Evelyn Ankers

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Evelyn Ankers
Gender:	Female
Medium(s):	Film
Roles:	Actress
Date of birth:	August 17th, 1918
Place of birth:	Valparaiso, Chile
Date of death:	August 29th, 1985
Place of death:	Maui, Hawaii
1st Horror:	Hold That Ghost (1941)

Evelyn Ankers was an actress born in Valparaiso, Chile on August 17th, 1918. She has been featured in several genre films produced by Universal Pictures, but is most widely remembered as one of the genre's first "scream queens" when she played the role of Gwen Conliffe opposite Lon Chaney, Jr. in the 1941 George Waggner film, The Wolf Man. Filming of the Wolf Man was not easy for Ankers, and she did not have the most ideal working relationship with Chaney. According to film historian Tom Weaver, the two had "no use for one another". Ankers also had trouble on the set when she passed out from the odors given off by the fog machine during the film's climax.

Despite whatever problems Ankers may have had with Chaney, the two continued to work with one another. Evelyn appeared in another Universal picture, The Ghost of Frankenstein, which also starred Chaney. This time, Ankers played the role of Elsa Frankenstein, granddaughter of the infamous Henry Frankenstein. The role of Elsa Frankenstein was later played by Ilona Massey in the 1943 follow-up film, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.

Ankers made over fifty films between 1936 and 1950, then retired from movies to be a housewife. She occasionally played television roles and returned ten years later for her final film, No Greater Love. She starred opposite her husband Richard Denning.

Evelyn Ankers died of ovarian cancer at the age of 67 on August 29th, 1985 in Maui, Hawaii.

Body of work

Film	Year	Role
Hold That Ghost	1941	Norma Lind
Wolf Man	1941	Gwen Conliffe
The Ghost of Frankenstein	1942	Elsa Frankenstein
Captive Wild Woman	1943	Beth Colman
Son of Dracula	1943	Claire Caldwell
The Mad Ghoul	1943	Isabelle Lewis
Weird Woman	1944	Ilona Carr
Jungle Woman	1944	Beth Mason
The Invisible Man's Revenge	1944	Julie Herrick
The Pearl of Death	1944	Naomi Drake
The Frozen Ghost	1945	Maura Daniel

Gallery

External Links

• Evelyn Ankers at AMG
• Evelyn Ankers at TCM
• Evelyn Ankers at IMDB
• Evelyn Ankers at Wikipedia
• Evelyn Ankers at Rotten Tomatoes

References

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Universal Classics Actor or Crew member This article relates to actors or production crew members pertaining to the Universal Classics era of films. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Universal Classics crew members category.

Frankenstein Actor or Crew member This article relates to actors or production crew members pertaining to the Frankenstein franchise. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Frankenstein crew members category.

Invisible Man Actor or Crew member This article relates to actors or production crew members pertaining to the Invisible Man franchise. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Invisible Man crew members category.