Sally Gray

Constance Vera Browne, Baroness Oranmore and Browne (née Stevens; 14 February 1915 – 24 September 2006), commonly known as Sally Gray, was an English film actress of the 1930s and 1940s. Her obituary in The Irish Times described her as "once seen as a British rival to Ginger Rogers." Her mother was a ballet dancer and her grandmother a "principal boy" in the 1870s. Her father died when Gray was young.

Theatre career She trained as a child at Fay Compton's School of Dramatic Art, and began acting on stage at the age of 10. Gray made her professional stage debut at the age of twelve in All God's Chillun at the Globe Theatre in London, playing an African boy. When she was 14, Gray appeared in a minstrel show at the Gate Theatre in London. She made her film debut with a bit part in The School for Scandal (1930). during which time she performed in cabarets.

She appeared in The Gay Divorce (1933) on stage with Fred Astaire. The agent John Gliddon saw her in the musical Jill Darling (1934) and signed her.

Film career Gray returned to films in 1935, with The Dictator (1935). She could also be seen in Cross Currents (1935), Radio Pirates (1935), Lucky Days (1935), and Checkmate (1935). Gray had support roles in Lightning Conductor (1937), a thriller; Over She Goes (1937) with Lupino; Mr. Reeder in Room 13 (1937), a non musical; and Hold My Hand (1938) with Lupino. Gray was the female lead in Sword of Honour (1938), The Saint in London (1939) with George Sanders, The Lambeth Walk (1939) with Lupino Lane, and A Window in London (1940), a non musical film with Michael Redgrave. Gray was in Olympic Honeymoon (1940) then had the female lead in The Saint's Vacation (1941). Gray had a nervous breakdown, resulting in her retirement for several years.

Comeback Gray returned to the screen in 1946 and made her strongest bid for stardom in a series of melodramas. They include the hospital thriller Green for Danger (1946), Carnival (1946), They Made Me a Fugitive (1947) and The Mark of Cain (1948). Gray then made Silent Dust (1948) and Edward Dmytryk's film noir piece Obsession (1949), in which she plays Robert Newton's faithless wife.

In the early 1960s, they returned to England and settled in a flat in Eaton Place, Belgravia, London. The couple had no children.

Death The Dowager Lady Oranmore and Browne died in London on 24 September 2006, at 91 years of age,

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1930 The School for Scandal Bit part (uncredited) 1935 The Dictator Minor role Released as Loves of a Dictator in the U.S. (uncredited) Cross Currents Sally Croker Radio Pirates Lucky Days Alice Checkmate Jean Nicholls 1936 Cheer Up Sally Gray Calling the Tune Margaret Gordon 1937 Cafe Colette Jill Manning Released as Danger in Paris in the U.S. Saturday Night Revue Mary Dorland 1938 Lightning Conductor Mary Over She Goes Kitty Mr. Reeder in Room 13 Claire Kent Released as Mystery of Room 13 in the U.S. Hold My Hand Helen Milchester 1939 Q Planes Minor role Released as Clouds Over Europe in the U.S. (uncredited) Sword of Honour Lady Moira Talmadge The Saint in London Penny Parker The Lambeth Walk Sally Released as Me and My Girl in the U.S. 1940 A Window in London Vivienne Released as Lady in Distress in the U.S. Olympic Honeymoon Miss America 1941 The Saint's Vacation Mary Langdon Dangerous Moonlight Carol Peters Radetzky Released as Suicide Squadron in the U.S. 1946 Green for Danger Nurse Linley Carnival Jenny Pearl 1947 They Made Me a Fugitive Sally Connor Released as I Became a Criminal in the U.S. The Mark of Cain Sarah Bonheur 1949 Silent Dust Angela Rawley Obsession Storm Riordan Released as The Hidden Room in the U.S. 1952 Escape Route Joan Miller Released as I'll Get You in the U.S.