Booth, who was born in Michigan, would have turned 100 on July 26th.
Booth began acting around age 20, under the name Lorna Gray. Beginning in 1945 she adopted the name Adrian Booth, which she used throughout the remainder of her career as a Republic Pictures leading lady. She appeared in many films with cowboy star Monte Hale and also worked with Rod Cameron, Forrest Tucker, and Bill Elliott.
Two of her Westerns have been reviewed here, BRIMSTONE (1949) with Rod Cameron and Walter Brennan...
...and ROCK ISLAND TRAIL (1950) with Forrest Tucker.
It was noted in an online forum that Booth, then known as Lorna Gray, had a role in BEWARE, SPOOKS! (1939) starring Joe E. Brown. The film's leading lady was Mary Carlisle, who just turned 103.
Booth was married to actor David Brian, seen below, from 1949 until his passing in 1993.
I'll update this post with obituaries as they become available.
May 1st Update: An obituary has been posted at Legacy.com.
May 2nd Update: The Hollywood Reporter has now posted an obituary.
She was a fine addition to many westerns where her strong personality came across well to provide proper balance in her relationships with the male lead, rather than the rather colourless presence expected from some other, perhaps less talented, actresses.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, too.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Jerry. She's someone whose work I've just been getting to know as I begin to dig deeper into Republic Westerns. I really enjoyed her in those I've seen with her to date.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Laura
Loved her in the Republic westerns especially.
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying her whenever she turns up and look forward to more of her films in the future.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Laura