Veronica Lake

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Veronica Lake

from Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman
November 14, 1922(1922-11-14)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died July 7, 1973 (aged 50)
Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
Spouse(s) John S. Detlie (1940-1943)
André De Toth (1944-1952)
Joseph A. McCarthy (1955-1959)
Robert Carleton-Munro (1972-1973)

Veronica Lake (November 14, 1922[1] – July 7, 1973) was a popular American film actress and pin-up model who enjoyed both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, as well as her iconic peak-a-boo hairstyle.

Her success did not last. Following a string of broken marriages and long struggles with mental illness and alcoholism, she died almost destitute.

Contents

[edit] Early life and career

Veronica Lake was born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman in Brooklyn, New York on November 22, 1919, and not 1922 as some biographies have previously stated. Her father, Harry E. Ockelman, of Danish-Irish descent,[2] worked for an oil company onboard a ship. When she was about one year old, the family moved to Florida but returned to Brooklyn before she was five. Her father died in an industrial explosion in Philadelphia in 1932 when she was 9. Her mother (née Constance Charlotta Trimble)[3] married family friend Anthony Keane, a newspaper staff artist, a year later, and Ockelman began using his last name.

Connie was sent to an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Montreal, Canada, which she hated. The Keane family later moved to Miami, Florida. Constance Keane attended high school in Miami, where she was known for her beauty. She had a troubled childhood and was, according to her mother, diagnosed as schizophrenic.[4]

In 1938, Keane moved with her mother and stepfather to Beverly Hills, California, where her mother enrolled Keane in the celebrated Bliss-Hayden School of Acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Her first appearance on screen was for RKO, playing a small role among several coeds in the 1939 film, Sorority House. Similar roles followed, including All Women Have Secrets and Dancing Co-Ed.

During the making of Sorority House, director John Farrow first noticed how her hair always covered her right eye, creating an air of mystery about her and enhancing her natural beauty. She was then introduced to the Paramount producer Arthur Hornblow Jr. He changed her name to Veronica Lake because, "[w]hen I think about Veronica, I think about classic, and ... [her] beauty is a classical beauty",[cite this quote] and the surname suited her blue eyes.

Her contract was subsequently dropped by RKO. She married art director John S. Detlie in 1940. Another small role in the comedy, Forty Little Mothers, brought unexpected attention. In 1941, she was signed to a long term contract with Paramount Pictures. On August 21, she gave birth to a daughter, Elaine Detlie.

[edit] 1940s icon

Her breakthrough film was I Wanted Wings in 1941, a major hit in which she played the second female lead and was said to have stolen scene after scene from the rest of the cast. This success was followed by Hold Back the Dawn later that year. She was soon regarded as a witty, intelligent and trend-setting actress and had starring roles in more popular movies, including Sullivan's Travels, This Gun for Hire, I Married a Witch, The Glass Key, and So Proudly We Hail!. Looking back at her career years later, Lake remarked, "I never did cheesecake; I just used my hair."[5]

For a short time during the early 1940s, Lake was considered one of the most reliable box office draws in Hollywood and was also known for her onscreen pairings with actor Alan Ladd. At first, the couple was teamed together merely out of physical necessity: Ladd was just 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall and the only actress then on the Paramount lot short enough to pair with him was Lake, who stood just 4 feet 11½ inches (1.51 m). They made four films together.

A stray lock of her shoulder-length blonde hair during a publicity photo shoot led to her iconic peekaboo hairstyle, which hid one eye, and was widely imitated. During World War II, she changed her trademark image to encourage women working in war industry factories to adopt more practical, safer hairstyles.[6]

Although widely popular with the public, Lake had a complex personality and acquired a reputation for being difficult to work with. Eddie Bracken, her co-star in Star Spangled Rhythm was quoted as saying "[s]he was known as 'The Bitch' and she deserved the title."[7] In that movie, Lake took part in a song lampooning her hair style, "A Sweater, A Sarong and a Peekaboo Bang", performed with Dorothy Lamour and Paulette Goddard.[8]

Lake's career stumbled with her unsympathetic role as Nazi sympathizer Dora Bruckman in 1944's The Hour Before the Dawn. During filming, she tripped on a lighting cable while pregnant and began hemorrhaging. She recovered, but her second child, William, was born prematurely on July 8, 1943, dying a week later from uremic poisoning.[9] By the end of 1943, her first marriage ended in divorce. Meanwhile, scathing reviews of The Hour Before Dawn included criticism of her unconvincing German accent, which was said to have interfered disastrously with her acting.

Nevertheless, Lake was making $4,500 per week (equaling over $2.7 million in 2007, after allowing for inflation) under her contract with Paramount when she married director André de Toth in 1944. Their son, her third child, André Michael de Toth III, was born October 25, 1945. Lake is said to have begun drinking more heavily during this period and people began refusing to work with her. Paramount cast Lake in a string of mostly forgotten films. A notable exception was The Blue Dahlia (1946) in which she again co-starred with Alan Ladd (who reportedly was also less than fond of her). During filming, author Raymond Chandler referred to her as "Moronica Lake."[10] Paramount decided not to renew her contract in 1948.

[edit] Later years

Her fourth child, Diana de Toth, was born October 16, 1948. Lake was also sued by her mother for support payments that year. After a single film for 20th Century Fox, her career collapsed. By the end of 1952, she had appeared in one last film (Stronghold, which she later described as "a dog"), filed for bankruptcy, and divorced de Toth. The IRS seized the remainder of her assets for unpaid taxes. Lake turned to television and stage work, and in 1955, married songwriter Joseph A. McCarthy.

After breaking her ankle in 1959, Lake was unable to continue working as an actress. She and McCarthy divorced, and she drifted between cheap hotels in Brooklyn and New York City and was arrested several times for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct.

A reporter found her working as a barmaid at the all women's Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan. At first, Veronica claimed that she was a guest at the hotel and covering for a friend. Soon afterward, she admitted that she was employed at the bar. The reporter's widely distributed story led to some television and stage appearances. In 1966, she had a brief stint as a TV hostess in Baltimore, Maryland, along with a largely ignored film role in Footsteps in the Snow.

Her physical and mental health declined steadily and by the late 1960s Lake was in Hollywood, Florida, apparently immobilized by paranoia (which included claims she was being stalked by the FBI).[11]

She published her autobiography Veronica, amid much publicity and positive reviews.[12] With the proceeds, Lake co-produced and starred in her last film, Flesh Feast (1970), a very low budget horror movie with a Nazi-myth storyline.

She then moved to the UK, where she had a short-lived marriage with "English sea captain" Robert Carleton-Munro before returning to the U.S. in 1973, having filed for divorce. Lake was immediately hospitalized and although she is said to have made a cheerful and positive impression on the nurses who cared for her, she was apparently estranged from her three surviving children. She had no guests or visitors and was destitute again.

Lake was 50 years old when she died of hepatitis and acute renal failure (complications of her alcoholism) near Burlington, Vermont. Her ashes were scattered off the Virgin Islands. In 2004, some of Lake's ashes were reportedly found in a New York antique store.[13]

Lake has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6918 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the motion picture industry.

[edit] Quotes

  • "I wasn't a sex symbol, I was a sex zombie."[14]
  • "You could put all the talent I had into your left eye and still not suffer from impaired vision."[15]
  • "I've reached a point in my life where it's the little things that matter... I was always a rebel and probably could have got much farther had I changed my attitude. But when you think about it, I got pretty far without changing attitudes. I'm happier with that." (1970)

[edit] References in popular culture

  • The Archie comics character Veronica Lodge was partially named after Veronica Lake, who was in the midst of her early celebrity when the comic book character was introduced in the spring of 1942.

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Other notes
1939 Sorority House Coed Uncredited, Alternative title: That Girl from College
The Wrong Room The Attorney's New Bride Credited as Connie Keane
Dancing Co-Ed One of Couple on Motorcycle Uncredited, Alternative title: Every Other Inch a Lady
All Women Have Secrets Jane Credited as Constance Keane
1940 Young As You Feel Bit part Credited as Constance Keane
Forty Little Mothers Granville girl Uncredited
1941 I Wanted Wings Sally Vaughn
Hold Back the Dawn Movie Actress Uncredited
Sullivan's Travels The Girl
1942 This Gun for Hire Ellen Graham
The Glass Key Janet Henry
I Married a Witch Jennifer
Star Spangled Rhythm Herself
1943 So Proudly We Hail! Lt. Olivia D'Arcy
1944 The Hour Before the Dawn Dora Bruckmann
1945 Bring on the Girls Teddy Collins
Out of This World Dorothy Dodge
Duffy's Tavern Herself
Hold That Blonde Sally Martin
1946 Miss Susie Slagle's Nan Rogers
The Blue Dahlia Joyce Harwood
1947 Ramrod Connie Dickason
Variety Girl Herself
1948 Saigon Susan Cleaver
The Sainted Sisters Letty Stanton
Isn't It Romantic? Candy Cameron
1949 Slattery's Hurricane Dolores Greaves
1950 Your Show of Shows TV, 1 episode
Lights Out TV, 1 episode
1950-1953 Lux Video Theatre Various TV, 3 episodes
1951 Somerset Maugham TV Theatre Valerie TV, 1 episode
Stronghold Mary Stevens
1952 Celanese Theatre TV, 1 episode
Tales of Tomorrow Paula TV, a episode
Goodyear Television Playhouse Judy "Leni: Howard TV, 1 episode
1953 Danger TV, 1 episode
1954 Broadway Television Theatre TV, 1 episode
1966 Footsteps in the Snow
1970 Flesh Feast Dr. Elaine Frederick Alternative title: Time is Terror

[edit] References

  1. ^ U.S. Census, April 1, 1930, State of New York, County of Kings, enumeration district 1657, page 8-B, family 151, Constance Ockelman (sic), age 7 years, born in Brooklyn. Her father, Harry Ockelman, Jr., is listed as unmarried in the 1920 U.S. Census of Pennsylvania.
  2. ^ Veronica's paternal grandfather was born in Denmark as were his parents, and her paternal grandmother was born in Ireland as were her parents. U.S. Census, Jan. 1, 1920, State of Pennsylvania, County of Delaware, enumeration district 188, p. 9-B, family 186.
  3. ^ Veronica's maternal grandmother and maternal grandfather were the children of Irish immigrants. U.S. Census, Jan. 1, 1920, State of New York, County of Kings, enumeration district 290, p. 8-A, family 189. U.S. Census, April 15, 1910, State of New York, County of Kings, enumeration district 655, p. 5-A, family 125.
  4. ^ Chierichetti, David (2004). Edith Head: The Life and Times of Hollywood's Celebrated Costume. HarperCollins, 70. ISBN 0-060-56740-6. 
  5. ^ Bloomfield, Gary L.; Shain, Stacie L. (2004). Duty, Honor, Applause: America's Entertainers in World War II, Davidson, Arlen C., Globe Pequot, 409. ISBN 1-592-28550-3. 
  6. ^ "Veronica Lake's remains resurface", USA Today, 2004-10-12. Retrieved on 2008-06-02. 
  7. ^ Donnelley, Paul (2003). Fade to black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press, 392. ISBN 0-711-99512-5. 
  8. ^ Parish, James Robert; Pitts, Michael R. (2003). Hollywood Songsters: Singers Who ACT and Actors Who Sing: A Biographical Dictionary. Taylor & Francis, 480. ISBN 0-415-94333-7. 
  9. ^ Parish, Robert James (2001). The Hollywood Book of Death: The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More than 125 American Movie and TV Idols. Contemporary Books, 74. ISBN 0-809-22227-2. 
  10. ^ Hiney, Tom (1999). Raymond Chandler: A Biography. Grove Press, 154. ISBN 0-802-13637-0. 
  11. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (2007). Peekaboo: The Story of Veronica Lake. iUniverse, 236. ISBN 0-595-19239-4. 
  12. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (2007). Peekaboo: The Story of Veronica Lake. iUniverse, 238, 239. ISBN 0-595-19239-4. 
  13. ^ "Veronica Lake's Ashes For Sale?"
  14. ^ Porter, Darwin (2005). Howard Hughes: Hell's Angel. Blood Moon Productions Ltd., 639. ISBN 0-974-81181-5. 
  15. ^ Halliwell, Leslie; Walker, John (2003). Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies. HarperCollins, 274. ISBN 0-060-53423-0. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Persondata
NAME Lake, Veronica
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ockelman, Constance Frances Marie
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actress
DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH July 7, 1973
PLACE OF DEATH Burlington, Vermont, U.S.