Carole Landis

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Carole Landis
in Topper Returns (1941)
Born	Frances Lillian Mary Ridste January 1, 1919(1919-01-01) Fairchild, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	July 5, 1948 (aged 29) Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1937–1948
Spouse(s)	Irving Wheeler (1934 annulled; 1934–1939 divorced) Willis Hunt Jr. (1940 divorced) Thomas C. Wallace (1943–1945) (divorced) W. Horace Schmidlapp (1945–1948) (her death)

Carole Landis (January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American film and stage actress.

Early life and family

Landis was born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste in Fairchild, Wisconsin to a Polish immigrant, Clara Stentek Ridste. Although Mrs. Stenek Ridste was married to Norwegian Alfred Ridste, who abandoned the family before Carole was born, author E. J. Fleming suggested that Charles Fenner, Clara's second husband, was most likely Carole's biological father. Carole was the youngest of five children. Two of her brothers died in childhood: Jerome was burned by scalding water and Lewis was accidentally shot. She had an unhappy childhood filled with poverty and sexual abuse. Nevertheless, she blossomed into a stunning teenager who won several local beauty contests. Later, she became an early feminist who tried to form an all-female football team in high school.

In January 1934, 15-year-old Landis married her 19-year-old neighbor, Irving Wheeler, but the marriage was annulled in February 1934. They later remarried on August 25, 1934. Wheeler named Busby Berkeley in an alienation of affections lawsuit in 1938 involving Landis,^[1] and they divorced in 1939.

Early career

Landis dropped out of high school at age 15 and set forth on a career path to show business. She started out as a nightclub singer and a hula dancer in San Francisco before her 1937 film debut as an extra in A Star Is Born. She dyed her hair blonde and changed her name to "Carole Landis" after her favorite actress, Carole Lombard. Landis landed a contract with Warner Bros. and had a high profile engagement to choreographer Busby Berkeley. She continued appearing in bit parts until 1940 when Hal Roach cast her as a cave girl in One Million B.C. The movie was a sensation and turned Carole into a star. She was nicknamed "The Ping Girl" (which was supposed to be short for purring) and "The Chest" due to her impressive 36DD bust. Although she desperately wanted to be taken seriously as an actress she was willing to pose for endless cheesecake photos if it helped her career. Carole's trademark was a gold cross she always wore around her neck, which had been a gift from her friend Diana Lewis. Busby Berkeley, director-choreographer, proposed to her in June 1939, but later broke it off, due to the rumors that she was a call girl.^[2]

1940s

Carole Landis at Armed Forces Radio Studio c.1940s

Tall, lean, and glamorous with a strong singing voice, Landis appeared in a string of successful films in the early forties, usually as the second female lead. In a time when the singing of many actresses was dubbed in, Landis's own voice was considered good enough and was used in her few musical roles. Landis landed a contract with 20th Century Fox and began a sexual relationship with Darryl F. Zanuck. She had roles playing opposite fellow pin-up girl Betty Grable in Moon Over Miami and I Wake Up Screaming, both in 1941. When Carole ended her relationship with Zanuck, her career suffered and she was assigned roles in B-movies.

Her marriage to a second husband, yacht broker Willis Hunt Jr., lasted just four months. She then married an Army Air Corps captain named Thomas Wallace in 1943, but in 1945 this marriage also ended in divorce. Her many boyfriends included Franchot Tone, Gene Markey, Charlie Chaplin, and George Montgomery. Landis became a popular pin-up with servicemen during World War II. In 1942, she toured with comedienne Martha Raye, dancer Mitzi Mayfair and actress Kay Francis with a USO troupe in England and North Africa. Two years later, she entertained soldiers in the South Pacific with Jack Benny. Landis traveled more than 100,000 miles during the war and spent more time visiting troops than any other actress. She nearly died from amoebic dysentery and malaria she contracted while traveling overseas.

Landis was also an author. She penned several newspaper and magazine articles about her experiences during the war, including the 1944 book Four Jills in a Jeep, which was later made into a movie. She also wrote the foreword to Victor Herman's cartoon book Winnie The WAC.

In 1945 she starred on Broadway in the musical A Lady Says Yes with Jacqueline Susann, with whom she evidently fell in love and had an affair^[3]. Susann purportedly based the character Jennifer North in her book Valley of the Dolls on Landis. In 1945, Landis married Broadway producer W. Horace Schmidlapp, whom Susann had introduced to her. She desperately wanted to become a mother, but it was later discovered that she suffered from endometriosis and was unable to have children.

Depression and death

Landis, plagued by depression her entire life, attempted suicide in 1944 and 1946. By 1948, her career was in decline and her marriage with Schmidlapp was collapsing. She entered into a romance with actor Rex Harrison, who was married to actress Lilli Palmer at the time. Landis was reportedly crushed when Harrison refused to divorce his wife for her; unable to cope any longer, she committed suicide at her Pacific Palisades home by taking an overdose of Seconal.^[4] She was 29 years old.^[5] She had spent her final night alive, her last 4th of July, with Harrison. The next afternoon, he and the maid discovered her on the bathroom floor. Harrison called a doctor and the police.^[6] According to some sources, Landis left two suicide notes, one for her mother and the second for Harrison who instructed his lawyers to destroy it.^[7] During a coroner's inquest, Harrison denied knowing any motive for her suicide and told the coroner he did not know of the existence of a second suicide note.^[8]

Carole Landis was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California in plot 814 of the "Everlasting Love" section. Among the celebrities at her funeral were Cesar Romero, Van Johnson, and Pat O'Brien.^[9]

For her contribution to motion pictures industry, Carole Landis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1765 Vine Street.

Selected filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carole Landis

• The Official Web Site Of Carole Landis
• Carole Landis at the Internet Broadway Database
• Carole Landis at the Internet Movie Database
• Carole Landis at Find a Grave
• Carole Landis Online
• Carole Landis Norwegian American