Sandra Spence Profile

Sandra Spence

	(Nettie Jane Fowler)
22 May 25	is born in Olympia, Washington, to Dr. Ernest Fowler, an oral surgeon, and his wife Nettie
26	the Fowlers move to Oakland, California
18 September 27	her sister, Shirley Ann, is born in Oakland
9 May 34	her brother, Ernest Walter, is born in Oakland
?	attends Piedmont High School
39	is chosen the "Typical Outdoor Girl of Metropolitan Oakland" during the fair
?	represents Oakland at the Salinas Rodeo
August 41	her family moves to San Diego
11 August 41	as Sandra Jaynne Fowler, she is selected "Miss San Diego" by Earl Carroll, the New York producer, at age 16. The press tells that she rejected an offer to accompany Carroll's troupe East because she "promised mother to finish school before I do anything else. I've studied ballet dancing for three years and I really want to be a professional dancer - but not one who doesn't even have a high school education. I never expected to win."
June 43	as Jane Fowler, she graduates from San Diego High School, called the Grey Castle
c. summer 44	meets Irwin Junior Spence, a Navy pilot, at a USO-type dance held at the Hotel del Coronado on Sunday afternoons. Years later, her sister, Shirley, will remember that they went to the dances to check out the handsome Navy guys
24 July 44	she and Spence elope to Yuma, Arizona after knowing each other just three weeks. He's 23; she's 19.
?	legally changes her name to Sandra Jane
22 April 46	her daughter, Sandra Marlene, is born in Los Angeles
End October 46	columnist Louella Parsons writes: "... But it has remained for Sandra Spence, a model visiting here from Washington state, to have a talent scout find her on the street. She was waiting for a bus, when Jack Class, an agent, saw her, walked up to her and said 'would you be interested in a picture career?' 'No, I can't act,' she answered. When she saw it wasn't a wolf call, but actually a call to go with him to Universal-International for a part in Time Out of Mind, she accepted. Robert Siodmak saw her and today she is being tested. Furthermore, Class got her a job posing for a big national advertising layout and a magazine cover. See what can happen in Hollywood?"
Late July 47	columnist Jimmie Fidler reports that "Paramount executives saw a bathing suit picture of Sandra Spence and signed her to a contract immediately, without bothering about screen tests..."
48	is voted "Queen of Television"
20 August 48	presents the trophy at the SCMRA pilots at the Huntington Beach Speedway
End August 48	the press reports that she will grace the Santa Ana Police Benevolent Association's blowout on September 3 and 4
November 48	the first birthday of NBC's "Pantomime Quiz Time" at KTTV with a huge decorated cake
March 50	the press tells: "Although television actress Sandra Spence, shown in New York, has plenty of personality for the cameras to fasten upon, she also happens to be the possessor of considerable acting talent."
April 51	is chosen "Coast Guard Queen" in New York to promote her part in the upcoming Fighting Coast Guard
February 52	is pictured promoting a homemade table in local newspapers
March 52	sews her own gown each week for her "Pantomime Quiz" appearance
August 52	she and Adele Jergens are pictured heading up the glamour department on "Pantomime Quiz" when "lucky Mike Stokey again takes up the reins of the popular charades telecast as emcee of a warm weather series which replaces 'My Friend Irma' on KPIX."
July 53	is score-keeper to emcee Mike Stokey on CBS' "Pantomime Quiz." The panel consists of Angela Lansbury, John Barrymore, Jr., Jackie Coogan, and Dave Willock.
October 53	"Pantomime Quiz" sponsor Parliament Cigarettes orders Stokey to replace her with "a girl who looks like a Parliament"
December 53	promotes the four-day Long Beach Antique Show to be held at the Municipal Auditorium starting January 7, 1954
c. 54 - 57	owns an antique shop, House of Early Americana, on Robertson Street in West Los Angeles. She makes her own custom lampshades and does painting on a lot of her furniture giving everything a real "custom" touch.
56 / 57	retires from TV and takes up golf as a hobby
57	her husband opens Jack Spence Ford, an automobile dealership, in Laguna Beach, California
15 January 58	her husband dies at age 36 of a massive heart attack in Laguna Beach
February 58	moves in with her sister, Shirley Ferguson, and her family in Lakewood, California
June 58 - July 59	works as a photographer's model
June 59	for a summer, she and her daughter settle in Redondo Beach, California
3 August 59	marries Jack Spence's half brother, Harlan Howard Meyer, a cement plant manager. He's 24; she's 34.
?	she and Meyer settle in Midlothian, Texas
5 January 61	her son, Michael Steven, is born in Texas. He will become an insurance broker.
December 61	is featured in Gaze
60s - 70s	is active in the Methodist Church and becomes a lay speaker, teaches a Sunday school class, and plays golf. She is in the Garden Club and becomes its president for a couple of years.
13 February 74	as Sandra Meyer, she dies at age 48 from ovarian cancer in Midlothian, Texas
07	her daughter remembers her not only beautiful on the outside but also "beautiful on the inside. Very genuine. A real lady."

Sources: Marlene & Stuart Pryor, Oakland Tribune, The Charleston Gazette, Joplin Globe, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Fresno Bee, San Mateo Times, Chronicle-Telegram
Recommended Books:
Links: Filmography