Louise Franklin

Louise Franklin (December 7, 1917 – July 26, 1992), nicknamed Beau and Bo, Franklin was involved in multiple areas of dance as a child, including ballet and tap dancing, along with taking acting classes. Her 1935 theatre role in School Days alongside Dickie Walker had the California Eagle refer to the pair's performance as akin to Aurora Greely and Leroy Broomfield. After the company toured in California, she stayed and played in a number of film and stage roles in the following years. Harry Levette in the California Eagle said she was "Hollywood's prettiest, cleverest, most personable dancer". In 1943 during World War II, she reportedly joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, though this was denied by her husband.

After Dorothy Dandridge was injured in a car accident, Franklin had to fill in for her primary dancing role in the 1945 film Pillar to Post in extended music scenes in order to conceal the cuts between the two actresses. As bonus for her acting quality in the 1945 film Crime Incorporated, the director gifted her with a box of then expensive cigarettes from Franklin's favorite brand after she completed her final scene.

She continued her tours with Bryon Ellis under the "Bryon and Beau" name in 1948, doing a theatre tour across the Eastern United States in late August of that year. She competed in the 1954 Miss Brew 102 competition and, while not victorious, received attention and more television acting opportunities afterwards.

Filmography Bright Road (1953) - Teacher at Meeting (uncredited) Skirts Ahoy! (1952) - Black Drill Team Member (uncredited) Look-Out Sister (1949) - Louise Ritchie Choo Choo Train (Swing) (1948) Ghost of the Vampire (1945) - Caba Pillar To Post (1945) - Louis Armstrong band's Dancer Brewster's Millions (1945) - Rochester's Girlfriend Carolina Blues (1944) - Dancer (uncredited) Stormy Weather (1943) - Dancer (uncredited) Hers to Hold (1943) - Defense Plant Worker (uncredited) Cabin in the Sky (1943) - Dancer (uncredited) Take My Life (1942) - Nurse Road to Morocco (1942) Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) - Dancer in 'Sharp as a Tack' (uncredited) Road to Zanzibar (1941) Citizen Kane (1941) - Susan's maid (uncredited) Lady Luck (1940) - Second Waitress Four Shall Die (1940) - Nurse Two In A Bed (1946) Harlem To Hollywood (1943) Jump for Joy (1941) School Days (1935)

Personal life Franklin was married to singer and jazz drummer Lee Young, and they had a son together.