In The News

Former film star Mona Freeman passes away

Former film star Mona Freeman passes away

THE former film star Mona Freeman has passed away at the age of 87.

Ms Freeman starred in a string of movies during the 1940s and ’50s mostly playing sweet, girl-next-door types. She would later complain that she would have liked to have been considered for more adventurous roles.

Before getting the call from Hollywood, she had started out as a model aged 14 in New York, using part of her earnings to pay for her brother’s education at Yale.

Her first movie was Till We Meet Again (1944). Her other movie credits included Black Beauty (1944), Dear Ruth (1947), see below, Dear Wife 1949), see below, Streets of Laredo (1949) and Dear Brat (1951), see below.

From the mid-1950s Ms Freeman began to concentrate on working in television — appearing in many of the top shows of the period, including The Red Skelton Hour, Maverick and Perry Mason. Her final acting credit was for an appearance in the TV movie Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (1972).

Away from acting, Ms Freeman was an accomplished artist, mostly specialising in portraiture. Copies of one of her paintings, a portrait of Mary See the mother of the founder of See’s Candies in the U.S., hangs in the company’s shops across the country. 

Ms Freeman passed away at her home in Beverly Hills following a long illness. She is survived by her daughter Mona.

To view a clip from Dear Ruth, click here.

To see Ms Freeman in an excerpt from Dear Wife, click here.

To view a clip from Dear Brat, click here.

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