Lana Turner

Actress Lana Turner (born Julia Jean Mildred Frances Turner) was one of America's most celebrated sex symbols during the 1940s and 1950s making over 50 films. Her tempestuous personal life -- seven marriages, a stable of lovers, and a very public murder scandal -- only increased her reputation as a larger-than-life screen and sex goddess.

Known as the "Sweater Girl," Lana Turner (like Betty Grable) was a popular pinup for GIs in World War II. After the war she became a genuine movie star, helped by her contract with powerful MGM Studios. Her best-known movies included The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and Peyton Place (1957). She became one of Hollywood's favorite legends for allegedly being "discovered" at Schwab's Drugstore on Sunset Boulevard. (Her official site claims the actual location was the Top Hat Cafe, across the street from Hollywood High.) Her notoriety was assured in 1958 when her lover, mobster Johnny Stompanato, was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife by her daughter Cheryl Crane. (The killing was later ruled justifiable homicide.) Turner was married to seven men, including bandleader Artie Shaw (Artie Shaw). In the 1980s she had a recurring role on the TV series Falcon Crest. Her autobiography, Lana: The Lady, the Legend, the Truth, was published in 1982.

Turner's eyebrows were shaved off for her role in the 1938 film The Adventures of Marco Polo. The eyebrows never grew back, and thereafter Turner wore false eyebrows in public... Her birthdate is sometimes listed as 1920, not 1921. Turner claims in her autobiography that 1920 is an old error and that her birth certificate gives the date as 1921.

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR

• Witches' Brew (1980)
• The Big Cube (30-Apr-1969)
• Madame X (27-Apr-1966)
• Love Has Many Faces (24-Feb-1965)
• Bachelor in Paradise (1-Nov-1961)
• By Love Possessed (19-Jul-1961)
• Portrait in Black (27-Jul-1960)
• Imitation of Life (17-Apr-1959)
• The Lady Takes a Flyer (29-Jan-1958)
• Peyton Place (13-Dec-1957)
• The Rains of Ranchipur (14-Dec-1955)
• The Sea Chase (4-Jun-1955)
• The Prodigal (6-May-1955)
• Betrayed (7-Sep-1954)
• Latin Lovers (12-Aug-1953)
• The Bad and the Beautiful (25-Dec-1952)
• The Merry Widow (5-Sep-1952)
• A Life of Her Own (1-Sep-1950)
• The Three Musketeers (20-Oct-1948)
• Homecoming (29-Apr-1948)
• Cass Timberlane (6-Nov-1947
• Green Dolphin Street (5-Nov-1947)
• The Postman Always Rings Twice (2-May-1946)
• Weekend at the Waldorf (5-Oct-1945)
• Keep Your Powder Dry (8-Mar-1945)
• Slightly Dangerous (1-Apr-1943)
• Somewhere I'll Find You (27-Aug-1942)
• Johnny Eager (17-Jan-1942)
• Honky Tonk (1-Oct-1941)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (12-Aug-1941)
• Ziegfeld Girl (25-Apr-1941)
• Dancing Co-Ed (29-Sep-1939)
• Love Finds Andy Hardy (22-Jul-1938)
• The Adventures of Marco Polo (7-Apr-1938)
• They Won't Forget (9-Oct-1937)

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Actress. According to Hollywood legend, Lana Turner was discovered sipping a soda at Schwab's drugstore. However, Turner was actually spotted at the counter of Currie's Ice Cream Parlor across the street from Hollywood High School. Following the murder of her father in a robbery, her mother brought her to California. After her discovery, the renamed Lana Turner made her screen debut in a bit part for A Star Is Born (1937). That same year she gained her nickname the "Sweater Girl" for the impression she made as the sweater-clad schoolgirl whose murder sets into motion the plot of They Won't Forget. By 1938 she was under contract to MGM and appeared in Dramatic School, Rich Man, Poor Girl, Love Finds Andy Hardy, These Glamour Girls, Dancing Co-Ed and Calling Dr. Kildare, through 1938-39. Turner became a star in a string of major 1941 movies: Ziegfeld Girl, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Honky Tonk (co-starring Clark Gable) and Johnny Eager (co-starring Robert Taylor). Turner came into her own after the war in steamy films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and Cass Timberlane (1947). Turner's private life, however, was a mess. She was married eight times, twice to Steve Crane. She also married Ronald Dante, Robert Eaton, Fred May, Lex Barker, Henry Topping and bandleader Artie Shaw. She also battled alcoholism. In 1958 her longtime boyfriend, mobster Johnny Stompanato, was stabbed to death by Turner's daughter Cheryl Crane, during one of many violent arguments Turner had with Stompanato. Cheryl was acquitted with the court ruling it was justifiable homicide. Turner got her biggest break in 1957 starring in Peyton Place, receiving an Oscar nomination for her role as a worried mother in the scandalous tale of sex and passion in a New England town. Turner continued to appear in films until 1980 and had a recurring role as Jacqueline Perrault on the TV series "Falcon Crest" (1982-83). She published her autobiography, "Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth" in 1982. Lana Turner died June 25, 1995 in Century City, CA after a long bout with cancer. (bio by: [fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=46562594" target="_blank Craig Johnson)] Cause of death: Throat cancer Maintained by: Find A Grave Record added: Aug 25, 1999

Find A Grave Memorial# 6208

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jun 29 2018, 11:14:12 UTC

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Wikipedia - Lana Turner

• In the spring of 1992 she was diagnosed with throat cancer. On May 13, 1992, she underwent exploratory surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to remove the cancer. In June 1992, it was reported that the cancer had metastasized to her jaw and lungs. Turner underwent radiation therapy, and in February 1993, announced that she was in full remission. Despite treatment, the cancer returned in July 1994. She died nine months later at the age of 74 on June 29, 1995, of complications from the cancer at her home in Century City, Los Angeles. Turner's remains were cremated and scattered in Oahu, Hawaii.

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