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Gail Davis
Birthday:
October 5
Birth Name:
Betty Jeanne Grayson
Height:
157 cm
Biography
[on auditioning for the titular role in Annie Oakley (1954)] They came up with the idea of a western series for a girl - it'd never been done before. So they ran a contest throughout the United States, trying to find someone who could ride and shoot *and* act. I got very upset because this was right down my alley, really a part I wanted. I felt it was me. I ...
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[on auditioning for the titular role in Annie Oakley (1954)] They came up with the idea of a western series for a girl - it'd never been done before. So they ran a contest throughout the United States, trying to find someone who could ride and shoot *and* act. I got very upset because this was right down my alley, really a part I wanted. I felt it was me. I went to talk to the producer, Mandy Schaefer [Armand Schaefer], and he said no. So, I went home and put on my bluejeans, a gingham shirt, put freckles on my nose and put my hair in pigtails and I walked back in to Mandy's office and said, "I think I should play the part". He said, "You got enough courage to do this - let's give you a test". We did the test - and I guess I passed. I've been Annie ever since.
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My father was a doctor back in Little Rock. He liked to go hunting with a .22 rifle, so I learned early how to shoot.
My father was a doctor back in Little Rock. He liked to go hunting with a .22 rifle, so I learned early how to shoot.
[on Overland Telegraph (1951)] It was a good part for the girl - not just one of those smile into the sunset pictures. Tim [Tim Holt] was really cute; he had a friendly personality but was a bit of a kidder. So was Dick Martin [Richard Martin], but both were very conscientious about their pictures.
[on Overland Telegraph (1951)] It was a good part for the girl - not just one of those smile into the sunset pictures. Tim [Tim Holt] was really cute; he had a friendly personality but was a bit of a kidder. So was Dick Martin [Richard Martin], but both were very conscientious about their pictures.
[on her real-life abilities as a markswoman] Let's just say I'd hate to get into competition with those police boys.
[on her real-life abilities as a markswoman] Let's just say I'd hate to get into competition with those police boys.
Really and truly I wanted to be a musical comedy star. I thought, jeepers, they were super. That's the thing I wanna do. Unfortunately, I didn't have the voice or the feet.
Really and truly I wanted to be a musical comedy star. I thought, jeepers, they were super. That's the thing I wanna do. Unfortunately, I didn't have the voice or the feet.
[on Smiley Burnette] I loved Smiley. He's a legend. It's wonderful, the laughs he brought all the people where he toured. Not only that, he did so many kind things for people when he went on the road. And cook? Good heavens, could that man cook! He used to have his trailer and we'd be doing one-night stands and Smiley'd say, "Come on in, Gail. Let's get some...
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[on Smiley Burnette] I loved Smiley. He's a legend. It's wonderful, the laughs he brought all the people where he toured. Not only that, he did so many kind things for people when he went on the road. And cook? Good heavens, could that man cook! He used to have his trailer and we'd be doing one-night stands and Smiley'd say, "Come on in, Gail. Let's get some flapjacks and molasses", or he'd fix fried chicken for dinner. He was really down home.
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[on shooting Annie Oakley (1954)] I was up at four o'clock every morning to braid my pigtails, have breakfast, and head for the ranch. We worked from sun up to sundown. We worked in Pioneertown (a western town location near Palm Springs) and there was a big tall mountain out there called Panic Peak, and we could get the last shot of the day on the top of tha...
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[on shooting Annie Oakley (1954)] I was up at four o'clock every morning to braid my pigtails, have breakfast, and head for the ranch. We worked from sun up to sundown. We worked in Pioneertown (a western town location near Palm Springs) and there was a big tall mountain out there called Panic Peak, and we could get the last shot of the day on the top of that mountain at about 8:30 at night. By the time we took the bus back into town it was 9:30, get a bite to eat, go to bed and get back up at four o'clock the next morning. When we first started, we were doing three shows a week; working seven days a week when we were on location.
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[on Johnny Mack Brown] He was a gentleman. The sweetest man. He loved people, he loved animals, and the crew just adored him. I'm sorry I only got to make two films with him (Six Gun Mesa (1950) and West of Wyoming (1950)).
[on Johnny Mack Brown] He was a gentleman. The sweetest man. He loved people, he loved animals, and the crew just adored him. I'm sorry I only got to make two films with him (Six Gun Mesa (1950) and West of Wyoming (1950)).
[on Stanley Andrews] I loved him almost as much as my father. My dad passed away quite some time before I met Stanley. He was so wonderful to me all the time we worked together. He wasn't my real father, but it felt like that.
[on Stanley Andrews] I loved him almost as much as my father. My dad passed away quite some time before I met Stanley. He was so wonderful to me all the time we worked together. He wasn't my real father, but it felt like that.
[1982] Annie Oakley had to deal with the same ruthless characters - rustlers and killers - that the cowboys dealt with. And she did it without ever killing one of them.
[1982] Annie Oakley had to deal with the same ruthless characters - rustlers and killers - that the cowboys dealt with. And she did it without ever killing one of them.
Gail Davis
Hailed by Gene Autry as the 'perfect western actress', diminutive, pig-tailed Betty Jeanne Grayson had all the genre's prerequisite attributes. The daughter of a prominent Arkansas physician (who went on to became State Health Officer), she had been trained in drama and dance at the University of Texas. More pertinently, she was of an athletic disposition, a keen swimmer, golfer and tennis player. She was also an ace rider (to the extent of performing in rodeos), as well as an expert trick shot. Her arrival in Hollywood happened some time in 1946. Thereafter, sources vary as to how she got into movies. One account has her being spotted by an MGM talent scout while working as a hat check girl, while another asserts that she had previously met Autry while performing amateur dramatics at a camp show for the Army Air Force. The story further goes, that Autry (who was serving in the military at the time) was so impressed with her, that he told her to look him up later at Columbia studios.Gail's looks, feisty personality and tomboyish aptitudes soon got her cast in outdoorsy films. She went on to co-star opposite Autry (who prompted her change of name to 'Gail Davis') in fifteen of his films, as well as appearing at least a dozen times as different characters on his TV show. Gail tended to do all of her own stunts. She became sufficiently popular for Autry to produce Annie Oakley (1954) (through his Flying A Productions), starring Gail as the gun-toting titular heroine, invariably disarming (rather than killing) assorted screen villains with her Single Action Army Colt. Gail thus achieved an additional measure of prominence by becoming the first female to command the nominal lead in a western TV series. For this, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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