Evelyn Keyes, the fierce-eyed actress whose film career included a memorable part as Scarlett O'Hara's younger sister Suellen in Gone With the Wind and who became popular gossip mag fodder for her string of colorful personal relationships with the likes of John Huston, Charles Vidor, Artie Shaw and Mike Todd, died of uterine cancer on July 4 at her Montecito, California home She was 91.

She was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on November 20, 1916. Her father died when she was an infant and her mother relocated her family to Atlanta. She grew up to be an attractive blonde with stunning eyes and, knowing she would only find stardom if she left Atlanta, moved to Hollywood in 1936. She was discovered by Cecil B. De Mille and given a small part in the Fredric March vehicle The Buccaneer (1938) and followed that in Joel McCrea's box office hit Union Pacific (1939). It would be that same year that she earned the part of Suellen, Scarlett O'Hara's rueful younger sister in the epic classic Gone with the Wind. Although her part was small, her vixenish charms were memorable, and she secured her footnote in movie history with this one.

Keyes blossomed as an actress in the '40s as her roles grew progressively sharper: Robert Montgomery's love interest in Here Comes Mr. Jordan, a blind girl who falls for Peter Lorre in the stylish minor cult item The Face Behind the Mask (both 1941), a most beautiful genie in the breezy escapist farce A Thousand and One Nights (1945), Al Jolsen's wife in The Jolsen Story (1946), a faithful good girl to Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947) and a gift for sultry romantic comedy in The Mating of Millie (1948). Her impressive work continued in the 50s, where her tough demeanor and strong gaze would find great outlets in solid film noirs such as The Killer That Stalked New York (1950), The Prowler (1951), 99 River Street (1953) and the fantastic The Big Combo (1955).

Keyes left Hollywood in 1955, and spent her time traveling, writing witty memoirs of her very public love life in two well-received autobiographies: Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister (1977) and I'll Think About It Tomorrow (1991). She also made a welcome return to acting in the mid-80s on the small screen with guest appearances in Amazing Stories and Murder She Wrote. Keyes is survived by a nephew, James Luter of Utah; and a niece, Nancy Keyes of California.

by Michael T. Toole