WHERE ARE THEY NOW: MONA FREEMAN

The classic Hollywood of the 1940s and 1950s had more struggling actresses than I think ever before. There are so many old movies where you spot a pretty face and then wonder what ever became of that starlet. One such actress that I always was curious was Mona Freeman. The first movie I spotted her in was Mother Wore Tights, where she played Betty Grable's daughter. Within fifteen years of that role Mona Freeman basically turned away from Hollywood.

Freeman was born on June 9, 1926 in Baltimore, Maryland, of English, Irish and French descent, to Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Freeman. Her father was a general contractor that provided well for his family. In 1936, her family settles in Pelham, New York, where she attends high school. As a teenager Mona became a teenage model with the John Robert Powers modeling agency.
Billionaire Howard Hughes spots her photograph on a magazine cover and signs her to a personal two-year contract, without having met her in person. The second year Hughes sent her to Finch Junior College, but she goes only once. She also attended the Maryland Institute of Art, but is called to Hollywood by Hughes for a screen test. As Hughes isn't in town when she and her mother arrive, she scheduled an interview for herself with Paramount. The studio has to buy her contract from Hughes, after two hours of heated discussion between Hughes and Freeman.

At the age of 19, she married wealthy Hollywood automobile dealer Pat Nerney and got pregnant during the filming of Mother Wore Tights. Her daughter Monie was born on October 25, 1947.

Because of her diminutive size, she's cast opposite Alan Ladd in the upcoming Branded as a teenager. Next up she and her daughter had a cameo appearance in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). Also that year she divorced her husband after five years of marriage. After her divorce she dates entertainment lawyer Greg Bautzer, hotel heir Nicky Hilton, and singers Vic Damone and Frank Sinatra. She also became real close with legendary singer Bing Crosby after the death of his wife Dixie Lee. They are expected to marry but won't due to their Catholic religion and her being divorced. They later broke up and Bing went on to marry Columbia starlet Kathryn Grant in 1957.

By the late 1950s, Mona's Hollywood career was beginning to fade, and her last major role was in 1957 is on a tour with Middle of the Night costarring Edward G. Robinson. In June of 1961 she married Los Angeles businessman H. Jack Ellis, who adopted her daughter Monie. Her last appearance was on the television series Perry Mason in 1965. By the 1970s, she was living a peaceful life in Hollywood asa devoted wife, mother, and artist. I looked high and low and can not find any updated pictures of Mona Freeman. She seemingly vanished from Hollywood, although her daughter did make a living for awhile as an actress in the 1970s. Mona Freeman knew her happiness was with her family and not the Hollywood scene...

UPDATE: SADLY. MONA FREEMAN DIED AFTER A LENGTHY ILLNESS ON JUNE 6, 2014. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE: RIP: Mona Freeman