In Reply to: Not to forget that casting Laird Cregar as the bad guy... posted by eppis1 on January 21, 2008 at 17:51:39:
she was the only actress short enough (4'11") to work with the 5'5" Ladd. You may wish to also check out their film, "The Glass Key," written by Raymond Chandler.
Veronica had a pretty tough, sad life:
WIKI
"Her fourth child, Diana de Toth, was born October 16, 1948. Lake was also sued by her mother for support payments that year. After a single film for 20th Century Fox, her career collapsed. By the end of 1952, she had appeared in one last film (Stronghold, which she later described as "a dog"), filed for bankruptcy, and divorced de Toth. The IRS seized the remainder of her assets for unpaid taxes. Lake turned to television and stage work, and in 1955, married songwriter Joseph A. McCarthy.
After breaking her ankle in 1959, Lake was unable to continue working as an actress. She and McCarthy divorced, and she drifted between cheap hotels in Brooklyn and New York City and was arrested several times for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct.
A reporter found her working as a barmaid at the all women's Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan. At first, Veronica claimed that she was a guest at the hotel and covering for a friend. Soon afterward, she admitted that she was employed at the bar. The reporter's widely distributed story led to some television and stage appearances. In 1966, she had a brief stint as a TV hostess in Baltimore, Maryland, along with a largely ignored film role in Footsteps in the Snow.
Her physical and mental health declined steadily and by the late 1960s Lake was in Hollywood, Florida, apparently immobilized by paranoia (which included claims she was being stalked by the FBI).
She published her autobiography Veronica amid much publicity and positive reviews. With the proceeds, Lake co-produced and starred in her last film, Flesh Feast (1970), a very low budget horror movie with a Nazi-myth storyline.
She then moved to the UK, where she had a short-lived marriage with "English sea captain" Robert Carleton-Munro before returning to the U.S. in 1973, having filed for divorce. Lake was immediately hospitalized and although she is said to have made a cheerful and positive impression on the nurses who cared for her, she was apparently estranged from her three surviving children. She had no guests or visitors and was destitute again.
Lake was 50 when she died of hepatitis and acute renal failure (complications of her alcoholism) near Burlington, Vermont. Her ashes were scattered off the Virgin Islands. In 2004, some of Lake's ashes were reportedly found in a New York antique store.["
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Follow Ups
- And to Patrick: Alan Ladd co-starred a lot with her for one reason: - tinear 06:46:34 01/22/08 (5)
- RE: Sullivan´s travels- - patrickU 03:57:42 01/23/08 (4)
- A good movie that manages to survive Joel McCrea. He's just too - tinear 04:26:47 01/23/08 (3)
- I like Joel McCrae. - Harmonia 23:57:37 01/23/08 (1)
- Seen it several times. Hey, we can't all like the same actors. nt - tinear 04:46:38 01/24/08 (0)
- RE: A good movie that manages to survive Joel McCrea. He's just too - patrickU 04:35:47 01/23/08 (0)