DAVIS, GAIL

(1925–1997)

   Born Betty Jeanne Grayson, Gail Davis played female leads in numerous low-budget Westerns of the late 1940s and early 1950s. In her early work with such actors as Charles Starrett, Tim Holt, and Roy Rogers, she played typical passive, dependent female roles. But in a number of late Gene Autryfilms, such as Blue Canadian Rockies (Columbia, 1952), Davis played independent women, often businesswomen, who could handle their own problems. When television Westerns replaced budget Westerns, Davis played the lead in the Annie Oakley series.