Profile Text
Fleming in 2003, photo by kathclick /Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Marilyn Cheverton Louis
Date of Birth: August 10, 1923
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Death: October 14, 2020
Place of Death: Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: English, one quarter Ashkenazi Jewish, one eighth Swedish, distant Scottish
Rhonda Fleming was an American film and television actress, and singer. Her roles included the films Spellbound (1945), Abilene Town , The Spiral Staircase (1946), Adventure Island , Out of the Past , A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court , The Great Lover (1949), The Eagle and the Hawk (1950), Cry Danger , The Redhead and the Cowboy , The Last Outpost , Little Egypt , Crosswinds (1951), Hong Kong (1952), The Golden Hawk , Tropic Zone , Serpent of the Nile , Pony Express , Inferno (1953), Those Redheads from Seattle , Jivaro , Yankee Pasha , The Queen of Babylon , Tennessee’s Partner , The Killer Is Loose , Slightly Scarlet , While the City Sleeps (1956), Odongo , The Buster Keaton Story , Gunfight at the O.K. Corral , Gun Glory , Bullwhip , Home Before Dark (1958), Alias Jesse James , The Big Circus , The Crowded Sky , The Revolt of the Slaves , Run for Your Wife (1965), Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood ; and The Nude Bomb ; and the series Wagon Train . She was nicknamed “Queen of Technicolor.”
Rhonda was the daughter of Effie Olivia Graham, a stage actress, and Harold Cheverton Louis, an insurance salesman. She was married to businessperson Ted Mann, until his death; and then to Darol Wayne Carlson, until his death. She had a son with her former husband, interior decorator Thomas Wade Lane. Rhonda was a Presbyterian.
Rhonda’s paternal grandfather was Simon Louis (the son of Samuel Louis and Ernestine Ansbach). Simon was born in Stockton, San Joaquin, California, the son of German Jewish parents. Samuel was from Berlin.
Rhonda’s paternal grandmother was Ada Cheverton (the daughter of Edwin Cheverton and Emily Granger). Ada was an English emigrant, from the Isle of Wight. Edwin was the son of William Chaverton and Ann Meager. Emily was born on the Isle of Wight.
Rhonda’s maternal grandfather was John C. Graham (John Crosthwaite Graham, the son of William Crosthwaite Graham and Elizabeth C. Leyland). John was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, and was an actor, theatre owner, and newspaper editor in Utah. William was born in Liverpool, the son of John Graham and Jane Crosthwaite. Rhonda’s great-grandmother Elizabeth was born in Liverpool, the daughter of William Leyland and Sarah Ellis.
Rhonda’s maternal grandmother was Sarah Helen Potter (the daughter of Amasa David Potter and Cecelia/Cecilia/Sissa Nilsdotter). Sarah was born in Payson, Utah. Amasa was born in Avon Township, Ohio, the son of David Amasa Potter and Charlotte Osborn, and had deep lines in the U.S., his ancestry being English, and distant Scottish. Rhonda’s great-grandmother Cecelia was a Swedish emigrant, and was born in Katslosa/Casloe, Malmohus/Malmo, the daughter of Nils/Niles Pehrsson/Parson and Kerstina/Kjerstina Larsdotter.
Sources: Genealogy of Rhonda Fleming – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of Rhonda Fleming (focusing on her mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com