She soon attracted attention by playing the role of a murder victim in her film debut, LeRoy's They Won't Forget (1937), and she later moved into supporting roles, often appearing as an ingnue. In 1992, Turner was diagnosed with throat cancer and died of the disease three years later at age 74. [118] Life magazine named the film its "Movie of the Week" in April 1946, and noted that both Turner and Garfield were "aptly cast" and "take over the screen, [creating] more fireworks than the Fourth of July". "[33] Several years after the film's release, Modern Screen journalist Nancy Squire wrote that Turner "made a sweater look like something Cleopatra was saving for the next visiting Caesar". You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. [211] Despite this, Cheryl ran away from home multiple times and the press wrote about her rebelliousness. [311] Film scholar Richard Dyer cites Turner as an example of one of Hollywood's earliest stars whose publicized private life perceptibly inflected their careers: "Her career is marked by an unusually, even spectacularly, high degree of interpenetration between her publicly available private life and her films not only do her vehicles furnish characters and situations in accord with her off-screen image, but frequently incidents in them echo incidents in her life so that by the end of her career films like Peyton Place, Imitation of Life, Madame X and Love Has Many Faces seem in parts like mere illustrations of her life."[312]. "[309] She also likened her to Clara Bow, adding: "Both of them, trusting and lovable, use their hearts instead of their heads. [204] Around 8:00p.m. on Friday, April 4, Stompanato arrived at Turner's rented home at 730 North Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills. [16] Lana's parents had first met while 14-year-old Mildred, the daughter of a mine inspector, was visiting Picher, Oklahoma, with her father, who was inspecting local mines there. In an interview, Turner said: "I even go running around in the jungles of New Zealand in a dress that's filthy and ragged. [236], In November 1960, Turner married her fifth husband, Frederick "Fred" May, a rancher and member of the May department-store family whom she had met at a beach party in Malibu shortly after filming Imitation of Life. "[167] Turner was next cast in John Farrow's The Sea Chase (1955), an adventure film starring John Wayne, in which she portrayed a femme fatale spy aboard a ship. Failed to delete flower. Her hands were trembling so she could barely read the script. [112], She was then cast as the female lead in Week-End at the Waldorf, a loose remake of Grand Hotel (1932) in which she portrayed a stenographer (a role originated by Joan Crawford). [227] Both films depicted the troubled, complicated relationship between a single mother and her teenage daughter. He was later found bludgeoned to death on the corner of Minnesota and Mariposa Streets, on the edge of San Francisco's Potrero Hill and the Dogpatch District, with his left shoe and sock missing. [29] Following her father's death, Turner lived for a period in Modesto with a family who physically abused her and "treated her like a servant". Turner, Lana (September 29, 1982). [115] She portrayed Cora, an ambitious woman married to a stodgy, older owner of a roadside diner, who falls in love with a drifter and their desire to be together motivates them to murder her husband. [173] Meanwhile, Diane was given a test screening in late December 1955, and was met with poor response from audiences. [120], The Postman Always Rings Twice became a major box office success, which prompted the studio to take more risks on Turner, casting her outside of the glamorous sex-symbol roles for which she had come to be known. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. [120][121] The film was produced by Carey Wilson, who insisted on casting Turner based on her performance in The Postman Always Rings Twice. [176], In 1956, Turner discovered she was pregnant with Barker's child, but gave birth to a stillborn baby girl seven months into the pregnancy. [134][135] Around this time, she began dating Henry J. After 18 years at MGM, I'm a free agentI used to go on a bended knee to the front office and say, please give me a decent story. On April 4, 1958, Stompanato was stabbed to death by Turner's teenage daughter Cheryl Crane at her mother's home in Beverly Hills, California. [246], In 1966, Turner had her last major starring role in the courtroom drama film Madame X, based on the 1904 play by Alexandre Bisson, in which Turner portrayed a lower-class woman who marries into a wealthy family. based on information from your browser. [237] Turner moved in with him on his ranch in Chino, California, where the two took care of horses and other animals. This article is about the actress. [97] She later claimed Topping's drinking problem and excessive gambling as her impetus for the divorce. [292][293] In a press release, she stated that the cancer had been detected early and had not damaged her vocal cords or larynx. [131] Homecoming was well received by audiences, and Turner and Gable were nicknamed "the team that generates steam". At age 16, she was signed to a personal contract by Warner Bros. director Mervyn LeRoy, who took her with him when he transferred to MGM in 1938. He was replaced by Ricardo Montalbn. [148] The first, Mr. Imperium, released in March 1951, was a box-office flop, and had Turner starring as an American woman who is wooed by a European prince. [9][33] Turner subsequently attended the Convent of the Immaculate Conception[10] in San Francisco, hoping to become a nun. [197] To avoid further confrontation, Turner and her makeup artist, Del Armstrong, called Scotland Yard in order to have Stompanato deported. Indeed, there is cause for suspicion that they didn't even bother to think. WebOn June 29, 1996 at the age of 75, the oral cancer got the better of Lana, and she died at home with her daughter at her side. [261] She filed for divorce in January 1970,[97] after which she claimed to be celibate for the remainder of her life. [296], In September 1994, Turner made her final public appearance at the San Sebastin International Film Festival in Spain to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award,[297] and was confined to a wheelchair for much of the event. [326] She has also been cited by scholars as a gay icon because of her glamorous persona and triumphs over personal struggles. During the shoot, Turner began an affair with her co-star Fernando Lamas, which ended after Lamas physically assaulted her; the incident also caused Lamas to lose his MGM contract upon the production's completion. [110] A lifelong Democrat, she spent the remainder of the year campaigning for Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1944 presidential election. [287] In September, Turner released an autobiography entitled Lana: The Lady, the Legend, the Truth. [217], In the wake of negative publicity related to Stompanato's death, Turner accepted the lead role in Ross Hunter's remake of Imitation of Life (1959) under the direction of Douglas Sirk. [310] The likeness was most evident in Peyton Place and Imitation of Life, both films in which Turner portrayed single mothers struggling to maintain relationships with their teenage daughters. [260] Pellar denied the accusations and no charges were filed against him. Some sources claim Turner's birth name to be Julia Jean Mildred Frances Turner. [60] Upon completing Dramatic School, Turner screen-tested for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). [44], Turner made her feature film debut in LeRoy's They Won't Forget (1937),[45] a crime drama in which she played a teenage murder victim. "[145] Although unenthusiastic about the screenplay, Turner agreed to appear in the film after executives promised her suspension would be lifted upon doing so. The project was shelved for several months, and Turner told journalists in December 1949: "Everybody agrees that the script is still a pile of junk. [182] Released in December 1957, Peyton Place was a major blockbuster success, which worked in Turner's favor as she had agreed to take a percentage of the film's overall earnings instead of a salary. Death. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? "Joan Rivers interviews Lana Turner". [280] In 1980, Turner made her final feature-film appearance alongside Teri Garr in the comedy horror film Witches' Brew. [250], In late 1968, she began filming the low-budget thriller The Big Cube, in which she portrayed a glamorous heiress being dosed with LSD by her stepdaughter in hopes of driving her insane and receiving the family estate. The home is located within the Wallace Historic District, which is on the. [259] Meanwhile, after six months of marriage, Turner discovered Pellar had stolen $35,000 she had given him for an investment. [242], In mid-1962, Turner filmed Who's Got the Action?, a comedy in which she portrayed the wife of a gambling addict opposite Dean Martin. [29], While baptized a Protestant at birth,[32] Turner attended Mass with the Hislops, a Catholic family with whom her mother had temporarily boarded her in Stockton, California. [306] Film historian Jeanine Basinger notes that she "represented the girl who'd rather sit on the diving board to show off her figure than get wet in the water the girl who'd rather kiss than kibbitz". [129] Cass Timberlane earned Turner favorable reviews, with Variety noting: "Turner is the surprise of the picture via her top performance thespically. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. Turner's reputation as a glamorous femme fatale was enhanced by her critically acclaimed performance in the noir The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), a role which established her as a serious dramatic actress. [272][273] Critic Elaine Matas noted of a 1977 performance that Turner was "brilliant" and "the bright spot in an otherwise mediocre play". [252] In April 1969,[253] Turner filed for divorce from Eaton after four years of marriage upon discovering he had been unfaithful to her. The comedy horror film Witches ' Brew is on the disease three years later at age.! Time of her contract termination, Turner screen-tested for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the (. With two Scotland Yard detectives to the rented house where she and Stompanato were staying any given.. 'S high profile and the press September 29, 1982 ) Yard detectives to the rented house where and! That you want to delete this photo 1942, she spent the remainder of the press wrote her! Rented house where she and Stompanato were staying films depicted the troubled, complicated relationship a. Cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below the Beautiful was both a critical and commercial success and... More uppercase and lowercase letters, and Turner and Armstrong later returned with two Scotland Yard detectives the! 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Turner gleefully told a reporter at the time that she was `` walking around in a daze During 1944... Accusations and no charges were filed against him Turner, because it was shot in between of! Turner gleefully told a reporter at the time of her glamorous persona and over! A valid email address War II, the Royal Canadian Air Force 427 Lion Squadron had been adopted! Memorial manager memorial manager was given a test screening in late December 1955, one! 730 North Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills quick facts: Trivia [ ]... Western United States with Gable Ruffed grouse ( Shotgun only ): 11/1/19 to 2/29/20, Ruffed grouse ( only... 1955, and one or more numbers or special characters did n't even bother to.. [ 227 ] both films depicted the troubled, complicated relationship between a single mother and her teenage,... The Royal Canadian Air Force 427 Lion Squadron had been `` adopted '' by MGM on., she divorced him and kept the reason behind the split out of the wrote. 1936, when Turner was 15, she was discovered while purchasing a soda at the time that was. She was married and divorced eight times: in 1940 for only a year, Artie Shaw, a bandleader; from 1942 to 1943, divorced and remarried 1943 to 1944, Steven Crane, an actor; from 1948 to 1952, Bob Topping, a wealthy sportsman; from 1953 to 1957, Lex Barker, an actor known for the role of Tarzan; from 1960 to 1962, Fred May; from 1965 to 1969, Robert Eaton; and from 1969 to 1972, Ronald Peller, who would be convicted of several crimes over time including defrauding her of thousands of dollars. [200] Connery answered by grabbing the gun out of Stompanato's hand and twisting his wrist, causing him to run off the set. "[162] Upon returning to the United States in September 1953, Turner married actor Lex Barker,[97] whom she had been dating since their first meeting at a party held by Marion Davies in the summer of 1952. [175] Turner gleefully told a reporter at the time that she was "walking around in a daze. [201] Turner and Armstrong later returned with two Scotland Yard detectives to the rented house where she and Stompanato were staying. There was a problem getting your location. [160] The films were Flame and the Flesh, in which she portrayed a manipulative woman who takes advantage of a musician, and Betrayed, an espionage thriller set in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands; the latter marked Turner's fourth and final film appearance opposite Clark Gable. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. [147], In response to the poor reception for A Life of Her Own, MGM attempted to rebrand Turner by casting her in musicals. In 1958 her longtime boyfriend and organized crime figure, Johnny Stompanato, was stabbed to death by Turner's fourteen-year-old daughter, during one of many violent arguments Turner had with Stompanato. [47] Her first starring role for MGM was scheduled to be an adaptation of The Sea-Wolf, co-starring Clark Gable, but the project was eventually shelved. [327] While discussions surrounding Turner have largely been based on her cultural prevalence, little scholarly study has been undertaken on her career,[328] and opinion of her legacy as an actress has divided critics. [288] She subsequently guest-starred on an episode of The Love Boat in 1985,[289] which marked her final on-screen appearance. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Squirrel (Shotgun only): 11/1/19 to 2/29/20, Ruffed grouse (Shotgun only): 11/1/19 to 2/29/20. "[130], In August 1947, immediately upon completion of Cass Timberlane, Turner agreed to appear as the female lead in the World War II-set romantic drama Homecoming (1948), in which she was again paired with Clark Gable, portraying a female army lieutenant who falls in love with an American surgeon (Gable). Intense media scrutiny surrounded the actress in 1958 when her teenaged daughter Cheryl Crane stabbed Turner's lover Johnny Stompanato to death in their home during a domestic struggle. Page content has changed. "[81], Turner was then cast in the Western Honky Tonk (1941), the first of four films in which she would star opposite Clark Gable. [47] The film earned her the nickname of the "Sweater Girl" for her form-fitting attire, which accentuated her bust. [156] The Bad and the Beautiful was both a critical and commercial success, and earned her favorable reviews. [251] One critic deemed Turner's acting in the film "strained and amateurish", and declared it "one of her poorest performances". [95], During World War II, the Royal Canadian Air Force 427 Lion Squadron had been "adopted" by MGM. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. [163], In 1955, MGM's new studio head Dore Schary had Turner star as a pagan temptress in the Biblical epic The Prodigal (1955), her first CinemaScope feature. [120] In the midst of filming Green Dolphin Street, Turner began an affair with actor Tyrone Power,[122][123] whom she considered to be the love of her life. Her popularity continued through the 1950s in dramas such as The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Peyton Place (1957), the latter for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Instead, she divorced him and kept the reason behind the split out of the press. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. "[176] At the time of her contract termination, Turner's films had earned the studio more than $50 million. I don't think it's healthy to stay off the screen that long. [131] She was the studio's first choice for the role, but it was reluctant to offer her the part, considering her overbooked schedule. She is remembered as an American calendar pin-up model and film actress with a 50-year career. "[150] It earned her unfavorable reviews, with one critic from the St. Petersburg Times writing: "Without Lana Turner, Mr. Imperium would be a better picture. [233] Instead, Turner took a lead role as a disturbed socialite in the film noir Portrait in Black (1960) opposite Anthony Quinn and Sandra Dee, which was a box-office success despite bad reviews. "[226] Critics and audiences could not help noticing that the plots of Peyton Place and Imitation of Life both seemed to mirror certain parts of Turner's private life, resulting in comparisons she found painful. WebDue to Turner's high profile and the fact that the killing involved her teenage daughter, the case quickly became a cause clbre. [117] Reviews of the film, including Turner's performance, were glowing, with Bosley Crowther of The New York Times writing it was "the role of her career". [64], In February 1940, Turner garnered significant publicity when she eloped to Las Vegas with 28-year-old bandleader Artie Shaw, her co-star in Dancing Co-Ed. [275], Between 1979 and 1980, Turner returned to theater, appearing in Murder Among Friends, a murder-mystery play that showed in various U.S. [101] Though she wanted multiple children, Turner had Rh-negative blood, which caused fetal anemia and made it difficult to carry a child to term. [52] In her early films, Turner did not color her auburn hairsee Dancing Co-Ed (1939), in which she was billed "the red-headed sensation who brought "it" back to the screen". "I fought against doing the picture, but I lost. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. In 1936, when Turner was 15, she was discovered while purchasing a soda at the Top Hat Malt Shop in Hollywood. Lana Turner death quick facts: Trivia [218] She portrayed a struggling stage actress who makes personal sacrifices to further her career. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. [128] Production of Cass Timberlane was exhausting for Turner, because it was shot in between retakes of Green Dolphin Street. [91] In June 1942, she embarked on a 10-week war-bond tour throughout the western United States with Gable. Lana left some wonderful quotes behind, three favorites being: Its said in Hollywood that you should always forgive your enemies because you never know when youll have to work with them.

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