Nancy Saunders

This pretty, blonde 1940s B-movie starlet was the daughter of newspaperman Leonard Sanders and showgirl Blanche Thompson (who also appeared in a few silent pictures). By her own account, she was born in Hollywood as Nancy Lou Sanders on June 29 1925, the day of the Santa Barbara earthquake. Curiously, being in the movies had not been her primary career choice when she was spotted dancing at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub by journeyman actor and talent scout Don Dillaway. Dillaway took an instant shine to Nancy and managed to arrange a screen test at RKO. She passed muster and was rewarded with a six-month contract (being an experienced equestrian from the age of eight also helped clinch the deal). Before long, she found herself on the cover of Life magazine -- along with Jane Greer and Martha Hyer -- as one of 'nine hopefuls'. After five pictures, RKO dropped her option and Nancy moved over to Columbia where she went on to appear in no less than thirteen pictures in 1947 alone. Many of these were horse operas, including half a dozen of the Durango Kid series with Charles Starrett, shot at the Columbia ranch in Burbank. Nancy also doubled for Rita Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai (1...