Laura Wagner - Hollywoods Hard-Luck Ladies: 23 Actresses Who Suffered Early Deaths, Accidents, Missteps, Illnesses and Tragedies

Centuries ago, a wise man set forth that industry, perseverance and frugality make fortune yield, and in most lines of work, that probably still holds true today. But not for actors and, especially, actresses in the Hollywood movie mills. When it comes to advancement, luck plays a vital role. And there are two kinds of luck. Many girls braved the movie capital, quickly found open studio gates and open arms, and embarked on careers both long and lucrative. But there were others less fortunate. As a wise movie character once griped, Whichever way you turn, Fate sticks out a foot to trip you.

There have been many tragedies in Hollywood history. An ocean of ink has been spilled on the most famous of these ladiesstars such as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Natalie Wood, Sharon Tate, Jean Harlow, Thelma Todd and Jayne Mansfieldand with good reason. But what of those whose stories are less documented? Actresses who found it either difficult to navigate the rough waters of Hollywood or saw their dreams shattered by hard luck or, worse luck yet, an early demise? They never attained top stardom, but their stories, too, deserve to be told.

Hard luck is defined as marked by, relating to, or experiencing bad luck or difficulty. There are degrees, of course. Although some may not consider alcoholism hard luck, it is a disease and in many cases intoxication caused actresses to do things they wouldnt do otherwise. These actions disrupted lives and careers. Also, the pressures of Tinseltown have been known to exacerbate a performers drinking and/or her already fragile mental stability.

Within you will find 23 actresses who, for one reason or another, found their trips through Hollywood, and life in general, tumultuous, and are now better known for their show business exits than their entrances. There are those who suffered from mental illness, drug addiction and/or long, drawn-out declines; victims of accidents, apparent suicides, sudden deaths and even murder. You will also read about husbands who put the skids under the promising careers of their mates. Its almost a stereotype that actresses marry the wrong guys, but for stereotypes, theres usually a good reason.

There were few medical treatments for mental illness when each of these ladies strutted her stuff upon the soundstage, so victims of bipolar disorder (Lynne Baggett, Mary Castle, Mae Clarke, Mayo Methot, Rosa Stradner, et al.) found themselves on the road to ruin. With no medications to ease their pain, alcohol was their escape, and that created even more problems. If they werent institutionalized, they were left pretty much on their own to wreak havoc. In this category, the poster child was poor Clarke, who went through hell with shock treatments and other horrors.

Then there were the ladies who suffered accidents that tested their courage and determination: Suzan Ball lost a leg to cancer; a hunting accident paralyzed Susan Peters; a car crash put Marjie Millar out of commission; a mysterious bump on the head threw Rita Johnsons life into chaos. Lynne Baggett and Helen Walker committed vehicular homicide and carried emotional scars to the finish of their short lives. Car crashes brought untimely ends to promising screen personalities Dorothy Dell and Judy Tyler. A cold that developed into lobar pneumonia robbed us of Helen Burgess.

If it werent for hard luck, Sidney Fox, Mary Nolan, Peggy Shannon and Karen Verne would have had no luck, and all were apparent suicides. Susan Cabot was clubbed into the next world by her own son. Morphine addict Mary Nolan was in and out of hospitals, her problems wrecking the multiple chances given her.

Bad luck can also be a result of typecasting. Charlotte Henry could never shake her title role in Alice in Wonderland (1933). Others felt the sting of being hired by studios as threats to established stars whom they resembled, and career-wise they went nowhere; the classic example of this was Mary Castle, who was the spitting image of screen goddess Rita Hayworth. Along with a host of personal issues, Dorothy Comingore was ultimately done in by the Blacklist.

In each case, their path to possible Hollywood stardom was blocked. While many made the wrong decisions, others couldnt help what Fate had in store for them.

Researching these actresses, all of whom I have enjoyed immensely as performers, was an emotionally draining experience. I have tried not to be cynical or judgmental about them and their tribulations, instead approaching each as sympathetically and honestly as I could. You will find inspirational stories here and, maybe too, youll get a bit angry at some of the ladies inability to modify their self-destructive behavior.

While the bulk of the names might be unfamiliar, their stories are by turns shocking, painful, inspirational, sadbut always interesting.

My research was done via newspaper archives, quotes from books and interviews with those closest to my subjects. You will notice that I use a lot of primary articles (and gossip columns) from the time when these ladies were active. I believe this gives a clearer and more accurate picture of how they were perceived at the time. All too often, writers write about their subjects the way they think it was, instead of how it really was.

If something I have written conflicts with information given elsewhere, it is because I have access to new data, including genealogy records. I have not relied solely on the Internet Movie Database for credits, and have added titles not listed on that site. My timeline in discussing these ladies films is based on their shooting dates, not the release dates. A reference section, arranged by actress, follows the main text, and includes books, articles, interviews and other resources from which information was gleaned.