Patricia "Boots" Mallory

 Patricia "Boots" Mallory (October 22, 1913 – December 1, 1958)

Born in Louisiana, and growing up in Alabama, she went to New York City to act, where she made a strong impression in the Broadway production of the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931. Moving to Hollywood, she found employment with Fox Films and was cast in the film version of Dawn Powell's play Walking Down Broadway. This was the first sound film by Erich von Stroheim. He shared both screenwriting and directing credits and regarded Mallory as his discovery. The play told the story of a young unmarried woman involved in a love triangle who becomes pregnant. The finished film, however, strongly suggested a lesbian relationship between Mallory's character and the character played by ZaSu Pitts. Other themes in this version were seen as too controversial, and major changes were made to von Stroheim's story, including being released under a different name (Hello, Sister!). Ultimately, this movie was not well received. In 1932 her second completed film, Handle with Care, was released and marked her debut. It was well received and Mallory was chosen as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1932, but the extensive media publicity surrounding her WAMPAS recognition, was undermined by the poor reception given to Hello, Sister! when it was finally released. A tall blonde, Mallory was well regarded for her striking looks and was photographed by such photographers as George Hurrell. She also posed for risque lingerie photographs, and was painted nude by the pin-up artist Rolf Armstrong. At one point, she was married to James Cagney's lookalike brother William Cagney, an actor who later became a film producer for his brother. On radio she worked with James Cagney in productions for Lux Radio Theatre.

She made her final film appearance in an uncredited role in the Laurel and Hardy film Swiss Miss (1938). She and William Cagney had two children, fraternal twins Jill and Stephan. She was married to actor Herbert Marshall from 1947 until her death from chronic throat disease at age 45 in Santa Monica, California, in 1958.