Wanda Hendrix

The product of a large and widely scattered Florida family, dark-eyed, doll-faced actress Wanda Hendrix was fresh out of local community theatre when she made her film debut at the age of 16. Not overly talented, Hendrix exuded a raw energy and exotic demeanor which briefly made her a fascinating screen presence. Director Robert Montgomery was able to cajole a thoroughly convincing performance from Hendrix in 1947's Ride the Pink Horse, after which she settled into the sort of pedestrian leading-lady roles that any competent actress could have played. Despite flashes of excellence in such films as Captain Carey USA (1950) and The Highwayman (1951), Hendrix was soon demoted from prestige pictures to western programmers and TV anthologies. Married three times, Hendrix's first husband was mercurial actor/war hero Audie Murphy. After several years of inactivity, 52-year-old Wanda Hendrix died of pneumonia. - Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide