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Donna Reed

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Donna Reed (January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Born Donna Belle Mullenger, Reed is probably best remembered for her roles as the wholesome housewife "Donna Stone" on television's The Donna Reed Show and as "Mary Bailey" in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. She won an Academy Award for playing a prostitute in From Here to Eternity.

In her later years she temporarily replaced Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie in the television series Dallas in the 1984–1985 season. When Bel Geddes was well enough to return to the role, Reed was fired. She sued the show's production company and received an undisclosed seven-figure settlement, but it was not long before her own death.

She died at age 64 in Beverly Hills, California from pancreatic cancer, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

The Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts was organized after her death in 1986. The non-profit organization grants scholarships for performing arts students, runs an annual festival of performing arts workshops, and operates The Donna Reed Center for the Performing Arts. The performing arts center was formerly an opera house built in 1914, and later rennovated into the Ritz Movie Theater where Donna Reed first fell in love with movies.

Filmography

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