Fay Helm(1909-2003)

Hollywood exerted an early fascination for brunette Fay Helm. She had done some acting as a child in school plays and then at regional theatres. In 1934, Fay made her way from Bakersfield to Paramount Studios, where she was signed by (then) independent producer B.P. Schulberg. Unfortunately for her, she was regarded as a potential rival by Schulberg's mistress Sylvia Sidney and quickly mustered out. She subsequently acted in small roles at RKO and Warner Brothers, even securing a part in the classic Bette Davis melodrama Dark Victory (1939). Fay is now chiefly remembered as the bespectacled Mrs. Fuddle in the "Blondie" series of films, having signed on with Columbia Pictures in 1938. She also had a reasonably good spell in the 1940's, especially in Universal horror films (Bela Lugosi's victim in The Wolf Man (1941)) and minor films noir (RKO's The Locket (1946)). Though a sensitive, intelligent actress, she failed to rise above supporting player status and eventually quit films in 1946 to concentrate on raising a family.