Catherine Dale Owen
Born(1900-07-28)July 28, 1900
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedSeptember 7, 1965(1965-09-07) (aged 65)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeOld Tennent Cemetery
Alma materAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts
OccupationActress
Years active1920–1935
Spouses
Milton F. Davis, Jr.
​
​
(m. 1934; div. 1937)​
    Homer P. Metzger
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1937⁠–⁠1965)​
    Children1

    Catherine Dale Owen (July 28, 1900  – September 7, 1965) was an American stage and film actress.

    Early life

    Catherine Dale Owen was born in Louisville, Kentucky to a prominent Kentucky family. She attended private school in Philadelphia and Bronxville, New York before attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.[1]

    Career

    First discovered by Laura MacGillivray, the wife of Actors Equity president Frank Gillmore, Owen appeared on Broadway in the 1920s through early 1930s in productions including The Mountain Man, The Whole Town's Talking, Trelawny of the Wells, The Love City and The Play's the Thing. In 1925, Owen was acclaimed as one of the ten most beautiful women in the world.[2][3]

    Owen made her film debut as Princess Orsolini opposite John Gilbert's Captain Kovacs in the 1929 film His Glorious Night.[1] It was to Owen that Gilbert spoke the lines, "Oh beauteous maiden, my arms are waiting to enfold you. I love you. I love you. I love you." The scene, which proved disastrous for Gilbert's career, was later parodied in the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain.

    In 1930, Owen starred in Lawrence Tibbett's film debut, The Rogue Song and also with Edmund Lowe in Born Reckless. Owen appeared in her final film, Defenders of the Law in 1931. She retired from acting in 1935.[1]

    Personal life

    Owen married Milton F. Davis Jr., son of Brigadier General Milton F. Davis, in 1934. The marriage ended in divorce in March 1937.[1] On June 5, 1937, Owen married advertising executive Homer P. Metzger in New York City.[4] The couple had one son, Robert Owen Metzger, born in October 1939.[1][5]

    Owen's likeness was drawn in caricature by Alex Gard for Sardi's, the New York City theater district restaurant. The picture is now part of the collection of the New York Public Library.[6]

    Death

    On September 3, 1965, Owen suffered a stroke at her New York City home. She was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital where she slipped into a coma. She died there on September 7 at the age of 65.[1]

    Filmography

    Lobby card for The Rogue Song (1930)
    Year Title Role
    1927 The Forbidden Woman
    1929 His Glorious Night Princess Orsolini
    1930 Such Men Are Dangerous Elinor Kranz
    1930 Strictly Unconventional Elizabeth
    1930 The Rogue Song Princess Vera
    1930 Born Reckless Joan Sheldon
    1930 Today Eve Warner
    1931 Behind Office Doors Ellen May Robinson
    1931 Defenders of the Law Alice Randall

    See also

    Notes

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Catherine Dale Owen". The Montreal Gazette. September 10, 1965. p. 10.
    2. ↑ "Catherine Owen, Actress, 62, Dies" The New York Times, September 8, 1965.
    3. ↑ "To Sue Milton Davis Jr. Catherine Dale Owen in Nevada for Divorce Action Soon". The New York Times, February 11, 1937
    4. ↑ "Catherine Owen's Surprise Marriage Bared By Father". The Milwaukee Sentinel. June 8, 1936. p. 1.
    5. ↑ Winchell, Walter (October 24, 1939). "Walter Winchell's On Broadway". St. Petersburg Times. p. 10.
    6. ↑ The New York Public Library Inventory of Sardi's Caricatures

    References

    • Bradley, Edwin M. The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co, 1996.
    • Lennig, Arthur. The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003.
    • "Catherine D. Owen Plans her Bridal", The New York Times, December 12, 1934
    • "To Sue Milton Davis, Jr. Catherine Dale Owen in Nevada for Divorce Action Soon", The New York Times, February 11, 1937
    • Wayne, Jane Ellen. The Golden Girls of MGM: Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, and Others. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003.
    • Wayne, Jane Ellen. The Leading Men of MGM. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005.
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