When being interviewed, this 1940s supporting actress, Gloria Grahame, was asked if there was anything she wished she had done but had not. She promptly replied: "Yes, I should have run bare-footed over the grass with Jimmy Stewart."

She was, of course, recalling a scene she had played with him in It's A Wonderful Life.

Her debut was in Blonde Fever (1944). Very pretty, she could pout without even trying and she was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Crossfire (RKO, 1947).

Another fine performance from Gloria was in Song Of The Thin Man (MGM, 1947) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.

The musical It Happened in Brooklyn starred Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante and Kathryn Grayson but Gloria Grahame was there looking as sultry and curvaceous as ever, with her top lip working its usual magic every time she half-smiled.

The picture is from The Greatest Show On Earth (Paramount, 1952) and she is standing with Lyle Bettger. In the same year she won an Academy Award for best support actor in The Bad And The Beautiful (MGM).

In 1961 she married her step-son Anthony Ray. Her real name was Gloria Hallward and she died in 1981 aged 56.

-Gordon Dean, Lancing