Elaine Shepard

Elaine Elizabeth Shepard (April 2, 1913 – September 6, 1998) was an American actress, journalist, and author whose career spanned Broadway, film, and international reporting. She was married to George Hartmann.

Before establishing herself on stage and screen, Shepard worked as a model on the West Coast. Her film career began with the 1936 Republic serial Darkest Africa, in which she played the heroine Valerie Tremaine. A string of leading roles in smaller productions followed, including I Cover Chinatown (1936), Law of the Ranger (1937), and The Fighting Texan (1937). She appeared in the 1937 Our Gang short Night 'n' Gales as Mrs. Hood, Darla's mother, and took an uncredited role as a secretary in the 1937 comedy Topper. Her 1940 appearance in You Can't Fool Your Wife, a comedy starring Lucille Ball, cast her as Peggy. A more substantial role came in the 1944 musical Seven Days Ashore, where she played Annabelle Rogers, the principal love interest for a group of sailors on shore leave. Additional credits from that period include uncredited appearances in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and the 1945 Ziegfeld Follies. Her final screen appearance came in the 1951 Italian production Fiamme sulla laguna, in which she played Patricia.

Shepard's Broadway career ran from 1930 to 1941. She performed in the ensemble of the musical Nina Rosa in 1931 and portrayed Mildred Hunter in the 1940 musical Panama Hattie. She also appeared as a maid in The Land Is Bright in 1942.

Following her acting career, Shepard transitioned to freelance journalism, covering international conflicts in locations including the Congo and Northern Ireland. In 1959, she was the only female reporter credentialed to accompany President Dwight Eisenhower on his tour of the Middle East. Her reporting on the Vietnam War formed the basis of her 1967 book The Doom Pussy, published by Trident Press, which recounted her experiences with aviators during the early years of the conflict. The book is also noted for its use of the phrase "the whole nine yards." Shepard's earlier journalism collection, Forgive Us Our Press Passes, was published by Prentice-Hall in 1962, and she returned to the subject of Vietnam with The Doom Pussy II, published by Rockoon Press in 1992.