RIP Elaine Devry (Davis)

Elaine Devry, sometimes billed as Elaine Davis or Elaine Curtis, passed away back in September, and her life and career were interesting in several respects so I made a note to schedule a post for her natal day.

Born Thelma Elaine Mahnken in 1930, the Compton native had worked as a carhop and a nude model before Mickey Rooney made her his fourth wife in 1952. Her 1954 appearance with him in 1954’s The Atomic Kid (billed as Mrs. Mickey Rooney) is what put her on the map — to the extent that she was on the map. Rooney was her second husband. The first one went to jail for several counts of armed robbery.

Rooney and Davis/Devry split in 1958, but nonetheless the actress carved out a pretty good career for herself. She’s seventh in the billing in China Doll (1958) with Victor Mature and Ward Bond. The majority of her 40+ additional screen credits were TV guest shots, but she was also in several movies (usually in pretty sexy roles) including The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961), Man Trap (1961), Diary of a Madman (1963), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), With Six You Get Eggroll (1969), Once You Kiss a Stranger (1970), The Cheyenne Social Club (1970), Bless the Beasts and Children (1971), The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973), and Herbie Rides Again (1974). The last role was a walk-on as a secretary; in all of her previous films she had played named characters, so this marks a downturn. The last credit of the original stretch of her career was a 1978 episode of Project U.F.O. (She clearly had an in with Jack Webb; she was in several of his projects).

In 1996 she emerged from retirement to take a role on the Showtime softcore series Beverly Hills Bordello. Her final credit was in a 1999 feature called Heart To Heart.com.