Uncredited roles in The Return of the VampireВ (1943) and ThereвЂ™s Something About a SoldierВ (1943)В followed. She was signed to a contract by Columbia Pictures in 1943 and made her film debut in one of the studioвЂ™s вЂњBoston BlackieвЂќ films, The Chance of a Lifetime. Jeanne Bates got an additional benefit out of her move to Tinsel Town. (Jeanne would occasionally be billed in the credits of radio shows as вЂњJeanne Bates Lansworth.вЂќ) The success of WhodunitВ brought both Bates and Lansworth to Hollywood, and the couple would eventually tie the knot in 1943 in a union that lasted until LansworthвЂ™s passing in 1981. Lansworth had created a popular mystery program entitled Whodunit, and the showвЂ™s trademark was a scream at the beginning of each broadcast provided by Jeanne (though she performed other roles as well). Jeanne got her start in the aural medium by acting in daytime dramas for radio stations in the San Francisco area, and yet you could argue that a simple scream opened a lot of doors for her.

Character great Jeanne Bates-born in Berkeley, California on this date in 1918-started her show business career as a billboard and magazine model (while attending San Mateo Junior College)вЂ¦but it wasnвЂ™t longВ before she discovered a flair for performing in front of a radio microphone.

Jeanne bates