Anna Chappell(1925-2005)

Actress Anna Chappell was born on September 15, 1925 in Finland. Her parents Carl and Aino Oksanen were both actors. Chappell moved with her parents to Toronto, Canada when she was still a toddler and first began performing as a youngster as well as sang with the Canadian Navy entertainment corps. Anna met her American musician husband Harry Chappell while working as a singer. The couple married in 1946 in Binghamton, New York before eventually moving to Shreveport, Louisiana in the mid-1950's. Anna soon thereafter became an active member of the local theater scene in Shreveport. Among the notable stage productions that Chappell acted in are "The King and I," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," "Light Up the Sky," "Come Back Little Sheba," "Peter Pan," "Night Mother," and "Mame." Moreover, Anna won seven Shreveport Times Drama Awards for her sterling work in the theater. Chappell also acted in a couple of films; she was especially memorable as deranged hotel proprietor Evelyn in the horror slasher cult favorite Motel des sacrifices (1983). In addition, Anna also was a founding member of the Port Players, was a frequent vocalist for the Shreveport Summer Music Festival, and taught both acting and voice for the stage. Chappell died of cancer at age 79 on July 31, 2005 in Appleton, Wisconsin. She was survived by her daughter Liisa, son Tracy, and several grandchildren.