What To Know About Elaine Devry – Bio, Career

Elaine Devry (real name: Thelma Elaine Mahnken, born January 10, 1930) also known as Elaine Davis is a retired American Hollywood actress who was very popular in the 1950s with movies such as The Atomic Kid (1954), The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973), and several other classics. Elaine Devry is 94 years old now and long retired from the acting business but old timers who are familiar with her work are still interested in knowing all about her before, during, and after a stellar acting career. Here’s all you need to know.

Elaine Devry is from Compton, California

Elaine Devry was born Thelma Elaine Mahnken on January 10, 1930. The veteran actress was born in her hometown of Compton, California, in the United States under the birth sign of Capricorn. She is a caucasian American citizen who was born to an American couple named Fred P. Mahnken and Hortense Mahnken.

Given how old the actress is, the assumption that both of her parents are late might be very credible. Also, aside from their names, no piece of information sheds more light on what Elaine Devry’s parents did for a living when they were alive. Elaine Devry is not the only child of her parents as she has an older brother named Jeff Mahnken. Like her parents, not much is known about Elaine’s brother who was reportedly 3 years her senior.

Elaine Devry received her high school diploma from Compton High School before spending the following few years studying for a college degree at Compton Junior College. That being said, there are no publicly available records that specify what Elaine studied at the university.

Elaine Devry worked as an actress for more than 4 decades

Elaine Devry was a celebrated name in Hollywood for 46 years during which time she accrued around the same number of movies and TV series credits to her name. It is imperative to reveal that Elaine Devry, also known as Elaine Davis, became accustomed to the spotlight during her teenage years. Verified records show that she started modeling at the age of 15.

However, despite all the experiences she gathered as a model, she didn’t set foot on a movie set until she was 23 years old when she was cast in an uncredited role in the movie A Slight Case of Larceny (1953). Her first official role as an actress came in the 1954 movie titled The Atomic Kid. She played the character Audrey Nelson to public acclaim.

That role launched her 46-year career on the silver screen. From 1954 to 1999, Elaine Devry appeared in multiple movies and TV series, including but not limited to China Doll (1958), The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961), 77 Sunset Trip (1962), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), To Rome With Love (1970), Project U.F.O. (1978), and Beverly Hills Bordello (1996). Elaine Devry made her very last appearance as an actress in Heart to Heart.com (1999). She was 69 years old when she played the role of Aimee.

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Elaine Devry has been a widow for over 30 years

Elaine Devry became a widow on April 23, 1992. That was the date she lost her husband Will J. White. She has been a widow for more than 30 years, although not much is known about her late husband, including his date of birth and other salient facts like his occupation. Elaine and her late husband did not have any kids together, even though the veteran, retired actress already had two kids from a previous marriage at the time.

Speaking of previous marriages, before her marriage to Will J. White, Elaine Devry was twice married. She spent 4 years, from 1948 to 1952, being married to her college sweetheart, Dan Ducich. They lived in Butte, Montana, for the duration of their marriage which was a blissful one at the time, but ultimately turned sour as a result of Dan being convicted of multiple robberies which led to him being sentenced to five years probation. In truth, very few marriages would survive that ordeal, and it’s no surprise that Elaine’s disintegrated after that.

After the failure and dissolution of her first marriage, Elaine reportedly returned to California where she worked as a carhop at the Dolores Drive-in and subsequently met her second husband, actor Mickey Rooney. They had a whirlwind romance that culminated in a Las Vegas wedding on November 15, 1952. Devry’s second marriage lasted slightly longer than her first marriage. Over the 6-year-period during which the marriage lasted, Elaine and Mickey had two children, a son named Jimmy Rooney and a daughter whose identity has never really been revealed to the public.

Elaine and her second husband appeared to have a really good thing going, including simultaneously appearing together in a couple of movies. Their seemingly close relationship led to several questions about why they separated and eventually divorced in 1958. It took the veteran 9 years to eventually address that question.

She stated that while she genuinely liked Rooney, she made it clear to him from the beginning that she was still in love with her first husband. Rooney didn’t care and as time went on, cracks started to appear in their marriage as a result of her lingering affection for her first ex-husband. Rooney claims that their divorce settlement saw Elaine walk away with a $125k mansion, a summer home, and a 10-year $21,000 alimony. That assertion was vehemently refuted by Elaine who claims she only got a $75k studio home, a $45k mortgage, and a summer home. She also claimed that she only received $21,000 in alimony in the first year following their divorce.

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The veteran actress currently lives in Oregon

Elaine Devry is reportedly worth an estimated $1 million and she is enjoying every bit of that substantial net worth on a ranch located in Oregon. Several reliable sources believe she moved there in 2005.