Turner's next film, Imitation of Life (1959), proved to be one of the greatest successes of her career, but . Born to working-class parents in northern Idaho, Turner spent her childhood there before her family relocated to San Francisco. [187], In January 1958, Paramount Pictures released The Lady Takes a Flyer, a romantic comedy in which Turner portrayed a female pilot. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. [202] Turner and Armstrong later returned with two Scotland Yard detectives to the rented house where she and Stompanato were staying. The Tragedy Of Mark Ruffalo Just Gets Sadder And Sadder. [9] She became "thrilled" by the ritual practices of the church,[9] and when she was seven, her mother allowed her to formally convert to Roman Catholicism. In a role that allows her the gamut from tomboy to the pangs of childbirth and from being another man's woman to remorseful wife, she seldom fails to acquit herself creditably. [193] Stompanato was not easily deterred, and over the course of the following year, they carried on a relationship filled with violent arguments, physical abuse and repeated reconciliations. [232][233] She was replaced by Lee Remick. [194][195] Turner would also claim that on one occasion he drugged her and took nude photographs of her while unconscious, potentially to use as blackmail. [297], In September 1994, Turner made her final public appearance at the San Sebastin International Film Festival in Spain to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award,[298] and was confined to a wheelchair for much of the event. "[69] By the mid-1940s, Turner had been married and divorced three times, had given birth to her daughter Cheryl and had numerous publicized affairs. She was the subject of the poem "Lana Turner has collapsed" by Frank O'Hara,[340] and was depicted as a minor character in James Ellroy's novel L.A. "[168] 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. [127], Turner's next film was the romantic drama Cass Timberlane, in which she played a young woman in love with an older judge, a role for which Jennifer Jones, Vivien Leigh and Virginia Grey had also been considered. Dec. 18, 1992 12 AM PT. In her reign as a movie goddess of the 1940s and early 1950s, Lana Turner came to crystallize the opulent heights to which show business could usher a small-town girl, as well as its darkest, most tragic and narcissistic depths. In 1992, Turner was diagnosed with throat cancer and died of the disease three years later at age 74. [224][230] Worried she was still suffering from the trauma of Stompanato's death, Turner sent Cheryl to the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. [169] The film, released one month after The Prodigal, was a commercial success. [20] As a child, Turner was known to family and friends as Judy. "She'd completed. [270] A review in The Philadelphia Inquirer noted: "Miss Turner always could wear clothes well, and her Forty Carats is a fashion show in the guise of a frothy, little comedy. [303] Cheryl challenged the will, and Cruz said that the majority of the estate was consumed by probate costs, legal fees and medical expenses.[304]. [326] Turner maintained her glamorous image into her late career; a 1966 film review characterized her as "the glitter and glamour of Hollywood". Comedian Ralphie May died on October 6 at age 45. In 1982, she accepted a much-publicized and lucrative recurring guest role in the television series Falcon Crest, which afforded the series notably high ratings. [309], After Turner's first marriage in 1940, columnist Louella Parsons wrote: "If Lana Turner will behave herself and not go completely berserk she is headed for a top spot in motion pictures. Burton reportedly said: 'She set out to get me, and I let. [21][25] His robbery and homicide were never solved,[21] and his death had a profound effect on Turner. [33] In 1965, she met Hollywood producer and businessman Robert Eaton, who was ten years her junior, through business associates. [11] In 2012, Complex named her the eighth-most infamous actress of all time.[347]. [219] She portrayed a struggling stage actress who makes personal sacrifices to further her career. [158] A little over a week before the film's release in December 1952, Turner divorced her third husband, Bob Topping. Lana Turner Age: 74 (age at death) years Birthday: 8th February, 1921 Birthplace: Wallace, Idaho, USA Died: 29th June, 1995 Place of Death: Century City, California, USA Cause of Death: Throat cancer Height: 5' 3" (160 cm) Weight . [162] In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther wrote of Betrayed: "By the time this picture gets around to figuring out whether the betrayer is Miss Turner or Mr. [174] Though an elaborate marketing campaign was crafted to promote the film, it was a box-office flop,[175] and MGM announced in February 1956 that it was opting not to renew Turner's contract. [322] No matter the setting, Turner also took care to ensure she was always "camera-ready", wearing jewelry and makeup even while lounging in sweatpants. In the film, she portrayed the daughter of a wealthy patriarch who pursues a relationship with a man in love with her sister. Liotta was 67 at the time of his death, and although no official cause of death has been revealed, sources told PEOPLE that there is no foul play suspected in his passing. [242] The film became the first in-flight movie to be shown on a regular basis on a scheduled airline flight when TWA showed it to its first-class passengers. [316] Columnist Dorothy Kilgallen took note of the intersections between Turner's life and screen persona early in her career, writing in 1946: Lana Turner is a super-star for many reasons but chiefly because she is the same off-screen as she is on. She stopped smoking after her diagnosis and, in February 1993, announced she was cancer free. Spector's motive for killing Lana Clarkson is still unknown, And since Spector died at age 81 on Jan. 16, 2021, due to complications related to COVID-19, the world may never know the motive behind the murder. William Joseph Shields (10 March 1888 - 14 January 1961), known professionally as Barry Fitzgerald, was an Irish stage, film and television actor. [197] Their meeting was initially happy, but they soon began fighting. I tried to persuade the studio to give me something different. . [61] Turner's onscreen sex appeal in the film was reflected by a review in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in which she was characterized as "the answer to 'oomph'". [148], In response to the poor reception for A Life of Her Own, MGM attempted to rebrand Turner by casting her in musicals. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid actresses in the United States, and one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's (MGM) biggest stars, with her films earning more than $50 million for the studio during her 18-year contract with them. Cause Of Death: Throat cancer. Multiple accounts have the ashes still in Cheryl's possession, while other accounts say the ashes were scattered in the ocean, but which ocean and location varies by the sources. Getty Images The murder of mobster Johnny Stompanato was ultimately ruled a "justifiable homicide.". [121] In August 1946, it was announced she would replace Katharine Hepburn in the big-budget historical drama Green Dolphin Street (1947), a role for which she darkened her hair and lost 15 pounds. Per the official city of Wallace website, the Turner home in Wallace was located at 217 Bank Street, immediately west of downtown Wallace. For the fashion stylist and collector, see, 19481952: Studio rebranding and personal struggles, 19531957: MGM departure and film resurgence, 19581959: Johnny Stompanato homicide scandal, 19661985: Later films, television and theatre. Turner's notoriety was assured in 1958 when her lover, mobster Johnny Stompanato, was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife by her daughter Cheryl Crane. [121][122] The film was produced by Carey Wilson, who insisted on casting Turner based on her performance in The Postman Always Rings Twice. So what happened? I've been sprung. Turner spent most of the 1970s in semi-retirement, making her final film appearance in 1980. (The killing was later ruled justifiable homicide.) [198] To avoid further confrontation, Turner and her makeup artist, Del Armstrong, called Scotland Yard in order to have Stompanato deported. [76] After completing the film, Turner and co-star Garland remained lifelong friends, and lived in houses next to one another in the 1950s. Lana Turner was one of the biggest stars of Golden Age Hollywood cinema. [329] Basinger considers her the "epitome of the Hollywood machine-made stardom". [213], Though Turner and her daughter were exonerated of any wrongdoing, public opinion on the event was varied, with numerous publications intimating that Turner's testimony at the inquest was a performance; Life magazine published a photo of Turner testifying in court along with stills of her in courtroom scenes from three of her films. [186] Commenting on her image, she once told a journalist: "Forsaking glamour is like forsaking my identity. [291][292] During her contract with MGM, photographs that showed her holding cigarettes had to be airbrushed at the studio's request in an effort to conceal her smoking. February 27, 2023 . [17], The family lived in Burke, Idaho at the time of Turner's birth,[18] and relocated to nearby Wallace in 1925,[d] where her father opened a dry cleaning service and worked in the local silver mines. [34] She soon became a protge of LeRoy, who suggested that she take the stage name Lana Turner, a name she would come to legally adopt several years later. The home is located within the Wallace Historic District, which is on the. In 1936, when Turner was 15, she was discovered while purchasing a soda at the Top Hat Malt Shop in Hollywood. I'm anxious to get started. [182] The film, directed by Mark Robson, was adapted from Grace Metalious' best-selling novel of the same name. I don't wear any make-up and my hair's a mess." . [251], 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. [121] In the midst of filming Green Dolphin Street, Turner began an affair with actor Tyrone Power,[123][124] whom she considered to be the love of her life. [100] After discovering she was pregnant in November 1942, Turner remarried Crane in Tijuana in March 1943. [27] Her mother worked 80 hours per week as a beautician to support herself and her daughter,[30][31] and Turner recalled sometimes "living on crackers and milk for half a week". [86] "I adored Mr. Gable, but we were [just] friends," she later recalled. [252] One critic deemed Turner's acting in the film "strained and amateurish", and declared it "one of her poorest performances". Tina Turner' s oldest son, Craig Turner, has died by suicide, PEOPLE confirms. "[249] Kaspar Monahan of the Pittsburgh Press lauded her performance, writing: "Her performance, I think, is far and away her very best, even rating Oscar consideration in next year's Academy Award race, unless the culture snobs gang up against her. [247], 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. [104] She gave birth to a daughter, Cheryl, on July 25, 1943. These Freudian Montage Shots Show Mental State of Jekyll Changing to Hyde", "Lana's Kisses Sell Bonds Without Her Fancy Speech", "The Story is the Same But Hollywood Has Changed", "Movie of the Week: The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Lana Turner To Play Lead In 'Green Dolphin Street", "Hepburn's Screen Career Unaffected by Frankness", "Lana Turner Says She Is Now the Home-Girl Type", "Lana Turner leaves Footprints At Grauman's Chinese Theater", "Pinza Is Tops, Lana Is Dull In 'Mr. "[121] It was her first starring role that did not center on her looks. By the time this one comes out, it will be almost three years since I was last on the screen, in The Three Musketeers. Groucho Marx wept at the funeral. [176] Turner gleefully told a reporter at the time that she was "walking around in a daze. [261] Pellar denied the accusations and no charges were filed against him. [295] After undergoing radiation therapy,[292] Turner announced that she was in full remission in early 1993. Many of the aircraft had dedications or nose art honoring MGM's Stars. The detectives advised Stompanato to leave and escorted him out of the house and to the airport, where he boarded a plane back to the U.S.[203], On the evening of March 26, 1958, Turner attended the Academy Awards to observe her nomination for Peyton Place and present the award for Best Supporting Actor. Lana Turner was born Julia Jean Turner[6][7][b] on February 8, 1921,[c] at Providence Hospital[13] in Wallace, Idaho, a small mining community in the Idaho Panhandle region. [11] She was an admirer of Bette Davis, whom she cited as her favorite actress. Shortly after, the two eloped and moved west, settling in Idaho. [116] 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. An ailing Groucho Marx was the victim of elder abuse [150] "The script was stupid," she recalled. Gardner repeatedly contemplated suicide near the end of her life. San Sebastin International Film Festival, "A star was born in Idaho; Wallace folks remember Turner's early years. "I do owe Mickey one thing: he taught me how much I enjoyed sex." Rooney was a player. "She was doing fine. Actor (1945 - 1973 (bef.)) She is the most glamorous actress since Jean Harlow. [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. "[89], At the advent of US involvement in World War II, Turner's increasing prominence in Hollywood led to her becoming a popular pin-up girl,[90] and her image appeared painted on the noses of U.S. fighter planes, bearing the nickname "Tempest Turner". "[131], 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). [323] Turner often purchased her favorite styles of shoes in every available color, at one time accumulating 698 pairs. Turner was a regular drinker[270] and cigarette smoker for most of her life. [272] From 1976 to 1978, she starred in a touring production of Bell, Book and Candle, playing Gillian Holroyd. "[110], In August 1944, Turner divorced Crane, citing his gambling and unemployment as primary reasons. During the course of the book it's evident Turner led a charmed life of opportunity with the perks of showbiz royalty on one hand and on the other hand she had a dramatic dark personal life with more twists and turns than most daytime drama scripts. [183] 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. It's an image I've worked too hard to obtain and preserve. "Bob" Topping Jr., a millionaire socialite and brother of New York Yankees owner Dan Topping, and a grandson of tin-plate magnate Daniel G. [333][334][335] In a 1973 Films in Review retrospective on her career, Turner was referred to as "a master of the motion picture technique and a hardworking craftsman". [47] The film earned her the nickname of the "Sweater Girl" for her form-fitting attire, which accentuated her bust. Some of the stars are magnetic dazzlers on celluloid and ordinary, practical, polo-coated little things in private life. They were married on July 3, 2005, and had two kids, a daughter and a son. [237], 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. [186] Though grateful for the nomination, Turner would later state that she felt it was not "one of my better roles". The last time I begged for a good story they gave me The Prodigal. 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. [117] The classic film noir marked a turning point in Turner's career as her first femme fatale role. [206][207] The two began arguing heatedly in the bedroom, during which Stompanato threatened to kill Turner, her daughter Cheryl and her mother. "I'm getting close to that point, honey. [277] Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune praised her performance, writing that, "though she is still a very nervous and inexpert actress, she is giving by far her most winning performance". Turner, Lana (September 28, 1982). 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. Her acting skills were more than adequate, but first and foremost, how the camera loved her. lana turner cause of death. Advertisement More from Distractify All but One of the Ninja Turtles Are Dead in 'The Last Ronin' Comic Turner on her representation in press[305], When Turner was discovered, MGM executive Mervyn LeRoy envisioned her as a replacement for the recently deceased Jean Harlow and began developing her image as a sex symbol. Lana has always acted hastily and been guided more by her own ideas than by any advance any studio gave her. [41] While in the shop, she was spotted by William R. Wilkerson, publisher of The Hollywood Reporter. Turner, who disclosed in May 1992 that she had been treated for throat cancer, died at her Century City home with her daughter Cheryl Crane at her side, police Officer Sonia Monaco said. Lana Turner (/ln trnr/; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921 - June 29, 1995) was an American actress who over the course of her nearly 50-year career achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a dramatic actress as well as for her highly publicized personal life. After the war, Turner was cast in a lead role opposite John Garfield in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), a film noir based on James M. Cain's debut novel of the same name. [154] The following year, she began filming her second musical, The Merry Widow. [92], Throughout the war, Turner continued to make regular appearances at U.S. troop events and area bases, though she confided to friends that she found visiting the hospital wards of injured soldiers emotionally difficult. Following her film debut in . So did she. [156], Turner's next project was opposite Kirk Douglas in Vincente Minnelli's The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), a drama focusing on the rise and fall of a Hollywood film mogul, in which Turner portrayed an alcoholic movie star. But every time I went into my argument about how bad a picture was, they'd say, "well, it's making a fortune". [273][274] Critic Elaine Matas noted of a 1977 performance that Turner was "brilliant" and "the bright spot in an otherwise mediocre play". [139][140] Studio head Louis B. Mayer threatened to suspend her contract, but Turner managed to leverage her box-office draw with MGM to negotiate an expansion of her role in the film, as well as a salary increase amounting to $5,000 per week ($60,678 in 2021 dollars [43]). [137][138] Turner's wedding celebrations interfered with her filming schedule for The Three Musketeers, and she arrived to the set three days late. Cheryl, who is Lana's daughter with second husband Steve Crane, was tried and acquitted for Stampanato's death. He is survived by his wife, fellow comic Lahna Turner, and their two . Even the love goddess Lana Turner, who co-starred with Burton in The Rains Of Ranchipur, enjoyed a fling with him in his trailer. In the mid-thirties, Columbia Pictures put her under a long-term contract, transforming dark-haired teenager Rita Cansino into redhead bombshell Rita Hayworth. This was a total shock," Crane told Daily Variety columnist Army Archerd. ChickComedy/YouTube Comedian Lahna Turner was married to Ralphie May. [98] The two eloped to Las Vegas a week after they began dating. [67] Their marriage only lasted four months, but was highly publicized, and led MGM executives to grow concerned over Turner's "impulsive behavior". [71] In the film, she portrayed Sheila Regan, an alcoholic aspiring actress based on Lillian Lorraine. Turner's notoriety was assured in 1958 when her lover, mobster Johnny Stompanato, was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife by her daughter Cheryl Crane.