This Spotlight is Veronica Lake
She was also well known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle. Lake's career had begun to decline by the late 1940s, in part due to her alcoholism. She made only one film in the 1950s but appeared in several guest-starring roles on television. She returned to the screen in 1966 with a role in the film Footsteps In the Snow, but the role failed to revitalize her career.
Lake released her memoirs, Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake, in 1970. She used the money she made from the book to finance a low-budget horror film Flesh Feast. It was her final onscreen role. Lake died in July 1973 from hepatitis and acute kidney injury at the age of 50.
Lake was born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Her father, Harry Eugene Ockelman, was of German and Irish descent and worked for an oil company aboard a ship.
He died in an industrial explosion in Philadelphia in 1932. Lake's mother, Constance Frances Charlotta (née Trimble; 1902–1992), of Irish descent, married Anthony Keane, a newspaper staff artist, also of Irish descent, in 1933, and Lake began using his surname.
The Keanes lived in Saranac Lake, New York, where young Lake attended St. Bernard's School for a time, then was sent to Villa Maria, an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Montreal, Canada, from which she was expelled.
Lake later claimed she attended McGill University and did a premed course for a year, intending to become a surgeon. But when her father fell ill during her second year, the Keane family later moved to Miami, Florida.
Lake attended Miami High School, where she was known for her beauty. She had a troubled childhood and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to her mother.
He died in an industrial explosion in Philadelphia in 1932. Lake's mother, Constance Frances Charlotta (née Trimble; 1902–1992), of Irish descent, married Anthony Keane, a newspaper staff artist, also of Irish descent, in 1933, and Lake began using his surname.
The Keanes lived in Saranac Lake, New York, where young Lake attended St. Bernard's School for a time, then was sent to Villa Maria, an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Montreal, Canada, from which she was expelled.
Lake later claimed she attended McGill University and did a premed course for a year, intending to become a surgeon. But when her father fell ill during her second year, the Keane family later moved to Miami, Florida.
Lake attended Miami High School, where she was known for her beauty. She had a troubled childhood and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to her mother.
In 1938, the Keanes moved to Beverly Hills, where Lake enrolled in the Bliss-Hayden School of Acting (now the Beverly Hills Playhouse). She made friends with a girl called Gwen Horn and accompanied her when Horn went to audition at RKO.
She was briefly contracted to MGM and studied at that studio's acting farm, the Bliss Hayden theater.
She appeared in the play Thought for Food in January 1939.
In She Made Her Bed, the theater critic for the Los Angeles Times called her "a fetching little trick".
She was briefly contracted to MGM and studied at that studio's acting farm, the Bliss Hayden theater.
She appeared in the play Thought for Food in January 1939.
In She Made Her Bed, the theater critic for the Los Angeles Times called her "a fetching little trick".
She also appeared as an extra in a number of movies. Keane's first appearance on screen was for RKO, playing a small role among several coeds in the film Sorority House (1939).
The part wound up being cut out of the film but she was encouraged to continue. Similar roles followed, including All Women Have Secrets, Young as Your Feel, Forty Little Mothers and Dancing Co-Ed. Forty Little Mothers was the first time she let her hair down on screen.
The part wound up being cut out of the film but she was encouraged to continue. Similar roles followed, including All Women Have Secrets, Young as Your Feel, Forty Little Mothers and Dancing Co-Ed. Forty Little Mothers was the first time she let her hair down on screen.
It was during the filming of I Wanted Wings that Lake developed her signature look.
Lake's long blonde hair accidentally fell over her right eye during a take and created a "peek-a-boo" effect. "I was playing a sympathetic drunk, I had my arm on a table... it slipped... and my hair- it was always baby fine and had this natural break- fell over my face... It became my trademark and purely by accident", she recalled.
Lake's long blonde hair accidentally fell over her right eye during a take and created a "peek-a-boo" effect. "I was playing a sympathetic drunk, I had my arm on a table... it slipped... and my hair- it was always baby fine and had this natural break- fell over my face... It became my trademark and purely by accident", she recalled.
I Wanted Wings was a big hit, The hairstyle became Lake's trademark and was widely copied by women.
Even before the film came out, Lake was dubbed "the find of 1941". However, Lake did not think this meant she would have a long career and maintained her goal was to be a surgeon. "Only the older actors keep on a long time ... I don't want to hang on after I've reached a peak. I'll go back to medical school", she said.
Paramount announced two follow-up movies, China Pass and Blonde Venus.
Instead, Lake was cast in Sullivan's Travels for Preston Sturges with Joel McCrea. She had been six months pregnant when filming began.
Instead, Lake was cast in Sullivan's Travels for Preston Sturges with Joel McCrea. She had been six months pregnant when filming began.
During World War II, Lake changed her trademark peek-a-boo hairstyle at the urging of the government to encourage women working in war industry factories to adopt more practical, safer hairstyles. Although the change helped to decrease accidents involving women getting their hair caught in machinery, doing so may have damaged Lake's career.She also became a popular pin-up girl for soldiers during World War II and traveled throughout the United States to raise money for war bonds.
Although 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 (in which Lake appeared in a musical number) was quoted as saying, "She was known as 'The Bitch' and she deserved the title."
Joel McCrea, her co-star in Sullivan's Travels, reportedly turned down the co-starring role in I Married a Witch, saying, "Life's too short for two films with Veronica Lake." (However, Lake and McCrea did make another film together, the 1947 production Ramrod.) During the filming of The Blue Dahlia (1946), screenwriter Raymond Chandler referred to her as "Moronica Lake".
Lake went over to 20th Century Fox to make Slattery's Hurricane (1949), directed by DeToth. It was only a support role and there were not many other offers. In 1950 it was announced she and DeToth would make Before I Wake (from a suspense novel by Mel Devrett) and Flanagan Boy.
Neither was made.
Neither was made.
In 1951 she appeared in Stronghold, which she later described as "a dog". (She later sued for unpaid wages on the film.) Lake and DeToth filed for bankruptcy that same year.
The IRS later seized their home for unpaid taxes.On the verge of a nervous breakdown and bankrupt, Lake ran away, left DeToth, and flew alone to New York.
Lake's first marriage was to art director John S. Detlie, in 1940. They had a daughter, Elaine (born in 1941),and a son, Anthony (born July 8, 1943).
According to news from the time, Lake's son was born prematurely after she tripped on a lighting cable while filming a movie. Anthony died on July 15, 1943. Lake and Detlie separated in August 1943 and divorced in December 1943.
In 1944, Lake married film director Andre DeToth with whom she had a son, Andre Anthony Michael III (known as Michael DeToth), and a daughter, Diana (born October 1948). Days before Diana's birth, Lake's mother sued her for support payments. Lake and DeToth divorced in 1952.
According to news from the time, Lake's son was born prematurely after she tripped on a lighting cable while filming a movie. Anthony died on July 15, 1943. Lake and Detlie separated in August 1943 and divorced in December 1943.
In 1944, Lake married film director Andre DeToth with whom she had a son, Andre Anthony Michael III (known as Michael DeToth), and a daughter, Diana (born October 1948). Days before Diana's birth, Lake's mother sued her for support payments. Lake and DeToth divorced in 1952.
In September 1955, she married songwriter Joseph, Allan McCarthy.
They were divorced in 1959. Lake's fourth and final marriage was to Royal Navy captain Robert Carleton-Munro in June 1972. They divorced after one year. In 1969 she revealed that she rarely saw her children.
They were divorced in 1959. Lake's fourth and final marriage was to Royal Navy captain Robert Carleton-Munro in June 1972. They divorced after one year. In 1969 she revealed that she rarely saw her children.
In June 1973, Lake returned to the United States and while traveling in Vermont, visited a local doctor, complaining of stomach pains. She was discovered to have cirrhosis of the liver as a result of her years of drinking, and on June 26, she checked into the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.
She died there on July 7, 1973, of acute hepatitis and acute kidney injury. Her son Michael claimed her body. Lake's memorial service was held at the Universal Chapel in New York City on July 11.
She was cremated and, according to her wishes, her ashes were scattered off the coast of the Virgin Islands. In 2004, some of Lake's ashes were reportedly found in a New York antique store.
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