterling
• Affairs of a Gentleman (1934) - Jean Sinclair
• Here Comes the Groom (1934) - Patricia Randolph
• The Circus Clown (1934) - Alice
• Side Streets (1934) - Mary Thatcher (scenes deleted)
• Big Hearted Herbert (1934) - Alice Kainess
• The St. Louis Kid (1934) - Ann Reid
• A Night at the Ritz (1935) - Marcia Jaynos
• While the Patient Slept (1935) - March
• Hold ‘Em Yale (1935) - Clarice Van Cleve
• Stranded (1935) - Velma Tuthill
• Bright Lights (1935) - Claire Whitmore
• The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935) - Margie Florence Clune
• The Payoff (1935) - Connie
• Freshman Love (1936) - Joan Simpkins
• Boulder Dam (1936) - Ann Vangarick
• Snowed Under (1936) - Pat Quinn
• Postal Inspector (1936) - Connie Larrimore
• Love Begins at 20 (1936) - Lois Gillingwater
• Down the Stretch (1936) - Patricia Barrington
• Sing Me a Love Song (1936) - Jean Martin
• Step Lively, Jeeves! (1937) - Patricia Westley
• Melody for Two (1937) - Gale Starr
• Venus Makes Trouble (1937) - Kay Horner
• Rhythm in the Clouds (1937) - Judy Walker
• Paradise for Two (1937) - Jeannette DuPont
• The Lady in the Morgue (1938) - Kathryn Courtland aka Mrs. Sam Taylor
• ‘’Romance on the Run (1938) - Dale Harrison
• Block-Heads (1938) (with Laurel and Hardy) - Mrs. Gilbert
• Back Door to Heaven (1939) - Carol Evans
• Fugitive at Large (1939) - Patricia Farrow (final film role)

{{div col end}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

• {{Amg name|21685}}
• Patricia Ellis biodata, imdb.com; accessed October 3, 2021.
• Patricia Ellis profile, virtual-history.com; accessed October 3, 2021.
• Patricia Ellis (using her birth name Patricia Gene O’Brien), July 12, 1941 marriage certificate {{subscription required}}
• Patricia Ellis O’Brien “New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957” {{subscription required}}

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