Sara Shane

Elaine Hollingsworth (née Sterling; born May 18, 1928), known by the stage name Sara Shane, is a former actress who starred in film and television in the 1950s and early 1960s. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

Sara Shane
Sara Shane in Perry Mason (1961)
Born
Elaine Sterling

(1928-05-18) May 18, 1928
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress and author
Years active1948-1964
Spouse(s)William I. Hollingsworth, Jr. (1949-1957) (divorced)
Children1 child

Acting career

Shane secured a film contract with MGM and was featured in a few musicals (billed as Elaine Sterling). She "was dropped by the studio after six months."[1] In 1953 she hired publicist Russell Birdwell, and began using the name Sara Shane ("inspired by the movie with the same name"[2]). She secured a seven-year contract with Universal International pictures (UI), but after two films took a sabbatical, which at the time was predicted as likely being brief.[3]

A 1953 newspaper article reported that Hedy Lamarr prompted Shane (described as Lamarr's "closest woman friend in recent years") to resume her career in film.[4] Shane said of Lamarr, "She pushed me into a career again and got me out of my laziness."[4] The article noted that Shane was "currently testing for the John Wayne picture, 'The High and the Mighty,' and the film version of 'Oklahoma.'"[4] She returned to film and television work in 1955, most notably in the Clark Gable film The King and Four Queens.[5] Her last film, 1959’s Tarzan's Greatest Adventure, in which she portrayed Angie,[6] is considered her most memorable performance. She continued in television through 1964.

Among Shane's television appearances, she played the role of defendant Alyce Aitken in the 1961 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Envious Editor."

Business ventures

Shane left acting in 1964 to go into business. As of 2018, she is a director of Hippocrates Health Centre in Queensland, Australia and an author.[7] In 1974, she published a non-fiction novel, Zulma, about a Mexican pre-op trans woman's experiences in the La Mesa Prison, based on her visit to the prison and her meeting with a trans woman named Zulma.[8] In 2000, she published Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry (ISBN 978-0646402970). In 2008 she wrote, produced, and co-presented (with narrator Tony Barry) a DVD documentary entitled "One Answer to Cancer" (2008). The first half of the DVD is about the dangers of the pharmaceutical drug Aldara. The rest of the movie promotes the alternative cancer treatment, black salve; including detailed instructions on how to make it and apply it yourself.

Personal life

Shane married William Hollingsworth,[9] a "wealthy real estate tycoon,"[10] in 1949. They divorced in 1957. The couple had a son, Jamie.[9]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1948 Easter Parade Showgirl Uncredited
Julia Misbehaves Mannequin Uncredited
1949 Neptune's Daughter Miss Pratt Uncredited
1954 Magnificent Obsession Valerie
Sign of the Pagan Myra
1955 Daddy Long Legs Pat Uncredited
1956 Three Bad Sisters Lorna Craig
The King and Four Queens Oralie McDade
1957 Affair in Havana Lorna
1959 Tarzan's Greatest Adventure Angie Loring

References
  1. Thomas, Bob (November 16, 1954). "Starlet Who Rose To Top Too Fast Back Again For Second Film Try". The Call-Leader. p. 5. Retrieved October 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Johnson, Erskine (July 7, 1956). "Gable Rejects Life Story Bids". The Rhinelander Daily News. p. 4. Retrieved October 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Two Careers Take a Turn", Life: 51, 54, September 6, 1954, retrieved 18 August 2010
  4. Johnson, Erskine (September 24, 1953). "Hollywood Today!". The Times Standard. p. 2. Retrieved October 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Sara Shane Cast In Gable Movie". The Amarillo Globe-Times. June 1, 1956. p. 24. Retrieved October 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Blum, Daniel (1960), "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure", Daniel Blum's Screen World, 11, New York: Biblo & Tannen, p. 66, retrieved 18 August 2010
  7. Hollingsworth's website
  8. Zulma, Elaine Hollingsworth. (New York) Warner Books, 1974 ISBN 0-446-78361-7
  9. "Actress Sara Shane Plans Divorce Action". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. February 19, 1957. p. 20. Retrieved October 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Former Starlet Leaving Society to Return to Film". The Tipton Daily Tribune. September 5, 1953. p. 5. Retrieved October 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
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