Doris Nolan was an American actress best known for her Broadway roles and her appearance in the 1938 movieHoliday. She appeared in a number of plays and Hollywood movies during the 1930s and 1940s. Later she moved to Britain, where she made guest appearances on British television shows.
Nolan's first professional acting contract was with Fox Film Corporation, when she was 16 years old. She was given a small role in Our Little Girl with Shirley Temple, but after she botched her scene several times, Fox dropped her from the movie and gave her no further work. She then switched to Broadway, where she achieved greater success. Although she was just 17, Nolan was cast as the female lead in Night of January 16th, which was being produced by her manager, Al Woods. She was very nervous about playing the part of an older femme fatale who was the mistress of a rich businessman. Despite her jitters, the show was a success and Nolan got positive reviews. When Nolan left the play, Woods sent her back to Hollywood, getting her a contract with Universal Pictures. She continued to move back and forth between movies and theater throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Her most prominent film appearance was in the 1938 version of Holiday, where she played alongside Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Her subsequent film roles went downhill, but she reinvigorated her Broadway career with an 18-month stint in The Doughgirls, a popular comedy play about the difficulties of life during World War II. It was later made into a film. Her final Broadway appearance was in The Closing Door, alongside her husband, who had also written the play. It got poor reviews and closed after just a few weeks. After moving to Britain in the early 1950s, Nolan worked in regional stage productions and took guest parts on television series, such as The Saint, where she appeared in 1962 in "The Latin Touch", the second episode of the first season. Her final television appearance was in an episode of ITV'sBrideshead Revisited serial in 1981.
Personal life
Nolan married Canadian actor Alexander Knox in a civil ceremony on December 30, 1944. The judge presiding over the wedding almost mistakenly pronounced her married to Knox's best man, but they stopped him and redid the vows. They had a son Andrew Joseph Knox who became an actor and appeared in Doctor on the Go, and who was married to Imogen Hassall. Knox's political activity caused him trouble during the Hollywood blacklist, and the couple moved to Britain so he could continue working. She stayed in Britain after his death in 1995, until her own death on July 29, 1998.
