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| Ad for Pat Ryan promoting her work on "Let's Pretend" and the "March of Games" series from the Buffalo Courier Express August 2, 1938 |
To recap, Patricia "Pat" Ryan (February 21, 1921 - February 15, 1949 was a versatile child, teen and young adult actress from Radio's Golden Age. She began with children's series like "Let's Pretend" but began to have more roles in primetime programs with age.
Some confusion in researching Patricia Ryan in press articles
In reviewing radio listings and contemporary events from 1937-1940, there were a number of women named "Patricia Ryan" who were grabbing headlines. Here is some helpful information to help other researchers avoid some of these hassles.
In 1937 while CBS aired “Let’s Pretend” on Saturday mornings, the NBC-Blue network had an adult singer 30 minutes later named Patricia Ryan.
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| Actress Betty Winkler as another "Patricia Ryan" in Girl Alone on NBC Radio. From Radio Guide October 1, 1938 |
The radio drama “Girl Alone” starred Betty Winkler as a character named “Patricia Ryan”. In some sources her character was "Patricia Rogers"
There was some alarm when another New York woman named Patricia Ryan was accused of murdering her husband in 1938. There are claims that the NBC switchboard was lit up with calls concerned that the adult singer was the same person. Patricia Ryan is even said to be the name used by Pat Nixon when attending college. “Pat Ryan” was also the name of a character in comic strip “Terry and the Pirates”.
And now back to our Patricia "Pat" Ryan.
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| A press photo of Nila Mack (left), Estelle Levy [Gwen Davies] and Pat Ryan, for the 10th anniversay of "Let's Pretend", or more accurately 10 years as Mack as Director. The inner photo shows how Levy and Ryan looked c. 1930. The blogger would like to know if this that image of Levy and Ryan exists in higher quality. |
In 1941, she co-starred with Richard Kollmar in the summer series “Claudia and David” based on the popular stories by about a young newlywed maturing into life. A highly coveted part, Ryan won the part over hundreds of actresses. Unfortunately none of the broadcasts with her in the role are available today, but an episode of "Treasury Star Parade" with Ryan and Kollman in their roles has survived.
Praised for her beauty even as a child, Ryan was featured in numerous articles, fashion photoshoots, and advertisements for cosmetics, fashion, and beauty tips. Even in 1941 just as CBS was re-entering television, Ryan was considered ideal and photogenic for the new medium. Metro Goldwyn Meyer screen tested her as reported in a 1942 edition of Variety.
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| Patricia Ryan in her nursing aid uniform on the cover of "Radio Mirror" August 1943. |
Along with radio acting Patricia also trained and served as a nurse’s aide for 2 years during World War II. If a 1943 account in Radio Mirror is accurate, her peers at the Misericordia Hospital in Manhattan unaware that she was a radio star until some commotion started during the diploma ceremony. In a strange foreshadowing, this article also gives an account by Pat stating that nothing really exciting happened to her radio except for a incident when a microphone struck her in the head knocking her unconscious when she was 12. After she was revived, she continue to perform, "Although" she said" I had a slight headache".
.................To Be Continued With Part III
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