Inspiration of the pin-up look and prototype of the famous Playboy bunny, Lana Turner is considered the epitome of Hollywood glamor from the 40s and 50s. The actress, who has starred in over 50 successful films, is best known for her tumultuous personal life, which included seven marriages, a large number of highly publicized novels and one murder.
Biography. Childhood and early years
Julia Jean Mildred Francis Turner, who became known throughout the world as Lana Turner, was born on February 8, 1921 in Wallace, Idaho. The girl had a difficult childhood. After her parents arrived in San Francisco, they divorced, and their daughter was sent to a foster family, where she was humiliated. Shortly after her father, a professional gambler and smuggler, was killed after a big win, her mother took Lana back with her. Soon after, they moved to Los Angeles, where Lana's mother began working as a beautician.
Lana was still studying at Hollywood High School when she was spotted by Billy Wilkerson, founder of the Hollywood Reporter. Seeing a young girl in Top Hat Café (and not in a pharmacy, as was later indicated in the "legends" about Lana), the reporter was fascinated by her appearance and introduced her to Zeppo Marks (from the famous film duo of the Marx brothers), who owned his own casting - agency. He, in turn, recommended it to director Mervyn LeRoy for an episode in the new film. The director signed a contract with a 15-year-old schoolgirl who changed her name to the more sonorous "Lana". Her appearance in the thriller "They Won't Forget" (1937) in a skin-tight sweater that accentuated the figure was short but memorable and for many years gave her the nickname "Sweater Girl"). Immediately after that, the aspiring actress signed to MGM.
Film career
Lana's first films mostly played on her glamorous image, focusing more on her looks than her role. Episodic appearances in The Great Garrick (1937), The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938), Love Finds Andy Hardy (1939) and These Glamor Girls (1939), although minor, revealed her the potential of a sex symbol.
In 1941, Lana Turner changed her natural brown hair color to platinum for her role in the film Siegfield Girls (1941). This was her first major role, although she could not be called the main role - the stars of those years Hedy Lamarr and Judy Garland also played in the film. The change of image went to the benefit of the actress: after this film, the proposals for the main roles followed one after the other. For several years, Turner has played in tandem with all the main "lovers" of movie screens of those years: Clark Gable ("Honky Tonk" in 1941 and "Somewhere I'll Find You" in 1942), Spencer Tracy ("Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde "), Robert Taylor (" Johnny Yeager ", 1942).
Also during the Second World War, Lana Turner took part in a "pin-up" photo session aimed at "raising the morale of American soldiers." Posters in which Lana was depicted in the beloved image of "The Girl in the Sweater" were widely popular even outside the United States.
However, the biggest breakthrough of those years was the image of Cora in the later classic film noir genre The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). The first appearance of the heroine Lana on the screen in a bold image for those years is still considered one of the best exits in the history of cinema. The role also helped Lana move beyond the Sweater Girl character and establish herself as a serious actress.
Another striking work of Lana in the 40s was the role of Milady in the American production of Dumas's novel The Three Musketeers (1948) with Gene Kelly as D'Artagnan. Many critics have praised her dramatic incarnation of Lady de Winter, whom even Constance seemed to sympathize with in the film.
Turner continued to appear successfully in the new decade. In 1951, she starred in the film Mr. Imperium”and the television production of the famous operetta“The Merry Widow”, where it was dubbed by singer Trudy Erwin. In 1952, she paired up with Kirk Douglas in The Bad and the Beautiful.
During these years, Lana Turner made a rather risky step, deciding to leave MGM and found her own film company. Under his banner, she directed Peyton Place (1957), based on a Grace Metalios novel about life in a model New England town filled with gossip, scandal and ostentatious morality. For her role as Constance Lana Turner received her first and only Oscar nomination.
In 1959, she appeared in the film "Imitation of Life", the box office success of which proved to everyone that she was still the queen of the screen.
Personal life and family
Lana's personal life has always attracted the attention of the press and sometimes overshadowed her professional success. In an interview, Turner said: "I love men, and men love me." Well, 8 marriages and countless novels of the actress were proof of that.
Her first husband in 1939 was the famous jazzman Artie Shaw, with whom she appeared in the film "Dancing Co-Ed" (1939). This marriage lasted no more than six months.
In 1941, she married businessman Stefan Crane, but the marriage was invalid: his divorce from his first wife turned out to be illegal. The couple remarried (legal this time) in 1943 to divorce a year later - immediately after the birth of their daughter Cheryl.
In 1948, Turner married multimillionaire Bob Toppington, whom she divorced three years later, in 1951. She divorced her next husband, actor Lex Barker (star of the movie "Tarzan") in 1957 after she learned that he had sexually harassed her daughter Cheryl, who at that time was only 6 years old. After that, she had three more unsuccessful marriages - with the farmer Fred May, the businessman Robert Eaton and the hypnotist Ronald Dante (who later convinced her to start dating again and during one of their meetings cleanly robbed her apartment, hiding in an unknown direction).
In addition, the press attributed her affairs with almost all famous actors and prominent figures of the time, such as Frank Sinatra, Richard Burton, Howard Hughes, Fernando Lamas, Dean Martin, Kirk Douglas and Tyrone Power.
Lana Turner had a long-term friendship with Ava Gardner. Both actresses were sex symbols of their generation, and they were also united by the fact that they both had romances with actors Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra and Artie Shaw. The actresses were so close that it gave rise to gossip in the newspapers about their gay orientation, when one of their acquaintances once found them in the same bed, discussing the latest gossip.
However, the most scandalous and tragic was the affair with the criminal activist Johnny Stompanato. In 1958, the case of his murder was widely heard. The corpse of Stompanato, who died from stab wounds, was found in the house of Lana Turner. As a result of lengthy hearings and proceedings, it was established that Lana's daughter stabbed Johnny with a knife during one of the many scandals defending her mother. The case was resolved as self-defense, while many journalists believed that the daughter took the mother's guilt, since, according to the law, her age protected her from capital punishment. As a result, Cheryl was sent to serve a suspended sentence under the supervision of his own grandmother.
A loud scandal, widely covered by the press, did not shake Lana's success. On the contrary, it only increased her popularity. The audience literally poured into cinemas for films with her participation. Ironically, a year later her new film, Imitation of Life, was released, which tells the story of an actress who sacrificed her daughter for a successful career. The film was a huge success.
Later years
In the early 60s, Lana Turner went on to star in the films Portrait in Black (1960), By Love Possessed (1961), Madame X. Also in 1960, the Lana Turner star appeared on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
However, by the mid-60s, she began to realize that her former glory was waning. From 1969 to 1983 she appeared in several television series and programs, including The Survivors (1983), Falcon Crest (1981–1990) and The Love Boat ). In 1982, she published her autobiography Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth. A year later, Lana Turner officially announced her retirement from the cinema.
In 1981, Lana developed a relationship with her daughter, Cheryl, who by that time was able to overcome psychological problems and became a successful businesswoman. Turner lived with her away from the press on her private estate until 1992, when news broke in the media that Lana, a heavy smoker, was suffering from throat cancer and had to go to the hospital for surgery.
Lana Turner passed away at the age of 75 on June 29, 1995, at her home in Los Angeles. Her daughter was by her side until the last days.
