John Wayne Co-Star Pamela Blake Dies October 6, 2009

Pamela Blake, August 6, 1915 – October 6, 2009, B-movie and western series actress, died of natural causes at a Las Vegas care facility according to her family. She was 94.

She was a beauty queen at the age of 17

And isn’t that the stuff that makes for leading ladies of western movies? Pamela Blake was all of that and more. She signed with MGM in 1942 and, between 1934 and 1954, she appeared in about 50 films many of them westerns right alongside some of the biggest stars in western movie genre.

She co-starred with John Wayne in “Wyoming Outlaw” in 1939 and played opposite Tex Ritter in “The Utah Trail” in 1938. In the 40’s, she had roles in "Chick Carter, Detective" and "Ghost of Zorro." She played Annie in “This Gun For Hire” which starred Alan Ladd and Veroncia Lake. In “Maisie Gets Her Man” she appeared with Ann Sothern and Red Skelton. By the early 1950s, Pamela Blake was regularly appearing in TV westerns such as "The Cisco Kid" and "The Range Rider."

She leaves behind her son, Michael Stokey II, son of Mike Stokey who created the TV game show "Pantomime Quiz," and who has been a military advisor on such films as "The Thin Red Line" (1998) and "Tropic Thunder" (2008).