Sharon Douglas

 Sharon Douglas (October 16, 1920 – June 18, 2016)

She moved to Hollywood in 1939, struck up a friendship with Hedda Hopper, and became her protégé, with regular appearances on Hopper's popular 1940s radio show. Her stage name was chosen in tribute to her mother's Scottish ancestry. Hopper had NBC hire Douglas to play Lana Turner in a radio biography of her early life, and later introduced her to the RKO movie mogul Howard Hughes, who took her personally under his wing, pitching her as a rival to Jane Greer. Douglas's earliest roles in film were bit parts, but in 1942 was offered a lead role in A Gentleman After Dark, opposite Brian Donlevy. Other good parts followed, but radio was where Douglas found success, in long-running serials such as 1944's The Gallant Heart, and the 132-week World War II run of The Life of Riley, starring William Bendix and a "monumental success". She portrayed Babs, Riley's daughter, in the program. Douglas also on The Abbott and Costello radio program. Douglas died on June 18, 2016, aged 95. The location was not disclosed.