Fine performers were happy to speak her lines, among them Agnes Moorehead, Ida Lupino and Orson Welles.

ECONOMIST: Lucille Fletcher

This rendition of "Ida Lupino, " recorded in 1965 and included on the Paul Bley Trio's newly reissued Closer, is darkly winsome.

NPR: Paul Bley Trio: Darkly Winsome Jazz

For her first film as a director, from 1949, Ida Lupino chose the harsh and true story of a young dancer (Sally Forrest) who, just as she and her partner and boyfriend (Keefe Brasselle) begin to catch a break, gets polio, is paralyzed, and faces a long and difficult rehabilitation.

NEWYORKER: The Young Lovers