Leading Ladies Noel Neill
Noel Neill was an American actress best remembered as Lois Lane in the Superman TV series and one of the Superman serials.
She was born Noel Darleen Neill in 1920 at Minneapolis, MN.
Her father David Holland Neill was journalist and her mother Lavere Gorsboth was a stage dancer.
At the age of 4 she was enrolled in a school for aspiring performers. During her teen years she danced, sang and played the banjo at country fairs throughout the Midwest.
Ms Neill graduated from high school in 1938 and her first job was as a writer of articles for Women's Wear Daily.
While still in her teen years she was a popular photographic model. During World War Two Betty Grable was the number one pin up among G I's. Ms. Neill was number two.
A contract was signed with Paramount in which she appeared in feature films and shorts. She had a leading role in a film produced by Monogram Pictures and thereafter became a regular with that studio.
In 1945 producer Sam Katzman gave Ms. Neill the recurring role of Betty Rogers , an aggressive reporter for a high school newspaper in the film series Teen Agers, musical comedies which began in 1946.
When Katzman was casting for his Superman serial for Columbia, he remembered Ms. Neill and she was cast as Lois Lane.
The films of Noel Neill include:
Mad Youth (1940) as A Teenager
Henry Aldrich For President (1941) as A Student
Miss Polly (1941) as A School Girl
The Remarkable Andrew( 1942) as Congratulatory Woman In Courtroom
She's In The Army (1942) as WAC Enlistee
Miss Annie Rooney (1942) as Party Guest
Henry And Dizzy (1942) as Jean
Salute For Three (1943) as Gracie O'Connor
Prairie Chickens (1943) as Girl On Bus Tour
Young Ideas (1943) as Co-ed
Let's Face It (1943) as Chorus Girl
Standing Room Only (1944) as Secretary
Henry Aldrich's Little Secret (1944) as Daisy
Are These Our Parents? (1944)m as Terry Salisbury
Our Hearts Were Young And Gay (1944) as Girl
Rainbow Island (1944) as Lona's Companion
Here Come The Waves (1944) as Dorothy
Bring On The Girls (1945) as Cigarette Girl
Duffy's Tavern (1945) as School Kid
The Stork Club (1945) as Jacqueline Billingsley
The Blue Dahlia (1946) as Nollie
The Well Groomed Bride (1946) as WAVE
Junior Prom (1946) as Betty Rogers
Freddie Steps Out (1946) as Betty Rogers
High School Hero (1946) as Betty Rogers
Vacation Days (1947) as Betty Rogers
Over The Santa Fe Trail (1947) as Taffy Neill
Sarge Goes To College (1947) as Betty Rogers
The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival (1947) as Courtroom Spectator
Brick Bradford (1947) as Lula
Smart Politics (1948) as Betty Rogers
Glamour Girl (1948) as Gertrude
The Big Clock (1948) as Elevator Operator
Are You With It? (1948) as Terry
Campus Sleuth (1948) as Betty Rogers
Superman (1948) as Lois Lane
Beyond Glory (1948) as Party Girl
Music Man (1948) as Kitty
Adventures Of Frank And Jesse James (1948) as Judy Powell
Gun Runner (1949) as Jessica Harris
Son Of A Badman (1949) as Vicki Burley
The Sky Dragon (1949) as Jane Marshall
Forgotten Woman (1949) as Ellen Reid
The James Brothers Of Missouri (1949) as Peg Royer
Atom Man Vs Superman (1950) as Lois Lane
Abilene Trail (1951) as Mary Dawson
An American In Paris (1951) as American Girl
Whistling Hills (1951) as Beth Fairchild
Submarine Command (1951) as Mrs. Sue Carlson
The Greatest Show On Earth (1952) as Noel
Montana Incident (1952) as Frances Martin
Invasion USA (1952) as Airline Ticket Agent
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) as Passenger
The Lawless Rider (1954) as Nancy james
Superman (1978) as Ella Lane
Surge Of Power: The Stuff Of Heroes (2004) as Aunt Lois
Superman Returns (2006) as Gertrude Vanderworth
Surge Of Power: Revenge Of The Sequel (2016) as Aunt Lois
Ms. Neill starred as Lois Lane from 1953 to 1958. from the second to the final (6th) season. Phyllis Coates was Lois Lane in the first season on TV.
After 1954 she was inactive until 1978 when she appeared as Ella Lane in the first Superman movie.
Even until her 90's she appeared at many autograph shows and film festivals being a very friendly and personable person. In latter years she also appeared with James Lawson who played Jimmy Olson in the TV series.
Ms. Neill was married three times and all marriages ended in divorce.
Larry Ward wrote a n authorized biography of Ms. Lane in 2006 entitled Truth, Justice And The American Way - The Life And Tomes Of Noel Neill The Original Lois Lane.
Ms Lane appeared in a number of westerns which included western stars like Johnny Mack Brown, Clayton Moore and Whip Wilson.
In 2004 she received a Golden Boot Award for her work in western films.
After an extended illness Noel Neill passed away in 2016 at the age of 95.
I enjoyed her role in both the Superman TV series and the serials Superman and Atom Man vs Superman as Lois Lane. Ms. Neill IS LOIS LANE.
I also enjoyed her in the films The Sky Dragon, The James Brothers Of Missouri, The Adventures Of Frank And Jesse James, Henry Aldrich's Little Secret and Abilene Trail.
Louis The Movie Buff