Person Biography:
Audrey Totter was a talented and intriguing actress born on December 20, 1917, in Joliet, Illinois, to an Austrian father and Swedish mother. She began her career in radio, appearing on Chicago and New York airwaves in the late 1930s before transitioning to film in 1944. MGM developed an interest in her and put her on its payroll, and she made her film debut in Main Street After Dark (1945) as a "bad girl".
Totter's early film career was marked by her appearances in classic film noir, including The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946),Lady in the Lake (1946),and The Unsuspected (1947). She cemented her reputation as a femme fatale in "B" noir with her performances in High Wall (1947),The Saxon Charm (1948),and Alias Nick Beal (1949).
Despite being groomed by MGM to become a top star, Totter's career began to decline in the 1950s as the studio shifted its focus to family-styled comedy and drama. She signed with Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox but eventually retired from film in 1951.
Totter made a comeback in the 1960s and 1970s with regular roles in TV series such as Cimarron City (1958) and Our Man Higgins (1962). She also had a recurring role as Nurse Wilcox on Medical Center (1969-1976) and made a guest appearance on "Murder, She Wrote" in 1987.
Totter married doctor Leo Fred and devoted herself to her family and marriage, retiring from acting at the age of 70. She passed away on December 12, 2013, at the age of 95 in West Hills, California.
