Eva Lee Kuney

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Eva Lee Kuney

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'''Eva Lee Kuney Grover-Feldman''' (April 24, 1934 – May 24, 2015) was an American child actress, dancer, and draftswoman. She appeared in her first film at the age of 18 months and performed in numerous uncredited film roles; her best known and only credited role was as six-year-old Trina in ''[[Penny Serenade]]'' (1941). Turning to dance, she worked as a contract player for film studios until the age of 18, when she accepted a temporary job in a stage show in [[Las Vegas]] and continued performing there. She later worked as a draftswoman for the [[Clark County, Nevada|Clark County]] Transportation Department and volunteered her services to many [[community theater]] groups in the city.

==Career==
Eva Lee Kuney, known as "Lee", was born on April 24, 1934, in [[Hollywood, California]], to parents Leon and Edna Kuney.<ref name=obit></ref><ref></ref> Her father worked in the Hollywood film industry.<ref name=press></ref> At the age of 18 months she appeared in her first film, ''[[Little Papa]]'', one of the "Our Gang" comedies.<ref name=obit/><ref name=press/> She was one of the children used for "background fill" in [[Munchkin]] scenes in ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]''.<ref name=press/><ref></ref> She received her first screen credit for the role of six-year-old Trina in ''[[Penny Serenade]]''.<ref name=obit/><ref name=press/>

Turning to dance, Kuney became a contract player for film studios; among her performances were the films ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]'' (1942) and ''[[White Christmas]]'' (1954).<ref name=press/> At age 18 she accepted a job in [[San Francisco]] from choreographer [[Donn Arden]], who then offered her a temporary job in his new show at the [[Desert Inn]] in [[Las Vegas]].<ref name=press/> She went on to perform in shows with [[Dean Martin]], [[Frank Sinatra]], and [[Patti Page]].<ref name=press/>

After retiring from the stage, Kuney worked as a draftswoman for the [[Clark County, Nevada|Clark County]] Transportation Department.<ref name=press/> She later volunteered her time and advice to many community theater groups in Las Vegas.<ref name=obit/><ref name=press/>

==Personal life==
Kuney married her first husband, Arthur "Buddy" Grover, a musician, in 1955. The couple had a son and daughter. In 1972, Kuney remarried to Kenneth Feldman, a speech pathologist who later was active as a community theater actor and director in Las Vegas.<ref name=obit/><ref></ref>

Kuney died on May 24, 2015, in Las Vegas.<ref name=obit/>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1935
|''[[Little Papa]]''
|Spanky's baby sister
|Uncredited
|-
|rowspan="2"|1938
|''[[The Sisters (1938 film)|The Sisters]]''
|
| Uncredited
|-
|''[[Five of a Kind]]''
|
|Uncredited
|-
|rowspan="2"|1941
|''[[Penny Serenade]]''
|Trina (age 6)
|
|-
|''[[Lydia (film)|Lydia]]''
|Little Blind Girl
|Uncredited
|-
|1944
|''[[Hi, Beautiful]]''
|Girl
| Uncredited
|-
|1945
|''[[A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945 film)|A Tree Grows in Brooklyn]]''
|Girl
| Uncredited
|-
|1947
|''[[Driftwood (1947 film)|Driftwood]]''
|A child of McDougal
| Uncredited
|-
|1948
|''[[So Dear to My Heart]]''
|Honey Girl
| Uncredited
|-
|}
<small>Source:<ref></ref></small>

==References==


==External links==
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[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:American child actresses]]
[[Category:American dancers]]
[[Category:People from Hollywood, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:People from Las Vegas]]

February 24, 2020 at 08:36AM