The Sweetest Woman: Bonita Granville

Bonita Gloria Granville was born on February 2, 1923 in New York. She came from a family of actors. Her father, Bernard Granville, was a renowned stage actor. It was no surprise that his daughter, Bonita (nicknamed Bunny), would follow in his footsteps. Her father abandoned the family when Bonita was very young, which left Bonita and her mother on their own. She began her career in the movies when she was just nine years old in the movie Westward Passage.

Bonita was usually cast as the “brat” in films. In the film These Three with Merle Oberon, Margaret Hamilton, Miriam Hopkins, Marcia Mae Jones and Joel Mccrea, her performance was so great that she was nominated for an Oscar. She lost.

She continued to play “bratty” roles like in the1938 film The Beloved Brat. Bonita’s next few films were supporting roles in movies such as Call it a Day, My BIll and Maid of Salem, where she played brats again.

In the late 1930’s, she made a film series that put her in the spotlight: Nancy Drew. She worked with child actor Frankie Thomas in all four of the films. All of Nancy Drew movies were box office smashes.

She began dating Jackie Cooper (1922–2011) and thought she had found the love of her life. He was a child star just like she was. Jackie proposed to her and they were engaged for a short period of time but Bonita broke off the engagement. She said to Photoplay Magazine: “It was both Jackie and I’s decision and I realized that this was the end for both of us.” The break up left both of them devastated, but they remained close friends until the day she died.

Bonita made a controversial film called Hitler’s Children. It was an anti-war film and it was difficult for her to watch her own film. “I’m not a Nazi and it was hard being in a film about Nazis,” she later said.

Later in life she met the love of her life: Jack Wrather. She married him in 1947. He had been married before and had two kids, Jack Jr. and Molly.

In the late 40’s she took more mature roles. She did film noirs, like The Glass Key and “B” films like The Guilty . In the late 50’s, she began to appear on TV shows like Climax! and then she decided that she wanted to be involved behind the camera and produce TV shows like Lassie.

She and her husband helped establish the Disneyland hotel in 1955 in Anaheim, California. They had two lovely children named Linda (born on April 7, 1949) and Christopher (born on September 4, 1952). In 1984, Bonita was widowed when Jack Wrather died of cancer.

When interviewing Bonita’s daughter, Linda stated, “My mom said, ‘I love you’ a lot and we had plenty of hugs. My mom still acted a little bit after she married my dad. My dad was a movie producer and she acted in his movies and tv shows. Mom gave up acting pretty much to be a wife and a mom. She started helping my dad with his businesses so she was a busy lady for her whole life!”

In the late 80’s she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her daughter said she opted not to do a whole lot of treatment. On October 11, 1988 Bonita Granville died at the age of sixty-five. She left behind two children and step daughter, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

(Bonita loved animals as seen on the set of Nancy Drew Reporter with a small bird)

(At home with the Wrathers. Jack knew Bonita was the one for him after several months of courting. They both died of cancer in the 1980’s)

(Linda told me that her mom had a dog named Chin Chin.)

(Bonita did some film noirs. She wanted to be taken seriously as an actress and not just as a child star.)

(A scene on the set of one of her four successful Nancy Drew movies. Bonita said: “I started taking acting seriously at age sixteen. Nancy Drew is what I’m most proud of.”)

(Bonita was first engaged to Jackie Cooper for a couple of years. After he went into the Navy, she realized that their marriage would never work out, but they remained friends all their lives.. They made three movies together: Gallant Sons, Syncopation and White Banners. When Jackie wrote his autobiography, he called Bonita to interview her for his book, Please Don’t Shoot My Dog. She replied “When do you need me?”)

(Deanna Durbin and Bonita at the Hollywood Canteen. They were friends until 1949 when Deanna left Hollywood.)

(Bonita in the film Now Voyager. Even though her part was small, she received screen credit.)

(In the film, Syncopation, with Jackie Cooper and Adolphe Menjou. This was her third movie with fiancee Jackie Cooper)

(Bonita with her daughter, Linda. Linda told me personally on the phone she was very close to her mom and she loves her mom, unlike so many daughters and mothers in Hollywood, who hated each other.)

(“I don’t know anyone who was perfect, but Bonita Granville was pretty darn close!”- actress Gloria Jean said. Bonita’s friendliness made her many friends like Deanna Durbin, Helen Parrish, Gloria Jean, Judy Garland, Anne Shirley, Robert Stack and Ann Rutherford, just to name a few.)

(With her daughter Linda. Linda is married and has a daughter and two sons. One of her sons, Keith, passed away)

(During WWII, Bonita worked at the Hollywood Canteen. She danced and dined with soldiers.

(When she first met Jack Wrather, he was in the oil business. He began producing movies with Bonita starring in some of the movies.
He had been married before and had two children. Bonita jumped at the opportunity to become a stepmother, but insisted she wanted two of her own.

(Bonita’s granddaughter, Sabrina, said, “We used to call her Bun Bun.”She was also nicknamed “Bunny.”)

(Bonita went from being in front of the camera to behind the camera. She produced the TV shows Lassie and The Lone Ranger. She even did an episode of Lassie with her daughter, Linda as seen in the photo above.)

(In Youth Runs Wild she played a darker role of Toddy, the juvenile delinquent, not like her normal lighthearted characters.)

(In 1954 Walt Disney called the Wrathers to help build the Disneyland hotel. The Disney Company bought their hotel from the Wrather Corporation after Bonita’s death in 1988. There is a dedication to both Jack and Bonita in the Disneyland Hotel right next to the conference room.)

(Bonita was seen with a cigarette even though she did not smoke. She did however smoke in her films and died of lung cancer in 1988)

(Bonita was one of the youngest women to be nominated for an Oscar,These Three, but she lost.)

(Bonita talking with friend Anne Shirley at the Hollywood Canteen. Bonita and Anne never worked together, but they were good friends.)

(Bonita with good friend and confidant, Judy Garland who was under contract at MGM. Bonita made some movies at MGM. Bonita would lend Judy money according to friend and actress, Gloria Jean)

(Bonita’s father left the family when Bonita was young. Bonita supported her mother financially until her mother passed away.)

(Bonita was featured in articles like The New York Times about her Nancy Drew films.)