Ann Gillis was born Alma Mabel Conner on February 12, 1927, in Little Rock, Arkansas. At age seven, she appeared in her first film, Men in White (1934), as an extra. During the next two years, she had uncredited appearances in six more films until she received her first major role in King of Hockey (1936). Warner Brothers Studios gave significant screen time to Gillis in this movie, in hopes that she would become another Shirley Temple. Although (like all child stars of the 1930s) she never achieved Temple's level of fame, for the next several years Gillis starred in many films, almost always playing a spoiled, bratty character. She had two rare sympathetic roles as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) and as the title character in Little Orphan Annie (1938). One scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer called for her to go into screaming hysterics when her character was trapped in a cave of bats, and Gillis delivered in a powerful performance that is probably the most memorable scene of her film career. As Gillis grew older, however, her career slowed down, and she left Hollywood in 1947. When she left Hollywood she married Paul Ziebold and had 2 sons. She then divorced, relocated to New York City and married Richard Fraser, a Scottish-born actor (they had a son born in 1958). During the 1950s and '60s, Gillis made sporadic television appearances, and in 1959, she hosted a national telecast presentation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Gillis and her husband moved to England in 1961, and they were living in London when they heard of a casting call for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) that called for an American actress living in the city. Gillis auditioned and got the role; it remains her final film to date. Ann moved to Belgium in 1972 where she met and married Belgian René Van Hulst (deceased 1999). She lived in Belgium from 1972 to 2014 and became a Belgian citizen, devoting much of her time to painting and music, she was an accomplished pianist and harpist. She moved to England, UK in December 2014 and passed away peacefully on 31/1/2018.
Ann Gillis was born Alma Mabel Conner on February 12, 1927, in Little Rock, Arkansas. At age seven, she appeared in her first film, Men in White (1934), as an extra. During the next two years, she had uncredited appearances in six more films until she received her first major role in King of Hockey (1936). Warner Brothers Studios gave significant screen time to Gillis in this movie, in hopes that she would become another Shirley Temple. Although (like all child stars of the 1930s) she never achieved Temple's level of fame, for the next several years Gillis starred in many films, almost always playing a spoiled, bratty character. She had two rare sympathetic roles as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) and as the title character in Little Orphan Annie (1938). One scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer called for her to go into screaming hysterics when her character was trapped in a cave of bats, and Gillis delivered in a powerful performance that is probably the most memorable scene of her film career. As Gillis grew older, however, her career slowed down, and she left Hollywood in 1947. When she left Hollywood she married Paul Ziebold and had 2 sons. She then divorced, relocated to New York City and married Richard Fraser, a Scottish-born actor (they had a son born in 1958). During the 1950s and '60s, Gillis made sporadic television appearances, and in 1959, she hosted a national telecast presentation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Gillis and her husband moved to England in 1961, and they were living in London when they heard of a casting call for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) that called for an American actress living in the city. Gillis auditioned and got the role; it remains her final film to date. Ann moved to Belgium in 1972 where she met and married Belgian René Van Hulst (deceased 1999). She lived in Belgium from 1972 to 2014 and became a Belgian citizen, devoting much of her time to painting and music, she was an accomplished pianist and harpist. She moved to England, UK in December 2014 and passed away peacefully on 31/1/2018.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0319268
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2850388
Facebook: No data
Instagram: No data
X: No data
Filmography (Movies)
2001: A Space Odyssey
Character:Poole's Mother
Release Date:02/04/1968
Big Town After Dark
Character:Susan Peabody LaRue
Release Date:12/12/1947
Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
Character:Sue
Release Date:16/11/1946
The Time of Their Lives
Character:Nora O'Leary
Release Date:13/08/1946
Janie Gets Married
Character:Paula Rainey
Release Date:22/06/1946
Gay Blades
Character:Helen Dowell (as Anne Gillis)
Release Date:25/01/1946
The Cheaters
Character:Angela Pidgeon
Release Date:15/07/1945
A Wave, a WAC and a Marine
Character:Judy (as Anne Gillis)
Release Date:07/10/1944
Janie
Character:Paula Rainey
Release Date:02/09/1944
In Society
Character:Gloria Winthrop
Release Date:16/08/1944
Since You Went Away
Character:Becky Anderson - Class President (uncredited)
Release Date:30/06/1944
Man from Music Mountain
Character:Penny Winters
Release Date:30/10/1943
Stage Door Canteen
Character:Ann Gillis
Release Date:24/06/1943
'Neath Brooklyn Bridge
Character:Sylvia
Release Date:20/11/1942
Bambi
Character:Adolescent Faline (voice) (uncredited)
Release Date:14/08/1942
Tough as They Come
Character:Frankie Taylor
Release Date:05/06/1942
Meet the Stewarts
Character:Jane Goodwin
Release Date:28/05/1942
Glamour Boy
Character:Brenda Lee
Release Date:05/12/1941
Mr. Dynamite
Character:Joey aka Abigail
Release Date:01/03/1941
Nice Girl?
Character:Nancy Dana
Release Date:21/02/1941
Little Men
Character:Nan
Release Date:29/11/1940
My Love Came Back
Character:Valerie Malette
Release Date:13/07/1940
All This, and Heaven Too
Character:Emily Schuyler
Release Date:05/07/1940
Edison, the Man
Character:Nancy Grey
Release Date:10/05/1940
The Under-Pup
Character:Letty Lou
Release Date:31/08/1939
Beau Geste
Character:Isobel Rivers (as a Child)
Release Date:24/07/1939
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
Character:Fluerette de Cava
Release Date:02/12/1938
Little Orphan Annie
Character:Annie
Release Date:02/12/1938
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Character:Becky Thatcher
Release Date:11/02/1938
The Californian
Character:Rosalia as a Child
Release Date:18/07/1937
You Can't Buy Luck
Character:Peggy (uncredited)
Release Date:30/04/1937
Off to the Races
Character:Winnie Mae
Release Date:05/02/1937
King of Hockey
Character:Peggy O'Rourke
Release Date:19/12/1936
Under Your Spell
Character:Gwendolyn (uncredited)
Release Date:06/11/1936
Postal Inspector
Character:Little Alice (uncredited)
Release Date:16/08/1936
The Singing Cowboy
Character:Lou Ann Stevens
Release Date:11/05/1936
The Great Ziegfeld
Character:Mary Lou as a Child (uncredited)
Release Date:08/04/1936
Television Appearances
Images
