biography
Born Constance Ockleman (later Keane) in Brooklyn on November 14, 1919 (some sources list 1922 as her date of birth), diminutive actress Veronica Lake
relocated to California with her mother and stepfather as a teenager. Pushed by a typical stage mother, Lake was enrolled in acting classes. In 1939,
she was signed by RKO Studios, sometimes appearing in small roles before the studio dropped her contract. A few bit parts at MGM and 20th Century-Fox
followed, and soon after marrying first husband John Detlie, Lake signed with Paramount. With her cool manner and 'peekaboo' hairstyle she created a
sensation, and millions of women copied her peekaboo bang. Lake gave birth to her first child, Elaine, in 1941.   
Beautiful 1940s shots of Veronica Lake, mostly from ParamountLake's biggest year in films was 1942 when she starred in a string of hit films for Paramount, including Sullivan's Travels (1942; with Joel McCrea), This Gun for Hire (1942; with Alan Ladd), and I Married a Witch (1942; with Fredric March). Pregnancy with her second child sidelined her for much of 1943, but sadly the child lived just a few days. She and Detlie divorced shortly thereafter, and Lake then married prominent director Andre De Toth in late 1944. 
With fellow Paramount contract player Sterling Hayden in 1942Although Lake proved to be a good actress, especially in comedy and film noir, her career began to fade soon after the end of World War II. She gave birth to a son with De Toth ion late 1945. A few more films followed including the noir thriller The Blue Dahlia (1946; with Alan Ladd) and the western Ramrod (1947; with Joel McCrea). Afterwardm Lake gave birth to a daughter, born in late 1948. By then, however, Paramount had dropped her contract following the October 1948 release of the comedy Isn't It Romantic? (1948; with Mona Freeman). A solid role in the 20th Century Fox adventure Slattery's Hurricane (1949; with Richard Widmark and Linda Darnell) didn't help revive her career. |
the films of veronica lakeThis Gun for Hire (1942)
With frequent co-star Alan Ladd in Paramount's film noir thriller This Gun for HireThe Glass Key (1942)
With Brian Donlevy and Alan Ladd in Paramount's film noir thriller The Glass KeyI Married a Witch (1942)
With Fredric March in I Married a WitchSullivan's Travels (1942)  
From Sullivan's Travels. LEFT: With Joel McCrea and Franklin Pangborn. CENTER and RIGHT: With Joel McCreaSo Proudly We Hail! (1943)
From So Proudly We Hail! with Paulette Goddard and Claudette ColbertThe Blue Dahlia (1946)
With frequent co-star Alan Ladd in Paramount's film-noir thriller The Blue DahliaRamrod (1947)
With Joel McCrea in Ramrod, directed by Andre De TothIsn't It Romantic? (1948)
From the Paramount comedy Isn't It Romantic? with Mona Freeman, Mary Hatcher, and Billy De WolfeSaigon (1948)
From the Paramount drama Saigon, the final film in which Lake costarred with Alan LaddThe Sainted Sisters (1948)
With Joan Caulfield and Barry Fitzgerald in the Paramount comedy The Sainted SistersSlattery's Hurricane (1949)
With Richard Widmark in Slattery's Hurricane, directed by Andre De TothFlesh Feast (1970)
Lake as the sadistic Dr. Elaine Frederick in the horror flick Flesh Feast, shot in Miami. This was Lake's final filmlater yearsFollowing her departure from Paramount, Veronica Lake's film career came to a halt in the late 1940s; she made just three films afterward. Lake divorced De Toth in 1952, and she left California to settle in New York, where she did quite a bit of stage work and made a number of appearances in early television. However, mental illness, her increasing use of alcohol, and a heart attack in 1955 finished off her acting career. Following a third marriage and divorce, by 1962 Lake was working as a bar maid and hostess in a Manhattan cocktail lounge. Never as down and out as the media portrayed, nonetheless the publicity surrounding this discovery helped revive her acting career, and in 1963 she was back onstage in off-Broadway productions. Lake was also offered a job working in Baltimore as a TV host. She made two more films: the Canadian thriller Footsteps in the Snow (1966; with Meredith MacRae) and the notorious horror film Flesh Feast (1970), which was shot in Miami in 1967 but unreleased until 1970, and Lake served as executive producer. She also wrote a sensational autobiography, Veronica, which made waves when it was published in 1969.In 1969, Lake moved to England for a couple of years and acted in the stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire, for which she earned great reviews. Sadly, she passed away at the age of 53 in Burlington, Vermont, on July 7, 1973, from hepatitis. She was survived by her fourth husband (a commercial fisherman whom she married in 1972), two daughters, a son, several grandchildren, and her estranged mother. In 2004, Lake made headlines again when a portion of her ashes was discovered in a New York antiques store. |
filmographyFILM
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This page premiered August 9, 2002.
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