Beatrice Gray
B-Western's Enduring Actress
by: Michael Williams

    It was in the spring of ’43 that Beatrice Gray was invited to a party held at the estate of business tycoon Walter Chrysler, whose family, in addition to owning a major interest in the automaking industry, also had a vested interest in Monogram Picture Studios in Hollywood. At the party Chrysler approached Gray and struck up a conversation. She began to tell him stories of growing up in the Midwest; her expressions such as “lower than a snake’s belly” amused him and, taken by her charm, insisted on introducing her to a friend. “He left the room for a moment,” Gray recalls, “then came back with a handsome man of average height.” Enter Western star Bob Steele.

    At this time, Gray was a newcomer to Hollywood, having just stepped off her first film—a Richard Dix Western entitled The Kansan. Steele, under contract with Monogram where he had made a number of Oaters, was searching for a leading lady. The problem for the 5’6” actor was that most leading lady types were tall and statuesque. Gray seemed to be the perfect solution—she was witty, charming, petite, and stood 5’5”.

    Beatrice Gray was born on a farm in Carthage, Illinois on March 11, 1911. Growing up, Gray got plenty of experience at horseback riding. While in her teens, the family packed up and headed for California following the death of her father. The future actress married in 1935 and interestingly, after bearing three children, began to study dance and eventually found work in several clubs as a dancer.

    Upon learning of her husband’s infidelity, Gray left with her children for Miami, Florida. Money was tight and employment was sporadic at best, so in 1939 Gray relocated to New York in search of greener pastures. “I was living with my mother and my three children in an apartment on 61st Street,” says Gray. “We noticed men coming and going at all hours of the night. One night Mother heard someone knock on the door. She got up to answer it and had a conversation with a man. I didn’t hear what was being said. A moment later Mother stepped into the living room. Her face was as white as a ghost. She said, ‘We’re moving.’” At it turned out, they were residing at a house of ill repute............................................