Luana Walters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Luana Walters (July 22, 1912 - May 19, 1963) was a motion picture actress from Los Angeles, California. Walters was an expert horsewoman which led to her discovery as an actress at a rodeo in Palm Springs, California. She won a woman's bucking contest which was being watched by a movie scout, who noticed her. Her film career began when she visited a friend on a United Artists lot. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. was excited about her screen possibilities and arranged for a film test. However, only three days later Fairbanks went to Europe, and the test was never completed. Not long afterwards Joe Schenck saw Walters on the dance floor at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, California. After viewing the abbreviated test made by Fairbanks, Schenck offered her a contract with United Artists. The studio did not make a movie in the next six months so Walters' option was not taken up. Walters' screen credits start with an uncredited role in Reaching For The Moon (film) (1930). Her skill as an equestrian helped her in parts in westerns like Ride 'Em Cowboy (1936), Where The West Begins (1938), Mexicali Rose (1939), and Law Of The Wolf (1939). On many occasions Walters made films in which her role was cut out. This began when she made Reaching for the Moon (film) with Fairbanks. Her parts were also deleted from Spawn of the North (1938) and Souls At Sea (1937). The former was a Carole Lombard feature and the latter paired Walters with Robert Cummings. Walters was the first actress to portray Superman's biological mother Lara in a live-action format. She appeared in "Superman Comes to Earth", the first chapter of the 1948 Superman movie serial. Portions of this depiction appear in flashback in "At the Mercy of Atom Man!", the seventh chapter of the 1950 serial Atom Man vs. Superman. In the latter portion of her career Walters was in a number of B-Movie films, most of them of the sci-fi and horror genres. She plays a female reporter on the trail of a fiend's story in The Corpse Vanishes (1942), with Bela Lugosi. She appears as a cellblock guard in Girls In Prison (1956). Her final role came in The She Creature (1956). Luana Walters died of liver failure due to alcoholism in Los Angeles in 1963. Description above from the Wikipedia article Luana Walters, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Halloween Monster Bash
as Patricia Wilder (archive footage)
Halloween Monster Bash
as Patricia Wilder (archive footage)
Shoot to Kill
as Marian Langdon (as Susan Walters)
Shoot to Kill
as Marian Langdon (as Susan Walters)
Drums of Fu Manchu
as Mary Randolph
Drums of Fu Manchu
as Mary Randolph
Bad Men of the Hills
as Laurie Bishop
Bad Men of the Hills
as Laurie Bishop
Thundering Hoofs
as Nancy Kellogg
Thundering Hoofs
as Nancy Kellogg
Down Texas Way
as Mary Hopkins
Down Texas Way
as Mary Hopkins
The Lone Star Vigilantes
as Marcia Banning
The Lone Star Vigilantes
as Marcia Banning
No Greater Sin
as Sandra James
No Greater Sin
as Sandra James
Arizona Bound
as Ruth Masters
Arizona Bound
as Ruth Masters
Across the Sierras
as Anne Woodworth
Across the Sierras
as Anne Woodworth
The Kid's Last Ride
as Sally Rowell
The Kid's Last Ride
as Sally Rowell
The Range Busters
as Carol Thorp
The Range Busters
as Carol Thorp
The Tulsa Kid
as Mary Wallace
The Tulsa Kid
as Mary Wallace
The Durango Kid
as Nancy Winslow
The Durango Kid
as Nancy Winslow
Drums of Fu Manchu
as Mary Randolph
Drums of Fu Manchu
as Mary Randolph
Millionaire Playboy
as Resort Girl
Millionaire Playboy
as Resort Girl
Eternally Yours
as Girl at Shower (uncredited)
Eternally Yours
as Girl at Shower (uncredited)
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
Hotel Imperial
as Nurse (uncredited)
Hotel Imperial
as Nurse (uncredited)
Mexicali Rose
as Anita Loredo
Mexicali Rose
as Anita Loredo
King of Chinatown
as Nightclub Girl (uncredited)
King of Chinatown
as Nightclub Girl (uncredited)
Cafe Society
as Cigarette Girl
Cafe Society
as Cigarette Girl
Paris Honeymoon
as Angela
Paris Honeymoon
as Angela
Fangs of the Wild
as Carol Dean
Fangs of the Wild
as Carol Dean
Say It in French
as Hat Check Girl
Say It in French
as Hat Check Girl
Marie Antoinette
as Woman in Gaming House (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette
as Woman in Gaming House (uncredited)
The Buccaneer
as Suzette
The Buccaneer
as Suzette
Where the West Begins
as Lynne Reed
Where the West Begins
as Lynne Reed
Youth on Parole
as Salesgirl (uncredited)
Youth on Parole
as Salesgirl (uncredited)
Under Strange Flags
as Dolores de Vargas
Under Strange Flags
as Dolores de Vargas
Shadow of Chinatown
as Sonya Rokoff
Shadow of Chinatown
as Sonya Rokoff
Shadow of Chinatown
as Sonya Rokoff
Shadow of Chinatown
as Sonya Rokoff
Ride 'Em Cowboy
as Lillian Howard
Ride 'Em Cowboy
as Lillian Howard
Aces and Eights
as Juanita Hernandez
Aces and Eights
as Juanita Hernandez
The Speed Reporter
as May
The Speed Reporter
as May
The Third Sex
as Elinor Gordon
The Third Sex
as Elinor Gordon
Fighting Texans
as Jo Ann Carver
Fighting Texans
as Jo Ann Carver
Miss Pinkerton
as First Nurse (uncredited)
Miss Pinkerton
as First Nurse (uncredited)