Ann Hovey | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card from Wild Boys of the Road (1933) | |
| Born | Ann Jacques Hovey August 29, 1911 |
| Died | August 25, 2007 (aged 95) |
| Occupation | Film actress |
| Years active | 1933–1938 |
| Spouse(s) | William Crowell (1938-19??; divorced) Robert Husey (?-?) (his death) |
Ann Hovey (August 29, 1911 – August 25, 2007) was an American chorus girl and minor film actress of the 1930s, primarily in B-movies.
Born Ann Jacques Hovey in Mount Vernon, Indiana, Hovey was born into a wealthy and prominent family. A descendant of Alvin Peterson Hovey,[1] a Union Army officer during the Civil War and the governor of Indiana from 1888 to 1891, Hovey's mother had been a part of the San Francisco high society scene until marrying Hovey's father, a prominent banker. At the age of seven, Hovey was involved in an automobile accident which caused temporary loss of sight in her left eye. Eventually the injury healed and her sight in the eye returned. She attended "Indiana High School", and after graduation she pursued a career as a chorus girl.
On a minor contract with Warner Bros.,[2] Hovey began appearing in films in 1933, her first being as an uncredited chorus girl in 42nd Street with Ginger Rogers and Warner Baxter, which would be Ginger Rogers' breakthrough movie. Hovey's first credited role was in the 1933 film Private Detective, starring William Powell. She appeared in six films that year, two of which were credited. In 1934 she appeared in three films, one of which was credited, but was selected as one of thirteen girls to be "WAMPAS Baby Stars", the last year that "WAMPAS" made those selections.
In 1935, Hovey appeared in only one film, Circus Shadows, but was still receiving attention due to her "WAMPAS Baby Star" title. Dark haired and pretty, Hovey eventually caught the attention of studios after appearing in several films as a chorus girl and in minor acting roles, and in 1936 she signed a contract with RKO. That year she appeared in only one film, but it would be her most memorable, placing her in a supporting role to cowboy film star Tom Keene and Joan Barclay in the western The Glory Trail.
She would have roles in five films in 1937, three of which were credited; then, in 1938 she would have a minor role in Flirting with Fate, which would be her last. That year she married William Crowell of the Crowell Publishing Company, and retired from acting.[3]
She and Crowell later divorced, and she married Robert Husey, a press agent, to whom she would remain married until his death. During the mid-1990s, when informed that she was being sought after by fans of her films, Hovey commented, "I'm surprised. I never thought I was any good." She and Husey had moved to Arizona, where she was residing at the time of her death, only four days shy of her 96th birthday, on August 25, 2007.
