DENISON, Iowa -- Actress Donna Reed never lost touch with her roots despite fame in Hollywood, friends and family said after learning the actress had died of cancer at the age of 64.
'She never let it get to her head,' brother William Mullenger said Tuesday of his sister's motion picture and television success.
Born Donna Belle Mullenger on Jan. 27, 1921, Reed left Denison in 1938 to study stenography and office efficiency at Los Angeles City College.
She left school in 1940 to pursue acting and established a career that included an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 1953 movie 'From Here to Eternity.'
Her greatest fame came from her television work in the comedy 'The Donna Reed Show,' which ran from 1958 to 1966, and her most recent role as Miss Ellie in 'Dallas.'
'Dallas,' noted for its cast of devious and scheming characters, did not pan out for Reed. She was fired by Lorimar producers and replaced by Barbara Bel Geddes, who returned to the role of Miss Ellie after an illness.
Reed filed suit against Lorimar and CBS to be reinstated as the matriarch of TV's Ewing clan, but a Los Angeles Superior Court judge tossed it out.
Mullenger said he and other family members knew Reed was seriously ill. Hesaid no one believed she would die so soon after being diagnosed as suffering from cancer. Doctors did not discover her pancreatic cancer until last month.
Reed, who visited Iowa at least once a year since she left Denison, last visited her hometown in November 1984, where she celebrated Thanksgiving with Mullenger and his family.
Denison Mayor Jim Lodwick said although few people in Denison know Donna Reed, the entire town took pride in her success in Hollywood.
'They're proud of her and they're proud she came from Denison,' Lodwick said.
He said the city had made plans to hold a special celebration to honor her this summer, as part of Gov. Terry Branstad's Homecoming '86 campaign, designed to encourage communities to hold special celebrations in honor of famous Iowa natives.
