Annie Ross

Annie Ross

Born: July 26, 1930
Died: July 21, 2020
in Mitcham, Surrey, England, UK
Annabelle McCauley Allan Short (25 July 1930 – 21 July 2020), known professionally as Annie Ross, was a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.

Ross was born in Surrey, England, the daughter of Scottish vaudevillians John "Jack" Short and Mary Dalziel Short (née Allan). Her brother was Scottish entertainer and theatre producer and director Jimmy Logan. She first appeared on stage at age three. At the age of four, she travelled to New York by ship with her family; she later recalled that they "got the cheapest ticket, which was right in the bowels of the ship".

Shortly after arriving in the city, she won a token contract with MGM through a children's radio contest run by Paul Whiteman. She subsequently moved with her aunt, Scottish-American singer and actress Ella Logan, to Los Angeles, and her mother, father and brother returned to Scotland. She did not see her parents again until fourteen years later. At the age of seven, she sang "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" in Our Gang Follies of 1938, and played Judy Garland's character's sister in Presenting Lily Mars (1943).

Her adulthood film roles included Liza in the film Straight On till Morning (1972), Claire in Alfie Darling (1976), Diana Sharman in Funny Money (1983), Vera Webster in Superman III (1983), Mrs. Hazeltine in Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Rose Brooks in Witchery (1988), Loretta Cresswood in Pump Up the Volume (1990), Tess Trainer in Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993), and Lydia in Blue Sky (1994). She also appeared as Granny Ruth in the horror films Basket Case 2 (1990) and Basket Case 3: The Progeny (1991). She also had a bit part in Robert Altman's The Player in 1992. Ross also starred in Scottish Television's comedy-drama Charles Endell Esquire (1979).

She provided the speaking voice for Britt Ekland in The Wicker Man (1973), and Ingrid Thulin's singing voice in Salon Kitty (1976). On stage, she appeared in Cranks (1955; London and New York City), The Threepenny Opera (1972), The Seven Deadly Sins (1973) at the Royal Opera House, Kennedy's Children (1975) at Arts Theatre, London, Side by Side by Sondheim, and in the Joe Papp production of The Pirates of Penzance (1982).

Ross died in New York City on 21 July 2020 from emphysema and heart disease, four days before her 90th birthday.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Annie Ross, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies for Annie Ross...

Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes
Title: Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes
Released: September 13, 2020
Type: Movie
Told in Count Basie's own words, this biography sheds light on both the professional and the private life of the world-famous bandleader and pianist who became a jazz icon for his generation.
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Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas
Title: Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas
Character: Self
Released: May 10, 2013
Type: Movie
The documentary tracks the diva's difficult progress as she emerges from the tough, testosterone-fuelled world of the big bands of the 30s and 40s, to fill nightclubs and saloons across the US in the 50s and early 60s as a force in her own right. Looking at the lives and careers of six individual singers (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Annie Ross), the film not only talks to those who knew and worked with these queens of jazz, but also to contemporary singers who sit on the shoulders of these trailblazing talents without having to endure the pain and hardship it took for them to make their highly individual voices heard above the prejudice of mid-century America.
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Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
Title: Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
Character: Herself
Released: April 30, 2007
Type: Movie
This documentary explores the life of jazz singer Anita O'Day. As a child, Anita had a tonsillectomy, during which her uvula was accidentally removed. The surgery prevents her from singing vibrato and holding long notes, but lends to her much-revered percussive style. Anita overcomes her vocal hurdle, as well as many others -- including poverty, heroin addiction and jail time for a drug arrest -- to become one of the most prolific and respected jazz vocalists of the 20th century. Initial release: 30 April 2007
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Title: Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye
Character: Receptionist
Released: October 13, 2002
Type: TV
Based on a true story, this family-friendly series follows the adventures of a young, hearing impaired woman who has a special gift and goes to work for the FBI in Washington, D.C. She's one hard-headed, soft-hearted woman whose talent for reading lips helps crack crimes and bag the bad guys in places listening devices can't penetrate. With her hearing-ear dog, Levi, Sue's a glutton for jeopardy – and there's (almost) nothing she won't do to bring notorious criminals to justice. This remarkable, edge-of-your-seat drama is an inspiring tribute to the ability of the human spirit to overcome adversity and achieve great things.
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Blue Sky
Title: Blue Sky
Character: Lydia
Released: September 16, 1994
Type: Movie
Hank Marshall is a tough, square-jawed, straitlaced Army engineer and nuclear science expert, assigned to help conduct weapons testing in 1950s America. Hank has become a thorn in the side of the Army, though, for a couple of very different reasons. He is an outspoken opponent of atmospheric testing, though his superiors hold contrary views and want to squelch his concerns...and his reports. The other problem is his wife, Carly. She is voluptuous and volatile, wreaking havoc in his personal life and stirring up intrigue at each new Army base.
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Short Cuts
Title: Short Cuts
Character: Tess Trainer
Released: September 5, 1993
Type: Movie
Many loosely connected characters cross paths in this film, based on the stories of Raymond Carver. Waitress Doreen Piggot accidentally runs into a boy with her car. Soon after walking away, the child lapses into a coma. While at the hospital, the boy's grandfather tells his son, Howard, about his past affairs. Meanwhile, a baker starts harassing the family when they fail to pick up the boy's birthday cake.
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The Player
Title: The Player
Character: Annie Ross
Released: April 3, 1992
Type: Movie
A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?
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Basket Case 3: The Progeny
Title: Basket Case 3: The Progeny
Character: Granny Ruth
Released: February 21, 1992
Type: Movie
Henelotter ups the ante in the final part of his trilogy by introducing a new member to the family: the potentially monstrous fruit of hideously deformed Belial's loins. With the pair still enjoying relative anonymity and comfort in their new found home (presided over by Granny Roth), things however take a downward turn on a trip to the Georgia Clinic of Uncle Hal, which leads to an encounter with an especially nasty redneck sheriff and his similarly blinkered band of merry men.
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Pump Up the Volume
Title: Pump Up the Volume
Character: Loretta Creswood
Released: August 22, 1990
Type: Movie
Mark Hunter, a lonely high school student, uses his shortwave radio to moonlight as the popular pirate DJ "Hard Harry." When his show gets blamed for a teen committing suicide, the students clash with high school faculty and the authorities.
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Basket Case 2
Title: Basket Case 2
Character: Granny Ruth
Released: March 2, 1990
Type: Movie
Having eluded the authorities after a series of grisly murders, the pair find sanctuary at the palatial home of Granny Ruth, an eccentric philanthropist who rallies the cause of "Unique Individuals". But even amongst "friends" the pair soon find themselves having to confront their murderous past.
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Witchery
Title: Witchery
Character: Rose Brooks
Released: December 1, 1988
Type: Movie
A student and her photographer boyfriend visit an island off of Massachusetts to research a hotel supposedly haunted by a witch.
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Throw Momma from the Train
Title: Throw Momma from the Train
Character: Mrs. Hazeltine
Released: December 11, 1987
Type: Movie
Larry Donner, an author with a cruel ex-wife, teaches a writing workshop in which one of his students, Owen, is fed up with his domineering mother. When Owen watches a Hitchcock classic that seems to mirror his own life, he decides to put the movie's plot into action and offers to kill Larry's ex-wife, if Larry promises to murder his mom. Before Larry gets a chance to react to the plan, it seems that Owen has already set things in motion.
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Superman III
Title: Superman III
Character: Vera
Released: June 17, 1983
Type: Movie
Aiming to defeat the Man of Steel, wealthy executive Ross Webster hires bumbling but brilliant Gus Gorman to develop synthetic kryptonite, which yields some unexpected psychological effects in the third installment of the 1980s Superman franchise. Between rekindling romance with his high school sweetheart and saving himself, Superman must contend with a powerful supercomputer.
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Funny Money
Title: Funny Money
Character: Diana Sharman
Released: January 8, 1982
Type: Movie
Crime, drama. In Las Vegas, young Barry Nichols inadvertently steals a fortune from the Mob and is slashed to death by a limping hood. Later, his girlfriend Cass arrives in London with a stack of stolen credit cards looking for Ben Turtle, a talented pianist whose fingering is famous in the world of credit card crime. Their stormy relationship is hindered by hotel detective Keith Banks and assistant manager Diana Sharman. -- BFI synopsis from http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b69480238
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Yanks
Title: Yanks
Character: Red Cross lady
Released: September 1, 1979
Type: Movie
During WWII, the United States set up army bases in Great Britain as part of the war effort. Against their proper sensibilities, many of the Brits don't much like the brash Yanks, especially when it comes to the G.I.s making advances on the lonely British girls. One relationship that develops is between married John, an Army Captain, and the aristocratic Helen, whose naval husband is away at war. Helen loves her husband, but Helen and John are looking for some comfort during the difficult times.
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Title: The Ghosts of Motley Hall
Released: April 28, 1976
Type: TV
The Ghosts of Motley Hall is a British children's television series written by Richard Carpenter which was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for Granada Television, and broadcast between 1976 and 1978 on the ITV network. The series relates the adventures of 5 ghosts who haunt Motley Hall. Each ghost is from a different era and all with the exception of Matt are unable to leave the confines of the building and Matt himself is unable to travel outside the grounds of the Hall. The only regular character who is not a ghost is Mr Gudgin the caretaker of Motley Hall. Carpenter wrote a companion novel for the series for Puffin Books in 1977. A 3 DVD set containing the complete series was released by Network in 2005.
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Salon Kitty
Title: Salon Kitty
Character: Kitty Kellermann (singing voice)
Released: March 2, 1976
Type: Movie
Kitty runs a brothel in Nazi Germany where the soldiers come to "relax". Recording devices have been installed in each room by a power hungry army official who plans to use the information to blackmail Hitler and gain power himself. A girl named Margherita discovers the little ploy and with Kitty's help plans to take on the dangerous task of exposing the conspiracy.
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The Beast Must Die
Title: The Beast Must Die
Character: Caroline Newcliffe (uncredited/voice)
Released: April 1, 1974
Type: Movie
Wealthy big game hunter Tom Newcliffe has tracked and killed practically every type of animal in the world. But one creature still evades him, the biggest game of all - a werewolf.
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The Wicker Man
Title: The Wicker Man
Character: Willow MacGreagor (voice) (uncredited)
Released: December 6, 1973
Type: Movie
Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. Stranger still, however, are the rituals that take place there.
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Straight On Till Morning
Title: Straight On Till Morning
Character: Liza
Released: July 9, 1972
Type: Movie
Brenda, a timid, withdrawn woman, meets Peter, a man she believes is finally the love of her life. However, little does Brenda know that Peter is a vicious serial killer.
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One Pair of Eyes - No, But Seriously
Title: One Pair of Eyes - No, But Seriously
Released: June 7, 1969
Type: Movie
Documentary film in which Marty Feldman looks at humour through the people who create it.
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Notes for a Film on Jazz
Title: Notes for a Film on Jazz
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1965
Type: Movie
Documentary filmed during the 1965 International Jazz Festival in Bologna, featuring appearances by musicians such as Gato Barbieri, Don Cherry, and Mal Waldron.
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Title: The Saint
Character: Annie Ross
Released: October 4, 1962
Type: TV
Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.
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Title: No Hiding Place
Released: September 16, 1959
Type: TV
No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet, all starring Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent, later Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart.
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Title: The Steve Allen Show
Character: Self - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Released: June 24, 1956
Type: TV
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Title: The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self
Released: June 20, 1948
Type: TV
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
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Musical Movieland
Title: Musical Movieland
Character: Singer (uncredited)
Released: September 9, 1944
Type: Movie
A group of tourists is given a tour of a movie studio lot. They see the various permanent sets that are used for different types of movies, and they appear to watch the filming of several productions in progress. Musical numbers from several previous Warner Bros. Technicolor shorts are edited into this short to create the illusion.
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Presenting Lily Mars
Title: Presenting Lily Mars
Character: Rosie
Released: April 29, 1943
Type: Movie
Starstruck Indiana small-town girl Lily is pestering theatrical producer John Thornway for a role but he is reluctant.
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Cinderella's Feller
Title: Cinderella's Feller
Character: Singer
Released: June 8, 1940
Type: Movie
The story of Cinderella with a children's cast.
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Our Gang Follies of 1938
Title: Our Gang Follies of 1938
Character: Loch Lomond Singer
Released: December 18, 1937
Type: Movie
Alfalfa gives up being "King of the Crooners" to sing opera, but a nightmare of being under the thumb of an evil producer sends him back to his roots.