“I wasn’t a sex symbol, I was a sex zombie.“
Veronica Lake was born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman in New York in 1922. Veronica had an uprooted childhood with her father dying when she was 9 and Veronica was sent to an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Canada which she hated although the family later moved to Florida. In 1938, the family moved again to California where Veronica’s mother enrolled her in the Bliss-Hayden School of Acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.Veronica made her first appearance on screen for RKO where she played a small role in the 1939 film, “Sorority House”. While making “Sorority House”, director John Farrow was struck by Veronica’s natural beauty and air of mystery and introduced her to Paramount producer Arthur Hornblow who changed her name to Veronica Lake because of her classic beauty and blue eyes.
RKO subsequently dropped Veronica but after a small role in the 1940 comedy “Forty Little Mothers” which brought her unexpected attention, she was signed by Paramount Pictures. Veronica’s breakthrough came in 1941 when she starred in “I Wanted Wings” which was a major hit and she was said to have stolen scene after scene from the cast. Later that year, Veronica starred in “Hold Back the Dawn” which was also a success.
Within a short period of time, Veronica was regarded as a trend-setting actress who could have her pick of roles. Subsequently, Veronica had starring roles in “Sullivan’s Travels”, “This Gun for Hire”, “I Married a Witch” and “The Glass Key”. For a short time during the 1940’s, Veronica was considered one of the most reliable box-office draws and was known for co-starring with actor Alan Ladd. At first, this was out of physical necessity as Ladd was just 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall and Veronica at 4 feet 11½ inches (1.51 m) was the only Hollwood actress short enough to star with him but they went on to make four films together.
Although Veronica Lake was immensely popular with the public, she had a complex personality and required a reputation for being difficult to work with. Lake’s role as a Nazi sympathizer in the 1944 “The Hour Before the Dawn” which received scathing reviews caused her career to stumble. While filming “The Hour Before Dawn”, Veronica who was pregnant had fallen and begun hemorrhaging but her second child who was born prematurely died a week after he was born. Despite Veronica’s decline in popularity, she was still making $4,500 per week (equaling over $2.7 million in 2007, after allowing for inflation) under her contract with Paramount. Shortly after her third marriage to director André de Toth, Veronica began drinking more heavily and people began refusing to work with her. With the exception of “The Blue Dahlia” in 1946 where she teamed up with Alan Ladd again, Paramount cast Veronica in a string of largely forgotten films. In 1948, Paramount decided not to renew her contract.
Veronica appeared in one more film for 20th Century Fox during the late 1940’s and the film “Stronghold” in 1952 which was to be her last film role as her career collapsed afterwards. After being sued by her mother for support payments, Veronica Lake divorced Andre de Toth and filed for bankruptcy. The IRS then seized the remainder of her assets for unpaid taxes. Veronica then turned to television and stage work although after breaking her ankle in 1959, she was unable to keep working as an actress and she drifted between cheap hotels in Brooklyn and New York City where she was arrested several times for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. A reporter discovered Veronica working as a barmaid in an all-women’s hotel in Manhattan which led to some renewed television and stage appearances and in 1966, Veronica had a brief stint as a TV hostess and starred in “Footsteps in the Snow” although it was largely ignored.
Veronica’s physical and mental health declined steadily during the 1960’s and by the late 1960’s, Lake was suffering from paranoia. Veronica published her autobiography amid much publicity and with the proceeds, she co-produced and starred in her last film, “Flesh Feast” (1970).
Veronica was married four times, all of which ended in divorce and had four children, one of whom died in infancy. In 1973, Veronica was hospitalized again and although she proved popular with the nurses, was not visited by any of her children or friends. Like Judy Garland who died alone at a young age,Veronica Lake died alone in 1973 of hepatitis and acute renal failure at the age of 50.
Veronica Lake has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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Buzz added these pithy words on Sep 15 08 at 2:43 pmSpeaking of Judy Garland, this week over at The Judy Garland Experience they are featuring not one, but two performances from Judy’s September 1965 run at the Greek Theater. The first night is a head on concert where Judy triumph’s magnificently! The second night is a more casual affair as Judy is joined onstage by Johnny Mathis, Martha Raye, and Mickey Rooney. Nobody is feeling any pain at this particular performance.
There are also tons of other new files posted including stops Judy made at the Dick Haymes and Bing Crosby radio programs as well other Judy rarities.
The non Judy files posted are A recording of Angela Lansbury’s tour de force performance as Mildred in Of Human Bondage, Frank Sinatra in an ultra rare concert performance from Atlantic City, and highlights from an unreleased 1954 Doris Day soundtrack.
If you are not familiar with The Judy Garland Experience on Yahoo please come by and check it out. along with the constantly changing files, we also have one of the largest rare Judy phot collections on the web! Our membership includes fans of all levels, Garland family members and assosiates, authors of Garland biographies, people who have made films about Judy, other celebrities, historians, and more!
The only one missing is you!
Here is the link, I am sure once you visit you will never want to leave:
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/thejudygarlandexperience
