Australians in Hollywood : Biographical Notes

Ann Richards
Ann Richards (b. 1917) was known as Shirley Ann Richards during the Australian portion of her career. A product of Cinesound's “talent school,” she appeared in the Australian classics It Isn't Done (1937) and Dad and Dave Come to Town (1938) before moving to Hollywood in the early 1940s. There she abbreviated her name to Ann Richards, in order to distinguish herself from the actress Anne Shirley. After debuting in the MGM short The Woman in the House (1942), she appeared in King Vidor's An American Romance (1944), Love Letters (1945), Lost Honeymoon (1947) and the noir thriller Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) with Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster. Fastidious about her roles, she made only ten Hollywood films, retiring from the screen after Breakdown (1952). In 1971 she published a volume of poetry called The Grieving Senses. At last report she was said to be living in retirement in California.

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