Sunday, March 23, 2014

Patrice Wymore R.I.P.

Patrice Wymore died on 22 March at the age of 87 (although some sources gave her age as 84) after a long illness. Miss Wymore appeared in films, on television, and on Broadway. She was married to Errol Flynn from 1950 until his death.

Patrice Wymore was born on 17 December in Miltonvale, Kansas. Her parents were vaudeville performers and she started touring with them while she was still a child. She made her debut on Broadway in the musical Hold It! in 1948. In 1949 she appeared on Broadway in the musical All for Love. It was not long afterwards that she was signed by Warner Brothers. She made her film debut in Tea for Two in 1950 and appeared in Rocky Mountain the same year. It was on the set of Rocky Mountain that she met Errol Flynn.

In the Fifties Miss Wymore appeared in such films as I'll See You in My Dreams (1951), Starlift (1951), The Big Trees (1952), She's Working Her Way Through College (1952), The Man Behind the Gun (1953), She's Back on Broadway (1953), King's Rhapsody (1955), The Sad Horse (1959), and Ocean's 11 (1960). She made her television debut in an episode of Lux Video Theatre in 1953. She also appeared on the shows Errol Flynn Theatre and Jefferson Drum.

In the Sixties she was a regular on the soap opera Never Too Young. She also guest starred on the shows The Roaring 20's, The Deputy, Cheyenne, Tales of Wells Fargo, 77 Sunset Strip, The Littlest Hobo, Perry Mason, Mister Roberts, The Monkees, and F Troop. She appeared in the film Chamber of Horrors. Patrice Wymore retired in 1967 to her cattle ranch in Jamaica. She also operated a wicker furniture business. 

That Patrice Wymore was very pretty that can be no doubt, but she was also a very talented actress. She had a particular gift for comedy, with a very good sense of timing. While her guest appearances on The Monkees and F Troop were among her last work, they were also among her best. At the same time, however, Miss Wymore also excelled in more serious roles. She guest starred three times on Perry Mason (once as the murder victim) and did well in all three. What is more, she could play unpleasant people as easily as she could nice ones. Among her most memorable roles was Danny Ocean's prickly girlfriend in Ocean's 11 (1960). Patrice Wymore also had a very good singing voice which she got to put to good use both on film (in the movie Starlift) and on television in the F Troop episode "She's Only a Build in a Girdled Cage"). Although she never achieved superstardom, Patrice Wymore was definitely one of those actress who enriched any film or TV show in which she appeared.

No comments: