Voting Station

Ann Doran

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Actress

The Resume

    (July 28, 1911-September 19, 2000)
    Born in Amarillo, Texas
    Acted in 'Rio Grande,' 'You Can't Take it With You,' 'His Girl Friday,' 'The Man They Could Not Hang,' 'The High and Mighty,' 'The Bob Mathias Story,' 'The Strange Love of Martha Ivers,' and 'Here Come the Waves'
    Best known as Carol Stark, the mother of James Dean's character, in 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955)
    Regular on the television series 'National Velvet' (1960-62) and 'The Legend of Jesse James' (1965-66)

Why she might be annoying:

    She made her acting debut at the age of four.
    She was a resident Columbia 'crank-it-out' stock girl, largely limiting her output to cheap serials, B-movies, or short subject reels (and even then often bit parts).
    She received lead billing only once in her career, opposite Charles Starrett in 'Rio Grande.' (1938)
    She did not get along with 'Rebel' director Nicholas Ray, whom she called 'a wimp' for catering to James Dean so much.
    She later recalled watching James Dean's method acting for the first time on the set as follows: 'Jim [Backus] and I had never seen such a bunch of crap in our lives. We snuck out, because we broke up the scene with our laughing.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    She made six movies with Natalie Wood.
    She reportedly acted in more than 500 movies and over 1,000 TV shows.
    She acted in silent films as a girl, but successfully made the transition to 'talkies' as a hard-working character actress.
    She was an active member of the Screen Actors Guild, helping to helping to launch its John L. Dales Scholarship Fund, and in 1990 receiving the SAG Ralph Morgan Award for her work.
    Over her career, while never a star herself, she worked with an array of premiere leading men, including (but not limited to): John Wayne, Alan Ladd, Kirk Douglas, Richard Widmark, Fred MacMurray, Audie Murphy, and Randolph Scott.
    Her small but effective role as the domineering matriarch in 'Rebel Without a Cause' received critical acclaim.
    She changed her view of James Dean's acting as filming progressed, saying: '[As] I watched him work, and worked with him, it was wonderful, because there was this wonderful giving to you, and giving it back.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 35 Votes: 5.71% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying