Cathy Downs

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Actress Born March 3, 1924 in Port Jefferson, N.Y.

Before coming to Hollywood, actress Cathy Downs had built up a considerable reputation as New York model and magazine cover girl. The blue-eyed, brown-haired actress was signed by a major studio because of her photogenic qualities.

But her ability to photograph well became an obstacle to her acting ambitions. The studio kept her busy modeling fashion pictures and leg art, but she was more or less idle as an actress. When the studio dropped her from its contract list, Downs told The Times she got the break for which she had been waiting.

Soon after, she landed a costarring role with Rod Cameron in “Panhandle” for Allied Artists, then an important assignment in “For You I Die” and then the feminine lead in an Abbott and Costello film, “The Noose Hangs High.”

— John L. Scott in the Los Angeles Times Jan. 11, 1948, with additional material