Daughter of Bernard 'Bunny' Granville and Rosina Timponi, Bonita Granville was born into an acting family on 2 Febuary 1923, in New York, New York. It's not surprising that she herself became a child actor, first on the stage and, at the age of 9, debuting in movies in Westward Passage (1932). She was regularly cast as a naughty little girl, as in These Three (1936) where she played Mary, an obnoxious girl spreading lies about her teachers. Her performance left an impression on the audience, and she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award. In 1938-39 came the movies she is now best remembered for -- playing the bright and feisty detective/reporter Nancy Drew in the Nancy Drew series. She also appeared with Mickey Rooney in a few Andy Hardy movies. She never really had a movie breakthrough, and after marrying oil millionaire and later producer Jack Wrather, she retired from acting in the middle of the 1950s, although she went on to produce the Lassie (1954) TV series. After her marriage to oil millionaire Jack Wrather in 1947, she appeared in only three more movies. She became an executive in the Wrather Corp., and first associate producer, then executive producer of the Lassie (1954) TV series. After Wrather's death in 1984, she took over as chairman of the board. She was also involved in many civic and cultural groups, and she was chair of American Film Institute, trustee of John F. Kennedy Center, as well as other well known organizations and charities. Walt Disney personally convinced the Wrathers to build the Disneyland Hotel when Disney could not raise the money to do so -- his credit was all tied up in building the theme park itself. After the phenomenal success of Disneyland, Disney attempted to buy the hotel; but the Wrathers steadfastly refused to sell. Long after Jack and Bonita Wrather's and Walt Disney's deaths, the Disney Company bought the Wrather Corporation. The Disney Company thus acquired the Disneyland Hotel, the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose attractions in Long Beach, California, the rights to The Lone Ranger (1949) TV series, as well as other properties. Bonita Granville Rather died of cancer on 11 October 1988, in Santa Monica, California. She and Wrather had four children (two from Wrather's first marriage).

Фільмографія

• 1981The Legend of the Lone Ranger — Woman (uncredited)
• 1978The Magic of Lassie — Producer
• 1972Lassie: Peace Is Our Profession — Producer
• 1969Lassie: The Adventures of Neeka — Associate Producer
• 1959The Velvet Alley — Mrs. Kirkley
• 1956The Lone Ranger — Welcome Kilgore
• Climax! — Laura Jordan, Molly
• Lassie — Director
• Schlitz Playhouse of Stars — Ellen Morison
• 1950Guilty of Treason — Stephanie Varna
• Lux Video Theatre — Kitty, Joan
• 1948Strike It Rich — Julie Ann Brady
• Studio One — Ann
• 1947The Guilty — Estelle Mitchell / Linda Mitchell
• 1946Breakfast in Hollywood — Dorothy Larson
• 1946Love Laughs at Andy Hardy — Kay Wilson
• 1946Suspense — Ronnie
• 1946The Truth About Murder — Christine Allen
• 1945Senorita from the West — Jeannie Blake
• 1945The Beautiful Cheat — Alice
• 1944Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble — Kay Wilson
• 1944Song of the Open Road — Bonnie
• 1944Youth Runs Wild — Toddy Jones
• 1943Hitler's Children — Anna Miller
• 1942Now, Voyager — June Vale
• 1942Seven Miles from Alcatraz — Anne Porter
• 1942Soaring Stars — Passenger
• 1942Syncopation — Kit Latimer
• 1942The Glass Key — Opal 'Snip' Madvig
• 1941Down in San Diego — Betty Haines
• 1941H.M. Pulham, Esq. — Mary Pulham
• 1941The People Vs. Dr. Kildare — Frances Marlowe
• 1941The Wild Man of Borneo — Francine 'Frankie' Diamond
• 1940Escape — Ursula
• 1940Forty Little Mothers — Doris
• 1940Gallant Sons — Kate Pendleton
• 1940The Mortal Storm — Elsa
• 1940Third Finger, Left Hand — Vicky Sherwood
• 1940Those Were the Days! — Martha Scroggs
• 1939Angels Wash Their Faces — Peggy Finnegan
• 1939Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase — Nancy Drew
• 1939Nancy Drew... Reporter — Nancy Drew
• 1939Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter — Nancy Drew
• 1938Breakdowns of 1938 — Nancy Drew (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 1938Hard to Get — Connie Richards
• 1938Merrily We Live — Marian Kilbourne
• 1938My Bill — Gwen Colbrook
• 1938Nancy Drew… Detective — Nancy Drew
• 1938The Beloved Brat — Roberta Morgan
• 1938White Banners — Sally Ward
• 1937Call It a Day — Ann Hilton
• 1937It's Love I'm After — Gracie Kane
• 1937Maid of Salem — Ann
• 1937Quality Street — Isabella
• 1936Song of the Saddle — Jen as a Child
• 1936The Garden of Allah — Convent Girl (uncredited)
• 1936The Plough and the Stars — Mollser Gogan
• 1936These Three — Mary Tilford
• 1935Ah, Wilderness! — Mildred Miller
• 1934The Life of Vergie Winters — Joan Shadwell as a Child (uncredited)
• 1933Cavalcade — Young Fanny
• 1933Cradle Song — Carmen (uncredited)
• 1932Silver Dollar — Liddy (uncredited)
• 1932Westward Passage — Little Olivia Allen (age 9)

Ток-шоу, премії та інші появи (4)

• 1982Hollywood’s Children — Self
• V.I.P. Schaukel — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self
• 1941Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1 — Self