Sally Forrest (1928-2015), was an American film, stage, and TV actress of the 1940s and 1950s. She is best known for the films she made with Ida Lupino and Fritz Lang.
![Sally Forrest]()
German postcard by Kunst un Bild, Berlin, no. A 959. Photo: RKO.
![Sally Forrest]()
Belgian postcard by DFV, no. A.X. 1378. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
Sally Forrest was born Katherine Feeney in 1928 in San Diego. Her parents were Michael and Marguerite (née Ellicott) Feeney. Her father was a U.S. Navy career officer, who moved his family to various naval bases, finally settling in San Diego.
He and his wife later became ballroom dancers and taught dance classes, where their daughter began learning her lifelong craft. She studied dance from a young age and shortly out of high school was signed to a contract by MGM.
In 1945, she moved with her parents to Hollywood, where Sally worked on the dances used in the films Till the Clouds Roll By (Richard Whorf, 1946) and The Kissing Bandit (Laslo Benedek, 1948).
Soon unemployed, she worked in small roles until she teamed with Ida Lupino, who was producing and directing small films at the time. She made her acting debut in Not Wanted (Elmer Clifton, 1949), scripted and produced by Lupino. The film's controversial subject of unwed motherhood was a raw and unsentimental view of a condition that was seldom explored by Hollywood.
Tony Fontana at IMDb: "The picture was a critical and commercial success, and Sally also received critical acclaim for her role."
Forrest starred in two more Lupino projects, Never Fear (Ida Lupino, 1949) and Hard, Fast and Beautiful (Ida Lupino, 1951), as well as other Film Noirs, including Mystery Street (John Sturges, 1950).
Her musical background and training as a jazz and ballet dancer brought roles in the transitional musicals that rounded off the golden age of MGM; most notable was Excuse My Dust (Roy Rowland, 1951).
![Sally Forrest]()
Dutch postcard by Uitgeverij Takken / 't Sticht, no. 486. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
![Sally Forrest]()
Belgian postcard, offered by Ri-Ri Demaret Chocolatiers Confiseurs. Photo: M.G.M.
Most of Sally Forrest's films were made at MGM, which prided itself as family entertainment, but RKO, headed by the eccentric and controlling Howard Hughes, presented a very different creative challenge.
Son of Sinbad (Ted Tetzlaff, 1955), now a cult classic, was one of his many pet projects where Hughes had a personal interest in re-designing the star's skimpy wardrobe. With each rehearsal, Forrest noticed her harem dance costume slowly disappearing, until it was barely compliant with the Production Code.
In 1953, she and her husband, writer, and producer Milo O. Frank Jr., moved to New York, where he was hired to be head of casting for CBS. There, her film work transitioned to theatre and TV. She starred on Broadway in 'The Seven Year Itch', and appeared in major stage productions of 'Damn Yankees', 'Bus Stop', 'As You Like It', and 'No No Nanette'.
Later she returned to Hollywood and continued working at RKO and Columbia Pictures. Her final film was RKO's star-studded Film Noir While the City Sleeps (Fritz Lang, 1956), with Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Vincent Price, and her frequent collaborator Ida Lupino.
Forrest and Frank were owners of the former Benedict Canyon home of Jean Harlow and Paul Bern on Easton Drive in Beverly Hills. They sold it to Jay Sebring prior to his murder at the nearby home of Sharon Tate.
Sally Forrest, who was a widow since 2004, died of cancer in 2015, aged 86, at her home in Beverly Hills, California. She was survived by her niece, Sharon Durham, and nephews, Michael and Mark Feeney.
![Sally Forrest]()
Dutch postcard. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
![Sally Forrest]()
Belgian postcard, no. 1001. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
Sources: Tony Fontana (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
German postcard by Kunst un Bild, Berlin, no. A 959. Photo: RKO.
Belgian postcard by DFV, no. A.X. 1378. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
A raw and unsentimental view of unwed motherhood
Sally Forrest was born Katherine Feeney in 1928 in San Diego. Her parents were Michael and Marguerite (née Ellicott) Feeney. Her father was a U.S. Navy career officer, who moved his family to various naval bases, finally settling in San Diego.
He and his wife later became ballroom dancers and taught dance classes, where their daughter began learning her lifelong craft. She studied dance from a young age and shortly out of high school was signed to a contract by MGM.
In 1945, she moved with her parents to Hollywood, where Sally worked on the dances used in the films Till the Clouds Roll By (Richard Whorf, 1946) and The Kissing Bandit (Laslo Benedek, 1948).
Soon unemployed, she worked in small roles until she teamed with Ida Lupino, who was producing and directing small films at the time. She made her acting debut in Not Wanted (Elmer Clifton, 1949), scripted and produced by Lupino. The film's controversial subject of unwed motherhood was a raw and unsentimental view of a condition that was seldom explored by Hollywood.
Tony Fontana at IMDb: "The picture was a critical and commercial success, and Sally also received critical acclaim for her role."
Forrest starred in two more Lupino projects, Never Fear (Ida Lupino, 1949) and Hard, Fast and Beautiful (Ida Lupino, 1951), as well as other Film Noirs, including Mystery Street (John Sturges, 1950).
Her musical background and training as a jazz and ballet dancer brought roles in the transitional musicals that rounded off the golden age of MGM; most notable was Excuse My Dust (Roy Rowland, 1951).
Dutch postcard by Uitgeverij Takken / 't Sticht, no. 486. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
Belgian postcard, offered by Ri-Ri Demaret Chocolatiers Confiseurs. Photo: M.G.M.
A very different creative challenge
Most of Sally Forrest's films were made at MGM, which prided itself as family entertainment, but RKO, headed by the eccentric and controlling Howard Hughes, presented a very different creative challenge.
Son of Sinbad (Ted Tetzlaff, 1955), now a cult classic, was one of his many pet projects where Hughes had a personal interest in re-designing the star's skimpy wardrobe. With each rehearsal, Forrest noticed her harem dance costume slowly disappearing, until it was barely compliant with the Production Code.
In 1953, she and her husband, writer, and producer Milo O. Frank Jr., moved to New York, where he was hired to be head of casting for CBS. There, her film work transitioned to theatre and TV. She starred on Broadway in 'The Seven Year Itch', and appeared in major stage productions of 'Damn Yankees', 'Bus Stop', 'As You Like It', and 'No No Nanette'.
Later she returned to Hollywood and continued working at RKO and Columbia Pictures. Her final film was RKO's star-studded Film Noir While the City Sleeps (Fritz Lang, 1956), with Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Vincent Price, and her frequent collaborator Ida Lupino.
Forrest and Frank were owners of the former Benedict Canyon home of Jean Harlow and Paul Bern on Easton Drive in Beverly Hills. They sold it to Jay Sebring prior to his murder at the nearby home of Sharon Tate.
Sally Forrest, who was a widow since 2004, died of cancer in 2015, aged 86, at her home in Beverly Hills, California. She was survived by her niece, Sharon Durham, and nephews, Michael and Mark Feeney.
Dutch postcard. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
Belgian postcard, no. 1001. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
Sources: Tony Fontana (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.