Florence Rice

Florence Davenport Rice (February 14, 1907 – February 23, 1974) was an American actress whose career spanned Broadway and Hollywood. 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 performing career in the late 1920s, appearing on Broadway between 1926 and 1942. Her stage credits included the musicals Criss Cross, Three Cheers, and Ripples, as well as the play She Loves Me Not and the drama Proof Thro' the Night. Following her Broadway work, she transitioned to Hollywood, where she appeared in nearly 50 films between 1934 and 1943.

At Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Rice was frequently cast as the dependable girlfriend figure, and the studio gradually gave her more substantial parts, including roles in prestige productions. She appeared alongside Robert Young in multiple screen pairings. Among her most prominent film appearances was Double Wedding (1937), in which she received third billing behind William Powell and Myrna Loy. She also appeared in Sweethearts (1938) with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, and in the Marx Brothers film At the Circus (1939). Outside of film, Rice appeared on the radio program Hollywood Playhouse. The quality of her roles declined through the 1940s, and she retired in 1947.

Rice married four times. Her first marriage, to David Page, was annulled. On June 12, 1930, she married broker Sydney A. Smith in New York City; that marriage ended in divorce on May 18, 1931. She married actor Robert Wilcox on March 30, 1939, but the couple separated within two months and divorced on July 30, 1940. On August 29, 1946, she married Fred Thomas Butler, and the two remained together 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.