Welcome to the web page of Hollywood Child Star Ann Gillis

12-2-1927 to 31-1-2018 RIP

Ann Gillis

Born - Alma Mabel (Ann) Conner - February 12, 1927 - Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Died January 31, 2018 - Horam, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom

Please Click Here for her obituary in The Hollywood Reporter

Occupation - Actress, Years active - 1934-1968

Spouse(s)
Paul Ziebold (1947-1951) (divorced) 2 sons
Richard Fraser (1952-1970) (divorced) 1 son
René J. J. Van Hulst (1991-1999) (his death)

Children - 3, Grandchildren - 5, Great Grandchildren - 6

Ann Gillis (born Alma Mabel Conner, February 12, 1927, in Little Rock, Arkansas) daughter of Clem Conner and Mabel Brandon Conner, sometimes credited as Anne Gillis or Ann Gilles, was an American actress.

Ann Gillis started her career in the early 1930s, when she was seven years old. After some smaller roles, she got her first big part in King of Hockey (1936). In the following years she played supporting roles, and her film studio, Warner Brothers, wanted her to be a second Shirley Temple, but most of the time she only played spoiled brats. One of her best roles was starring as Becky Thatcher in David O. Selznick's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938). She also provided the voice of Faline as an adult and read for the part of Bambi's Mother in Walt Disney's Bambi (1942). She ended her US film career in 1947.

Following her Hollywood career in 1947, Ann married Paul Ziebold and had 2 sons, they divorced in 1951 and Ann moved to New York City, where she met and married the Scottish-born actor Richard (Dick) Fraser thereafter making occasional television appearances.  Ann had a son with Richard in 1958 and they moved to the UK in 1961. Ann later came back into acting making 2 episodes of "The Saint" with Roger Moore in 1964/5 followed by a small part in 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. After her divorce from Dick, Ann moved to Belgium in 1972 where she met and married Belgian René Van Hulst (deceased 1999).  She lived in Belgium from 1972 to 2014 and became a Belgian citizen, devoting much of her time to painting and music, she was an accomplished pianist and harpist. She moved to England, UK in December 2014 and passed away peacefully on 31/1/2018.

Other web links....

https://www.facebook.com/LookingForAnnGillis/

http://www.mar-ken.org/biosgl/gillisa.html

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0319268/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
 

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ann_gillis

http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/ann-gillis-dies-bambi-2001-space-odyssey
 

Ann's Granddaughter is the British Actress and Singer Katey Ann Fraser www.kateyannfraser.co.uk

Filmography

• Men in White (1934) as Flower Girl (uncredited)

• The Great Ziegfeld (1936) as Mary Lou as a Child (uncredited)

• The Singing Cowboy (1936) as Lou Ann Stevens

• Postal Inspector (1936) as Little Alice (uncredited)

• The Garden of Allah (1936) as Convent Girl #2 (uncredited)

• The Man I Marry (1936) as Little Girl (uncredited)

• Under Your Spell (1936) as Gwendolyn (uncredited)

• King of Hockey (1936) as Peggy 'Princess' O'Rourke

• Off to the Races (1937) as Winnie Mae

• You Can't Buy Luck (1937) as Peggy (uncredited)

• The Californian (1937) as Rosalia as a Child

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) as Becky Thatcher

• Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1938) as Fleurette de Cava

• Little Orphan Annie (1938) as Annie

• Beau Geste (1939) as Isobel Rivers as a Child

• The Under-Pup (1939) as Letty Lou

• Edison, the Man (1940) as Nancy Grey

• All This, and Heaven Too (1940) as Emily Schuyler

• My Love Came Back (1940) as Valerie Malette

• Little Men (1940) as Nan

• Nice Girl? (1941) as Nancy Dana

• Mr. Dynamite (1941) as Joey aka Abigail

• Glamour Boy (1941) as Brenda Lee

• Meet the Stewarts (1942) as Jane Goodwin

• Tough As They Come (1942) as Frankie Taylor

• Bambi (1942) as Adult Faline (voice, uncredited)

• 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942) as Sylvia

• Stage Door Canteen (1943) as Ann Gillis

• The Man from Music Mountain (1943) as Penny Winters

• Since You Went Away (1944) as Becky Anderson - Class President (uncredited)

• Janie (1944) as Paula Rainey

• In Society (1944) as Gloria

• A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944) as Judy

• The Cheaters (1945) as Angela Pidgeon

• Gay Blades (1946) as Helen Dowell

• Janie Gets Married (1946) as Paula Rainey

• The Time of Their Lives (1946) as Nora O'Leary

• Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946) as Sue

• Big Town After Dark (1947) as Susan Peabody LaRue

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) as Poole's mother

Photo Gallery

More photos and some images of Ann's artworks (paintings in oils and watercolours)
will appear here in due course but there are plenty of photos to see on Facebook (link)

The information on this website is believed to be accurate at the time of writing, but is subject to change without notice.
I hereby acknowledge all copyright rests with the respective owners.
I cannot guarantee that information available from external websites will continue to be available as described.

page last edited 4/3/2018