Edna Ryan obit

Edna Ryan, actress - obituary

Model and dancer at New York’s celebrated Copacabana club 

She was not on the list.

Edna Ryan, who has died aged 95, was a showgirl who delighted visitors to New York’s Copacabana nightclub with – in the words of Hugh Hefner – the “finest pins on the planet”.

She joined the chorus at the Copacabana in the mid-1940s. The establishment, which opened at 10 East 60th Street in Manhattan in 1940 and was bankrolled by the mobster Frank Costello, became a celebrity hotspot where the Kennedys, the Whitneys and the Du Ponts dined alongside film stars, sporting heroes and foreign dignitaries. The club was particularly noted for its chorus girls.

As a “Copa Girl”, Edna Ryan drew the attention of both paparazzi lenses and gentlemen diners. She frequently popped up in gossip columns, being described as a “long-legged blonde stunner out of the front line” and a “one-girl traffic jam”.

On the surface there were strict rules at the club. She recalled that although the manager Jules Podell did not permit girls to sit with patrons after an act, “the club had an air of sex and scandal about it. Behind the scenes some of the girls had cat-fights over the men who came into the club. Some of the men were dodgy, others like Howard Hughes and Frank Sinatra and playboys Pat DiCicco and Porfirio Rubirosa were just playful.”

Edna Ryan dated the American baseball player and manager Leo “The Lip” Durocher. A renowned ladies’ man, Durocher had a taste for actresses and had previously been romantically linked with Betty Hutton and Linda Darnell. He later ditched Edna Ryan to marry the devout Mormon Laraine Day (star of Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent).

In 1946 Edna Ryan left Manhattan for Hollywood, signing a one-year contract with 20th Century Fox. Little more than work as an extra and publicity photos materialised, however, and the following year she was dropped by the studio. Although she subsequently gained small parts, appearing opposite Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable, she failed to forge a successful film career.

Edna Ryan was born in New York on January 17 1921 and soon joined her vaudevillian parents on stage in their act, appearing as “Baby Edna”. She left home when she was a teenager and got a job as a model, joining the John Robert Powers agency. She then found work on Broadway, appearing in 1943 in the shows Carmen Jones and Artists & Models.

After appearing in a theatre run of Follow the Boys in 1946 she moved to the Copacabana. During her Hollywood years, from the late 1940s to the later 1950s, she had a string of minor film roles, often in musicals. In 1948 he played George Raft’s buttoned-up secretary in Race Street and a party girl in the noir thriller Raw Deal (both 1948). The same year she appeared uncredited in Ladies of the Chorus with Marilyn Monroe and in When My Baby Smiles at Me alongside Betty Grable. In 1955 she danced in a short pink tutu with Ann Miller in the musical Hit the Deck. The following year she appeared in Meet Me in Las Vegas.

Edna Ryan modelled for advertising campaigns for Alka-Seltzer, Ray-Ban sunglasses and Delsey luggage and continued to dance on television shows such as The Dean Martin Show and The Eddie Fisher Show. In later life she made guest appearances in the television series The Incredible Hulk and Charlie’s Angels and was a member of the Copa Club, a group for former Copacabana dancers.

Edna Ryan married Jack Leonard, a singer with the Tommy Dorsey band, in 1948. The marriage was dissolved and in 1979 she married, secondly, Derek Murcott. He predeceased her and she survived by a daughter from her first marriage.

Actress

Peter O'Toole and Mark Linn-Baker in My Favorite Year (1982)

My Favorite Year

7.3

Club Patron (uncredited)

1982

 

Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby in The Incredible Hulk (1977)

The Incredible Hulk

7.0

TV Series

Match Spectator

Nurse

Motorist (uncredited) ...

1978–1981

4 episodes

 

Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize in Fantasy Island (1977)

Fantasy Island

6.6

TV Series

Casino Patron (uncredited)

1978

1 episode

 

Shaun Cassidy, Pamela Sue Martin, and Parker Stevenson in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977)

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

7.3

TV Series

Safari Guest

Convention Guest

Commuter (uncredited) ...

1977

4 episodes

 

Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in The Love Boat (1977)

The Love Boat

6.3

TV Series

Passenger (uncredited)

1977

1 episode

 

Jeff Bridges and Blythe Danner in Hearts of the West (1975)

Hearts of the West

6.5

Restaurant Patron (uncredited)

1975

 

Bill Bixby in The Magician (1973)

The Magician

7.5

TV Series

Castle Patron

Cashier

Casino Patron (uncredited)

1973–1974

3 episodes

 

Peter Falk in Columbo (1971)

Columbo

8.3

TV Series

Shopper (uncredited)

1973

1 episode

 

Meredith Baxter and David Birney in Bridget Loves Bernie (1972)

Bridget Loves Bernie

6.6

TV Series

Party Guest (uncredited)

1972

1 episode

 

The Jerry Lewis Show (1967)

The Jerry Lewis Show

6.4

TV Series

Hot Dog Customer

1967

1 episode

 

Mr. Lucky (1959)

Mr. Lucky

7.6

TV Series

Mrs. Jean Furst

1960

1 episode

 

Frank Sinatra, Jeanne Crain, and Mitzi Gaynor in The Joker Is Wild (1957)

The Joker Is Wild

7.0

Chorine (uncredited)

1957

 

Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)

Meet Me in Las Vegas

6.1

Dancer (uncredited)

1956

 

Shirley MacLaine, Jerry Lewis, and Dean Martin in Artists and Models (1955)

Artists and Models

6.4

Dancer (uncredited)

1955

 

Audie Murphy and Mari Blanchard in Destry (1954)

Destry

6.6

Dancer (uncredited)

1954

 

Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen in White Christmas (1954)

White Christmas

7.5

Anniversary Party Guest (uncredited)

1954

 

Joan Fontaine, Bob Hope, and Audrey Dalton in Casanova's Big Night (1954)

Casanova's Big Night

6.7

Minor Role (uncredited)

1954

 

Patricia Medina in Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954)

Phantom of the Rue Morgue

5.9

Dancer (uncredited)

1954

 

When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948)

When My Baby Smiles at Me

5.7

Minor Role (uncredited)

1948

 

Race Street (1948)

Race Street

6.5

Lucille - Dan's Receptionist (uncredited)

1948

 

1 sheet, 27 x 41 in

Raw Deal

7.2

Party Girl (uncredited)

1948

 

John Hubbard and Elyse Knox in Linda, Be Good (1947)

Linda, Be Good

6.3

Cameo Girl (uncredited)

1947

 

Additional Crew

Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby in The Incredible Hulk (1977)

The Incredible Hulk

7.0

TV Series

stand-in (uncredited)

1978–1981

27 episodes