Lois Ranson

An exceedingly pretty starlet who briefly flashed across cinema screens in the early 40s was L.A. native Lois Ranson. She began with bit parts in 1939 and was signed by Republic Pictures a year later to play young ingénue Betty Higgins in the modest family comedy Money to Burn (1939). A winner at the box office, it spawned a trio of equally unambitious sequels (Grandpa Goes to Town (1940), Earl of Puddlestone (1940) and Meet the Missus (1940)). In between, the petite brunette joined The Three Mesquiteers on the range in Under Texas Skies (1940) and (on loan to United Artists) played a high school student seduced by a married man in Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941). To underpin her status as a budding starlet, her face was featured on the cover of several fanzines. Lois was also a wartime favourite pin-up with GI's and did her bit to entertain military personnel at the famed Hollywood Canteen. However, there were lean pickings for her in Hollywood. When Republic dropped her contract, she made just one more film, co-starring with Buster Crabbe as the perfunctory love interest in The Renegade (1943), released by Poverty Row outfit PRC. After just four years in show biz, Lois called it quits and vanished from the scene.