Elaine Shepard

Elaine Elizabeth Shepard (April 2, 1913 – September 6, 1998) was a Broadway and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She was also the author of The Doom Pussy, a semi-fictional account of aviation in the Vietnam War.

Elaine Shepard
1945 pin-up photo from Yank
Born
Elaine Elizabeth Shepard

(1913-04-02)April 2, 1913
Olney, Illinois, U.S.
DiedSeptember 6, 1998(1998-09-06) (aged 85)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActor, journalist
Years active1936-1951
Spouse(s)Terry Hunt (1937-1940)
George F. Hartman (1943-1958)

Film and stage

Shepard worked as a model on the West Coast before she became active in films.[1] Her first film appearance was in the 1936 Republic serial Darkest Africa, in which she played Valerie Tremaine, the heroine of the film. This was followed with a series of leading roles in other minor films, such as You Can't Fool Your Wife, a 1940 comedy starring Lucille Ball. She then had several minor roles in major films, including playing a secretary in Topper and uncredited roles in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo and the 1946 Ziegfeld Follies. A more prominent role came in Seven Days Ashore, a musical in which she plays the principal love interest for the band of sailors on shore leave.[2]

Shepard's Broadway credits included performing in the ensemble in Nina Rosa (1931) and portraying Mildred Hunter in Panama Hattie (1940) and a maid in The Land Is Bright (1942).[3]

Freelance journalism

Shepard abandoned acting and turned to freelance journalism, reporting from international trouble spots including the Congo and Northern Ireland.[4] She interviewed international leaders, and in 1959 she was the only female reporter accredited to travel with President Dwight Eisenhower when he toured the Middle East.[5] She is best known in this role for her Vietnam War coverage, which became the basis for her 1967 book The Doom Pussy, recounting her experiences with aviators in the early part of the war.[6] This book includes use of the phrase "the whole nine yards", an old American colloquialism.[7]

Personal life

Shepard was married to George Hartmann.[8]

Films

Books
  • Forgive Us Our Press Passes (Prentice-Hall, 1962)
  • The Doom Pussy (Trident Press, 1967)
  • The Doom Pussy II (Rockoon Press, 1992)

References
  1. "To Be A Model Be An Actress -- Elaine Shepard". The Charlotte News. North Carolina, Charlotte. October 15, 1939. p. 31. Retrieved September 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Seven Days Ashore". Classic Film Guide. Archived from the original on October 28, 2006. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
  3. "Elaine Shepard". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  4. Carpenter, Dan (February 12, 1987). "Reporter won war; still fights 1 battle". The Indianapolis Star. p. 2. Retrieved September 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Page, Eleanor (December 9, 1962). "Behind the Scenes with a Woman Reporter". Chicago Tribune. p. 284. Retrieved September 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. See for example in Pratt, John Clark (2008). Vietnam Voices: Perspectives on the War Years, 1941-1975. University of Georgia Press. p. 223.
  7. Martin, Gary. "The whole nine yards - meaning and origin". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
  8. "Dinner for Four Costs Fliers $6,700 in Chinese Money". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. International News Service. August 8, 1944. p. 22. Retrieved September 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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