Lana Turner had an acting ability that belied the "Sweater Girl" image MGM thrust upon her, and even many of her directors admitted that they knew she was capable of greatness in which she played Jacqueline Perrault from 1982-1983. After all those years as a sex symbol, nothing had changed--Lana was still as beautiful as ever. She died June 25, 1995, in Culver City, California, after a long bout with cancer. She was 75 years old.
Born at 12:30pm-PST
According to the book "Golden Girls of MGM" by Jane Ellen Wayne, she lost her eyebrows due to the glue used to attach false ones to give her an Asian look.
In her autobiography, she stated that her true birthdate is February 8, 1921. She stated that "I am one year younger than the records show."
Fainted during her 1953 wedding to Lex Barker.
Gave birth to her only child at age 22, a daughter Cheryl Christina Crane (aka Cheryl Crane ) on July 25, 1943. Childs father is her 2nd ex-husband, Stephen Crane.
William Wilkerson of The Hollywood Reporter found her sipping a Coke in a drugstore and was so taken by her he blurted out that standard Hollywood line, "Howd you like to be in pictures?". Her first role, sure enough, had her in a tight skirt and even tighter sweater sitting at a drugstore counter.
She was set to appear in Anatomy of a Murder with James Stewart until she objected to the off-the-rack wardrobe that director Otto Preminger had selected for her. Lee Remick took over the role.
Her daughter, Cheryl Crane , wrote a book about her life with her mother, her mothers 7 husbands and numerous boyfriends and living in Hollywood. It was entitled "Detour: A Hollywood Story" and was published in 1988 (ISBN:o-380-70580-X)
Once when she was being interviewed by Hedda Hopper , Lex Barker , Lanas future husband, was in the same room. There was a large vase of flowers blocking her view of Lex, so Lana got up, walked across the room and removed them, remarking, "Hes brand new and I want to look at him!"
Her auburn hair was bleached for Idiots Delight . She was withdrawn from the film, but the fact that she had become a blonde not only changed her screen image but gave her such an outgoing, swinging personality that Hollywood called her the Nightclub Queen.
She was called the Sweater Girl. Interestingly, Lana, translated into Spanish means "wool."
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman Turner was originally supposed to play Ivy, the tart. Bergman was supposed to play the innocent girl engaged to Tracy, but she wanted Turners part and so the roles were switched.
Once she was forced to evacuate her apartment building when a fire broke out. Having only minutes to collect what she needed, Lana grabbed her lipstick, her eyebrow pencil and her hairdryer.
She was a true American hybrid, with a mixture of Scottish, Irish, Dutch and English ancestry.
Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna s song "Vogue"
Is portrayed by Brenda Bakke in L.A. Confidential
Once said that her turn as Cora Smith in The Postman Always Rings Twice was "the role I liked best".
In Italy, almost all of her films were dubbed by either Lydia Simoneschi or Rosetta Calavetta. She was occasionally dubbed by Dhia Cristiani.
"The Private Diary of My Life With Lana", a memoir, written by one of her closest friends, Eric Root, was published one year after her death. Root, a long time friend and hairdresser of Turners, has a large collection of jewelry that belonged to Miss Turner. He still owns the beauty salon in Beverly Hills where Turner and many other iconic stars were clients.
Campaigned for Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1944 presidential election.
Was originally hired to play Caddy Compson in The Sound and the Fury , but was replaced by Margaret Leighton before filming began.
Featured in "Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 1998).
Was considered for the role of Maggie Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , which was eventually given to Elizabeth Taylor.
Sister-in-law of Daniel Topping during her marriage to his brother, Henry Topping.
She was never married for more than five years. Her longest marriage was to Henry Topping (four years, seven months, 14 days). Her shortest marriage was to Stephen Crane , which was annulled at six months, 18 days. She was married to Artie Shaw for six months and 17 days.
Although diagnosed with throat cancer in 1992, Turner continued to smoke until almost the very end of her life.
Was offered the role of Mrs. Cabot on the series "Hotel" , but made so many demands that she was dropped and replaced by Anne Baxter.
According to the Richard Burton biography "And God Created Burton" Turner had an affair with the actor when they were filming The Rains of Ranchipur together.
February 14, 1954, CBS: This episode was an hour long tribute to help celebrate MGMs 30th anniversary. Lana Turner made a live appearance on the show and performed the "Madame Crematante" number (aka "A Great Lady Has An Interview") that Judy Garland had performed in 1946s "Ziegfeld Follies". Among the male singers/dancers featured were Steve Forrest, Edmund Purdom, and John Ericson.
In her autobiography she wrote that she had skipped a typing class at Hollywood High School. She went to the Top Hat Cafe, on Sunset Boulevard, and was sitting at the counter sipping a Coke. According to the Sunset Boulevard website, William Wilkerson , who wrote for the Hollywood Reporter, noticed her and thought she was attractive enough to be in films. With her mothers approval, he introduced Turner to the agent, Zeppo Marx , who was Groucho Marx s brother. Soon she was put under contract to MGM.
Was two months pregnant with her daughter Cheryl Crane when she completed filming Slightly Dangerous .
Returned to work five months after giving birth to her daughter Cheryl Crane in order to begin filming Marriage Is a Private Affair .
Suffered three stillbirths (in 1949, 1951 and 1956) during her life as a result of having the Rh factor.
Became pregnant by her first husband Artie Shaw in 1940 and her then-lover Tyrone Power in 1946; on both occasions she had abortions.
Was offered the role of Eloise Y. Kelly in Mogambo but she turned it down. Ava Gardner , who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
She became involved with co-star Fernando Lamas while filming The Merry Widow (1952) . He was supposed to co-star with her again in Latin Lovers , but they had a falling out and Lamas was replaced in the film by Ricardo Montalban.
She was born in a small mining town, where her father Virgil, an itinerant miner and one of 12 children, eloped with 15-year-old Mildred Frances Cowan. Mildreds parents objected until they learned she was pregnant with what would be her only child, Lana.
Shew as not "discovered" seated on a stool in Schwabs drugstore in Hollywood, but she was seen in an ice cram parlor across the street from Hollywood High School by William Wilkerson , founder and publisher of industry trade paper "The Hollywood Rporter," only a block or two away.
Turners father was murdered in December 1930 after participating in an all-night crap game in San Francisco, where the family had moved. The case was never solved.
After her small but stunning part in They Wont Forget , she was signed by director Mervyn LeRoy , not by Warner Brothers as is often believed (although Leroy was working for Warner Brothers at the time). When Leroy moved to MGM, he took Turner with him.
At one point in her life, she counted and discovered that she owned 698 pairs of shoes.
When she was a young girl, she had dreams of becoming a dress designer.
Favourite actresses as a child included Kay Francis and Norma Shearer.
Close friend Linda Darnell acted as a witness at Turners first wedding to Stephen Crane.
Is mentioned by name in the Gus Kahn / Walter Donaldson song "My Baby Just Cares for Me".
In 1958, while filming Another Time, Another Place in London, England, she was visited by her boyfriend, gangster Johnny Stompanato. Stompanato suspected that she was having an affair with co-star Sean Connery and at one point confronted Connery and threatened to kill him. Connery knocked him unconscious with one punch. He then waited until Stompanato regained consciousness and told him that if he ever saw Stompanato again he would kill him. Stompanato left London the next day.
According to her autobiography Turner lost her virginity to lawyer Greg Bautzer in March 1938 at age 17. Their relationship ended after Joan Crawford revealed to Turner that she and Bautzer had been having an affair.
Her first lover was Greg Bautzer a lawyer who became known as "The Man Who Seduced Hollywood.".
Daughter Cheryl Crane fatally stabbed Turners lover, gangster Johnny Stompanato, during a physical altercation in 1958. Stompanato physically attacked Turner, and Crane, who was 14 at the time, wanted to protect her mother. Jerry Giesler represented Crane. The murder was deemed justifiable homicide at a coroners inquest and Crane was acquitted.
Inducted into the Hair Fans Hall of Fame in 2012.
Bottle-fed her daughter Cheryl Crane as a baby.
Bequeathed her companion & housekeeper her entire trust estate, valued at almost $2 million, including her apartment in Century City and rights to all income producing assets, such as the profit participation in films such as The Imitation of Life. She changed the beneficiary of her trust estate in the last years of her life, from her daughter to her housekeeper, and instead left her daughter a cash bequest of only $50,000.
A successful man is one who makes more money than a wife can spend. A,successful woman is one who can find such a man.
[on Hollywood] It was all beauty and it was all talent, and if you had,it they protected you.
I planned on having one husband and seven children, but it turned out,the other way around.
I liked the boys and the boys liked me.
With each marriage, I thought that that would be it. In my wildest,dreams I never, never thought that I would have seven husbands. If you,can believe it, I thought at the time that each marriage would last,forever. You see, with one bitterly painful exception, when I fell in,love, I married.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
A gentleman is simply a patient wolf. .
