Ellen Drew (Esther Loretta Ray 1914-2003) was an American lead and supporting actress with a high-voltage contagious smile. The B-movie actress got noticed by actor William Demarest, who eventually helped her get into films. She started her career as Terry Ray, unfortunately, the same name as a male actor. She "won the toss" however and for the next twenty-five features, that was her professional name. She officially became Ellen Drew under her 1938 Paramount Pictures contract, thanks to the aforementioned Demarest. After a string of forgettable films, she moved to RKO in 1944 and co-starred in a few notable films such as Johnny O'Clock (1947), The Man from Colorado (1948), The Crooked Way (1949), and as a Technicolor blonde in the likable, Man in The Saddle (1951), looking more like a mashup of Celeste Holm and Betty Grable. Interesting but totally forgotten, she played Margaret Anderson in the television pilot episode of Father Knows Best (1954). Her television career was brief, mostly starring in the popular anthology series of the 1950s before retiring in 1961.
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