Florence D. Rice

Florence Davenport Rice (February 14, 1907 – February 23, 1974) was an American actress who worked in Broadway theater and Hollywood film. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she was the only child of sportswriter Grantland Rice and Fannie Katherine Hollis. She received her education at Dwight School for Girls in Englewood, New Jersey, and later attended Smith College.

Rice began her acting career in the late 1920s, appearing on Broadway in 1929 in the play June Moon. Following her stage work, she transitioned to Hollywood, where she appeared in nearly 50 films between 1934 and 1943. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast her frequently in the role of the dependable girlfriend, and the studio gradually assigned her more substantial parts, including appearances in prestige productions. She appeared alongside Robert Young in multiple screen pairings. Among her most visible film performances were Double Wedding (1937), in which she received third billing behind William Powell and Myrna Loy, Sweethearts (1938) with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, and the Marx Brothers production At the Circus (1939). She also appeared on the radio program Hollywood Playhouse. The quality of her film roles declined through the 1940s, and she retired from acting in 1947.

Rice married four times. Her first marriage, to David Page, was annulled. She then married broker Sydney A. Smith in New York City on June 12, 1930, and the couple divorced on May 18, 1931. On March 30, 1939, she married actor Robert Wilcox; they separated within two months and divorced on July 30, 1940. Her fourth marriage, to Fred Thomas Butler on August 29, 1946, lasted until her death. In 1958, Rice and Butler relocated to Hawaii.

Rice died on February 23, 1974, at age 67, from lung cancer at Straub Clinic in Honolulu. She was survived by her husband. Per her wishes, no funeral was held, her remains were cremated, and her ashes were scattered over the waters near Waikiki Beach.