Nancy Gates

Nancy Gates (February 1, 1926) is a retired American film and television actress.

Early life

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Gates, Nancy Gates was born in Dallas, Texas, Gates grew up in nearby Denton, and was described as "a child wonder." A 1932 newspaper article about an Easter program at Robert E. Lee School noted, "Nancy Gates, presenting a soft-shoe number, will open the style show." That same year, she had a part in the Denton Kiddie Revue.

In 1935, she appeared in the production "A Kiss for Cinderella," which starred Brenda Marshall and a minstrel show that included Ann Sheridan, both of whom were from Denton. She was in show business before she finished high school, having her own radio program on WFAA in Dallas for two years while she was a student at Denton High School, from which she graduated. Musically oriented, Gates was featured as a singer in a 1942 concert by the North Texas Teachers College stage band.

Gates attended the University of Oklahoma for one year before getting married.