- Born
- Died
- Birth nameGeorgette André Barry
- Height5′ 5½″ (1.66 m)
- Andrea King was born Georgette André Barry in Paris, France, however she lived there only two months before her mother, Belle Hart, brought her back to the United States. Belle was an ambulance driver on the front lines during World War I, as well as a dancer with the renowned Isadora Duncan. Andrea was raised in Forest Hills, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, and adopted her stepfather's surname of McKee when she began acting professionally at the age of 14. Prior to signing with Warner Bros. in 1944, she appeared in three Broadway plays and two national companies, and managed to squeeze in her first screen appearance in The March of Time's first feature-length film entitled The Ramparts We Watch (1940). After signing with Warner Bros. and changing her professional name, Andrea's career took off very quickly, and she appeared in nine films in 18 months. The Warner Bros. studio photographers voted Andrea the most photogenic actress on the lot for the year 1945. Her first leading role came early on with Hotel Berlin (1945), and until she left the studio system in 1946, she continued on as a glamorous, often mysterious leading lady. Throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, she continued to work steadily in leading roles and "bad girl" second leads, and made many starring television appearances as well, most notably in the original 1953 live broadcast of Witness for the Prosecution (1953) for Lux Video Theatre (1950) opposite Edward G. Robinson. For her early work in television she received one of the first stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Andrea continued to make occasional TV and film appearances through the late 1990s, until shortly before her death in 2003. She also wrote children's stories and an autobiography. Her daughter Deb Callahan lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Tim. Andrea has three grandchildren: Kate, Drew and Chris.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Paul Miles Schneider
- she still returned to the big screen every so often, her last
Andrea King was born on February 1, 1919, in Paris, France, as Georgette Andre Barry. She was mainly a character actress and appeared in a number of films in her 54-year career, beginning in 1940 when she landed the role of Hilda Bensinger in The Ramparts We Watch (1940). It would be four more years before she appeared in another, The Very Thought of You (1944). Throughout the 1940s she appeared in good roles, but her film persona never really caught on with the public, as it did with other actresses. Because of her infrequent appearances, it was hard for her to make a good living, so she turned to the relatively new medium of television in 1950, appearing in such productions as Lux Video Theatre (1950), and many fans will remember her for her frequent appearances on Perry Mason (1957). Even though she found steady employment in television - both in series and made-for-TV films- IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson
- SpouseNathaniel Hite Willis(October 6, 1940 - July 27, 1970) (his death, 1 child)
- Often portrayed socialites and matriarchs.
- Voloptuous figure.
- Was voted the most photographic actress of Warner Bros. Studios in 1945.
- Her screen name was given to her by Jack L. Warner.
- Was an author of children's books.
- Following her death, she was buried at Zion Episcopal Churchyard in Charles Town, West Virginia.
- When she began her career at Warner Bros., she was initially going to be given the name of Georgia King. Upon hearing this, she broke down in tears, saying that a name like that was more reminiscent of "a burlesque queen on the Mississippi" and pleaded with director Delmer Daves to speak with studio boss Jack L. Warner and see if anything could be done to correct that ASAP. She was working on her first big Warner Bros. feature at the time, The Very Thought of You (1944), and had become a friend of Daves. The day after King and Daves addressed the potential screen name upset, he approached her on the set and informed her, "I've done it. It is now Andrea King". In reply, King smiled and simply said, "That I like".
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