Ella Logan

Birthday

Mar 6, 1913

Bio: Ella Logan only made a handful of movie appearances, all of them before World War II, and the biggest of those films was Samuel Goldwyn's The Goldwyn Follies (1938). But she had a notable stage career that took her across the Atlantic. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1913, she was appearing in music halls as a young girl, and made her way to London in the early 1930s.… More Bio: Ella Logan only made a handful of movie appearances, all of them before World War II, and the biggest of those films was Samuel Goldwyn's The Goldwyn Follies (1938). But she had a notable stage career that took her across the Atlantic. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1913, she was appearing in music halls as a young girl, and made her way to London in the early 1930s. Soon after, she began singing on the radio and recording for the British Columbia label (part of EMI). After marrying an American dancer, she emigrated to the United States in the middle of the decade and worked on Broadway in "Calling All Stars," "George White's Scandals," and "Show Time," as well as singing at various clubs and recording. She also sang on radio, and in 1936 made her screen debut in Flying Hostess. More movies followed, culminating with The Goldwyn Follies. She spent much of her time during World War II entertaining the troops, principally in Europe, and returned to the stage full time after the war. She enjoyed her biggest stage success in 1947 as part of the original cast of Finian's Rainbow. Her recording career covered several decades and included a 10-inch LP of songs from Finian's Rainbow, which featured her signature songs from the show, "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" and "Old Devil Moon." Among the other highlights in her legacy is a rendition of "Two Sleepy People" that she did with composer Hoagy Carmichael. Alas, Finian's Rainbow wasn't brought to the screen until many years after its cast was past its prime, leaving Logan's legacy principally confined to those early movies and her recordings. She died of cancer in 1969, at age 56. Logan was the aunt of singer Annie Ross, and was married from 1942 through 1954 to writer/producer Fred F. Finklehoffe (Kraft Suspense Theatre, Girl Crazy, For Me and My Gal, The Egg And I), who was one of the librettists for a failed 1942 stage production Hi Ya, Gentlemen, which she'd appeared in during its abortive out-of-town run. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi