Lily Damita (real name Liliane Marie Madeleine Carré) is a French actress, dancer and singer. Her career began at the age of 14, when the girl was accepted into the ballet troupe of the Opera de Paris. In 1922, she first appeared on the screen in René Leprins' film The Emperor of the Beggars.
In the creative biography of the actress, there are a little more than 30 roles played during the heyday of silent cinema and in the first sound films. But she is known not so much for her creative achievements as for her marriages with celebrities.
Biography facts
Lily was born in France in the summer of 1904. She spent her childhood in Blaye, where she began to study choreography. The girl studied at ballet schools in different countries. By the age of 13, she managed to visit Spain, England and Portugal, as well as master several languages.
Lily was fluent in French, English, Spanish, German and Portuguese. She spoke a little Italian and Hungarian.
When the girl was 14 years old, she was invited to perform at the Opera de Paris. And soon she was enrolled in the ballet troupe of the theater. After 2 years, the girl shone not only on the stage of the Paris Opera, but also performed in the Casino de Paris music hall, worked as a model for famous photographers.
Having won a beauty contest held in 1921, the girl got the opportunity to act in films.
Film career
Lily made her film debut in 1922. She played a role in the film "The Emperor of the Beggars". The world premiere of the film took place on 24 February. In July of the same year, another picture with Damita's participation, "The Wild Girl", was released.
In 1924, the actress starred in the drama "La voyante" ("Clairvoyant") by Leon Anders with the great Sarah Bernhardt as Madame Gaynard. The main character named Jean was expelled from his own home. He temporarily settles in his friend's apartment, where a famous fortune-teller lives next door. Having learned about this, the young man wants to solve all his problems with her help.
A year later, the actress got the main role in the film "Toy from Paris" by her future husband Michael Curtis.
In 1926, Lily starred in the films: "Fiacre No. 13", "Golden Butterfly", "They don't joke with love." This was followed by work in the pictures: "The Famous Woman", "The Great Traveler", "The Torment of a Woman".
During this period, the actress met the producer S. Goldwin, who invited her to star in the romantic film "Rescuers". After the film was released in 1929, viewers literally fell in love with the beautiful Lily, nicknamed "Lil the tigress".
After working in "Rescuers", new successful roles followed in the silent, and then in the first sound films: "The Bridge of King Louis Saint", "Let's Have Fun", "Battle of Caravans", "Friends and Lovers", "Single Father", " One Hour With You”,“When It's Beautiful”,“This Night”,“The Stolen Millionaire”,“Brewster's Millions”,“The Frisco Boy”.
In 1935, Lily got married and announced the end of her acting career.
Personal life
Lily got married for the first time in 1925. Actor and director Michael Curtis became her chosen one. He was born in Hungary in 1886. His real name is Michali. Later, when Curtis moved to America, he adopted the American name Michael.
Michael began his creative career in 1912 in Hungary. Before becoming a director, he starred in several films, but the profession of an actor did not attract him. Then he went to Denmark to study the latest achievements in the field of cinema. The young man got a job as an assistant director at the studio and even starred in a small role in the film "Atlantic". In 1914 he returned to Hungary, where he began working for Jeno Janovics's production.
When the revolution began in Hungary, Curtis moved to Austria, where he continued his creative career. In the early 1920s, Michael traveled throughout Europe and worked in many countries. In 1925 he traveled to the United States, where he began filming for American studios. He soon signed an agreement with Warner Brothers.
Curtis has become one of the most famous and prolific directors of silent films. In total, he shot about 40 films.
Michael met his future wife on the set of his film. A stormy romance ended with a wedding. But the marriage was short-lived. The couple lived together for a little over a year and divorced in 1926.
Lily's second husband was the famous Australian actor Errol Flynn. He rose to prominence in the 1930s when he began acting in Hollywood. Handsome, tall, with a beautiful figure, Errol became the personification of the brave adventurer in the films of Warner Brothers, including "The Odyssey of Captain Blood" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood."
Flynn became famous not only for his roles in films, but also for his riotous lifestyle, addiction to alcohol, drugs and fights. He was married three times and passed away at the age of 50 in 1959. The coroner examining the man's body said he looked 80 years old.
Lily became Errol's first wife. They got married in June 1935 and lived together for 7 years. Shortly before the divorce, the couple had a son, who was named Sean. Almost immediately after the wedding, Lily stopped shooting and announced the end of her acting career.
In 1970, Sean disappeared while traveling through Cambodia with journalist Dana Stone. He was a photojournalist and made reports for the publication where he worked in those years. Lily spent a huge amount of money to find him. The search lasted for several years, but did not lead to anything. In 1984, she officially announced the death of Sean.
Lily's last husband was Allen Robert Loomis, the owner of a large dairy farm in Iowa. But this marriage also led to divorce in 1983.
The actress lived for 89 years and passed away in the spring of 1994. The cause of death was Alzheimer's disease. She was buried at Fort Dodge in the Oakland Cemetery.
