I love this picture of Carole Landis! She was so beautiful. And check out that stunning bath robe! I found this picture at Simply Classics. Simply Classics is a fabulous website with an outstanding gallery of High Quality photos of the stars.
Carole Landis had a very tragic life. She was in a string of successful movies in the 1940's. Two of my favorites being "I Wake up Screaming" with Betty Grable and Victor Mature, and "Orchestra Wives" with Ann Rutherford and George Montgomery. Landis often played the second female lead.
During WWII, she toured with a USO troupe in England and North Africa. She also entertained soldiers in the South Pacific with Jack Benny. Carole Landis spent more time visiting troops than any other actress during the war. She contracted amoebic dysentery and malaria while traveling and almost died.
Carole Landis was also an author! She penned several newspaper and magazine articles about her war experiences, as well as the book Four Jills in a Jeep (which I am currently scouring eBay for!) that was later made into a movie.
Plagued by depression all her life, Carole attempted suicide in 1944 and 1946. Her career was declining and her marriage was falling apart in 1948. She had an affair with Rex Harrison who was currently married to Lilli Palmer. The story is that Landis was crushed when Harrison would not divorce his wife for her; unable to cope any longer Carole commited suicide at her home by taking an overdose of Seconal. She was only 29 years old. Her final night alive was July 4th. Harrison and the maid found Carole on the bathroom floor on the afternoon of July 5th. Some sources say that Landis left two suicide notes, one for her mother and the second for Harrison. During a coroner's inquest, Harrison denied knowing any motive for Carole's suicide, as well as denying the existence of a second suicide note.
Cesar Romero, Van Johnson, and Pat O'Brien were among the celebrities at her funeral. Carole Landis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1765 Vine Street.
Her life was so sad. My heart breaks for her. Did anyone try to reach her? To show her that her life was valuable? That Jesus loved her and treasured her?
how tragic! why do women think throwing their precious life away, over a man, is the answer??!! so he went on living..i.e.my fair lady and probably never gave her a thought. i never did like him.
ReplyDeleteI just did a post about Carole, too! She was fantastic.
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