Lili Damita - Revision history

Kurt at 19:47, 18 January 2023

2023-01-18T19:47:13Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:47, 18 January 2023
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	{{short description\|French-American actress}}		{{short description\|French-American actress}}
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=October 2020}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| image = Lili Damita.jpg		\| image = Lili Damita.jpg
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	==Early career in revue, modeling and German film==		==Early career in revue, modeling and German film==
	As a teenager, she was performing in popular [[music hall]]s, eventually appearing in the Revue at the [[Casino de Paris]].<ref>[https://www.allmovie.com/artist/lili-damita-p16745 Lil Damita], allmovie.com. Retrieved on 22 October 2016.</ref> She worked as a [[photographic model]]. Offered a role in film as a prize for winning a magazine [[beauty competition]] in 1921, she appeared in several [[silent film]]s before being offered her first leading role in ''[[Das Spielzeug von Paris]]'' (1925) by Hungarian-born director [[Michael Curtiz]].<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Rode\|first=Alan K.\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYI2DwAAQBAJ&q=Liliane+Marie+Madeleine+Carre&pg=PA60\|title=Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film\|date=2017-09-22\|publisher=University Press of Kentucky\|isbn=978-0-8131-7397-9\|language=en}}</ref> She was an instant success, and Curtiz directed her in two more films: ''[[Fiaker Nr. 13]]'' (1926) and ''[[Der goldene Schmetterling]]'' (1926).<ref>{{Cite book\|last=McNulty\|first=Thomas\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW5TBQAAQBAJ&q=lili+damita+curtiz&pg=PA30\|title=Errol Flynn: The Life and Career\|date=2015-05-07\|publisher=McFarland\|isbn=978-1-4766-0972-0\|language=en}}</ref> Damita continued appearing next in German productions directed by [[Robert Wiene]] (''[[Die große Abenteuerin]]''; 1928),<ref>{{Cite book\|last1=Jung\|first1=Uli\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPcAVLunPx8C&q=lily+damita&pg=PA141\|title=Beyond Caligari: The Films of Robert Wiene\|last2=Schatzberg\|first2=Walter\|date=1999\|publisher=Berghahn Books\|isbn=978-1-57181-156-1\|language=en}}</ref> [[G.W. Pabst]] (''[[Man spielt nicht mit der Liebe]]''; 1926) and British [[Film director\|director]] [[Graham Cutts]] ([[The Queen Was in the Parlour (film)\|''The Queen Was in the Parlour'']]; 1927).~~{{citation needed\|date=September 2016}}~~		As a teenager, she was performing in popular [[music hall]]s, eventually appearing in the Revue at the [[Casino de Paris]].<ref>[https://www.allmovie.com/artist/lili-damita-p16745 Lil Damita], allmovie.com. Retrieved on 22 October 2016.</ref> She worked as a [[photographic model]]. Offered a role in film as a prize for winning a magazine [[beauty competition]] in 1921, she appeared in several [[silent film]]s before being offered her first leading role in ''[[Das Spielzeug von Paris]]'' (1925) by Hungarian-born director [[Michael Curtiz]].<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Rode\|first=Alan K.\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYI2DwAAQBAJ&q=Liliane+Marie+Madeleine+Carre&pg=PA60\|title=Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film\|date=2017-09-22\|publisher=University Press of Kentucky\|isbn=978-0-8131-7397-9\|language=en}}</ref> She was an instant success, and Curtiz directed her in two more films: ''[[Fiaker Nr. 13]]'' (1926) and ''[[Der goldene Schmetterling]]'' (1926).<ref>{{Cite book\|last=McNulty\|first=Thomas\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW5TBQAAQBAJ&q=lili+damita+curtiz&pg=PA30\|title=Errol Flynn: The Life and Career\|date=2015-05-07\|publisher=McFarland\|isbn=978-1-4766-0972-0\|language=en}}</ref> Damita continued appearing next in German productions directed by [[Robert Wiene]] (''[[Die große Abenteuerin]]''; 1928),<ref>{{Cite book\|last1=Jung\|first1=Uli\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPcAVLunPx8C&q=lily+damita&pg=PA141\|title=Beyond Caligari: The Films of Robert Wiene\|last2=Schatzberg\|first2=Walter\|date=1999\|publisher=Berghahn Books\|isbn=978-1-57181-156-1\|language=en}}</ref> [[G.W. Pabst]] (''[[Man spielt nicht mit der Liebe]]''; 1926) and British [[Film director\|director]] [[Graham Cutts]] ([[The Queen Was in the Parlour (film)\|''The Queen Was in the Parlour'']]; 1927).

	==Hollywood career==		==Hollywood career==
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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{Commons category}}~~
	* {{IMDb name\|0198847}}		* {{IMDb name\|0198847}}
	* {{IBDB name}}		* {{IBDB name}}
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	* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=706 Photographs and literature]		* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=706 Photographs and literature]
	* [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6956547/lili-damita Grave of Lili Damita]		* [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6956547/lili-damita Grave of Lili Damita]

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Damita, Lili}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Damita, Lili}}
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	[[Category:French film actresses]]		[[Category:French film actresses]]
	[[Category:French silent film actresses]]		[[Category:French silent film actresses]]
	~~[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease]]~~
	~~[[Category:Deaths from dementia in Florida]]~~
	[[Category:Burials in Iowa]]		[[Category:Burials in Iowa]]
	[[Category:20th-century French women singers]]		[[Category:20th-century French women singers]]

Kurt at 17:22, 15 October 2022

2022-10-15T17:22:24Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:22, 15 October 2022
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	{{Use dmy dates\|date=October 2020}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=October 2020}}
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	~~\| name = Lili Damita~~		\| image = Lili Damita.jpg
	\| image = Lili Damita ~~from Stars of the Photoplay~~.jpg
	\| image_size =		\| image_size =
	\| caption = ~~''Stars of the [[Photoplay]]'', 1930~~		\| caption =
	\| birth_name = Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré		\| birth_name = Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré
	\| birth_date = {{Birth date\|df=y\|1904\|7\|10}}		\| birth_date = {{Birth date\|df=y\|1904\|7\|10}}

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-10-15T16:55:59Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 11:55, 15 October 2022
(No difference)

2600:8800:3136:BD00:650C:E09C:7E88:F727: Fixed grammar

2022-10-08T20:53:50Z

Fixed grammar

New page

{{short description|French-American actress}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lili Damita
| image = Lili Damita from Stars of the Photoplay.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = ''Stars of the [[Photoplay]]'', 1930
| birth_name = Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1904|7|10}}
| birth_place = [[Blaye]], France
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1994|3|21|1904|7|10}}
| death_place = [[Palm Beach, Florida]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Oakland Cemetery (Fort Dodge, Iowa)|Oakland Cemetery]], [[Fort Dodge, Iowa]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Errol Flynn]]|1935|1942|end=divorced}} {{marriage|Allen Loomis|1962|1983|end=divorced}}
| children = [[Sean Flynn (photojournalist)|Sean Flynn]]
| other_names = Lily Damita Lily Deslys
| yearsactive = 1922–1937
}}

'''Lili Damita''' (born '''Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré''';<ref>{{cite book|last1=Room|first1=Adrian|title=Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed.|date=2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786457632|pages=130–131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSIhzKnNUf4C&q=%22Liliane+Marie-Madeleine+Carre%22&pg=PA130|access-date=9 May 2017|language=en}}</ref> 10 July 1904 – 21 March 1994) was a French-American actress and singer who appeared in 33 films between 1922 and 1937.

==Early life and education==
Lili Damita was born '''Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré''' in [[Blaye]], France, on 10 July 1904. Her father was an officer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nouvelle-aquitaine/gironde/bordeaux/jeune-fille-blaye-devenue-star-1691516.html|title = La jeune fille de Blaye devenue star}}</ref> She was educated in convents and ballet schools in several countries, including her native France, as well as Spain and Portugal. At 14, she was enrolled as a dancer at the [[Opéra de Paris]].<ref name=hs>{{cite book|last1=Tyler|first1=Don|title=Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era|date=2007|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786429462|page=374|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSCfBQAAQBAJ&q=%22Liliane+Marie-Madeleine+Carre%22&pg=PA374|access-date=9 May 2017|language=en}}</ref>

==Early career in revue, modeling and German film==
As a teenager, she was performing in popular [[music hall]]s, eventually appearing in the Revue at the [[Casino de Paris]].<ref>[https://www.allmovie.com/artist/lili-damita-p16745 Lil Damita], allmovie.com. Retrieved on 22 October 2016.</ref> She worked as a [[photographic model]]. Offered a role in film as a prize for winning a magazine [[beauty competition]] in 1921, she appeared in several [[silent film]]s before being offered her first leading role in ''[[Das Spielzeug von Paris]]'' (1925) by Hungarian-born director [[Michael Curtiz]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rode|first=Alan K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYI2DwAAQBAJ&q=Liliane+Marie+Madeleine+Carre&pg=PA60|title=Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film|date=2017-09-22|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=978-0-8131-7397-9|language=en}}</ref> She was an instant success, and Curtiz directed her in two more films: ''[[Fiaker Nr. 13]]'' (1926) and ''[[Der goldene Schmetterling]]'' (1926).<ref>{{Cite book|last=McNulty|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW5TBQAAQBAJ&q=lili+damita+curtiz&pg=PA30|title=Errol Flynn: The Life and Career|date=2015-05-07|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-0972-0|language=en}}</ref> Damita continued appearing next in German productions directed by [[Robert Wiene]] (''[[Die große Abenteuerin]]''; 1928),<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Jung|first1=Uli|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPcAVLunPx8C&q=lily+damita&pg=PA141|title=Beyond Caligari: The Films of Robert Wiene|last2=Schatzberg|first2=Walter|date=1999|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-57181-156-1|language=en}}</ref> [[G.W. Pabst]] (''[[Man spielt nicht mit der Liebe]]''; 1926) and British [[Film director|director]] [[Graham Cutts]] ([[The Queen Was in the Parlour (film)|''The Queen Was in the Parlour'']]; 1927).{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}

==Hollywood career==
In 1928, Damita was invited to Hollywood by [[Samuel Goldwyn]] and made her American film debut in ''[[The Rescue (1929 film)|The Rescue]]''. She was leased out to various studios, appearing with stars and leading men such as [[Maurice Chevalier]], [[Laurence Olivier]], [[James Cagney]], [[Gary Cooper]] and [[Cary Grant]]. Her films included [[box office]] successes ''[[The Cock-Eyed World]]'' (1929),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/work/87505|title=The Cock-Eyed World|first=Hal|last=Erickson|work=Allmovie|access-date=8 August 2009}}</ref> the semi-silent ''[[The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929 film)|The Bridge of San Luis Rey]]'' (1929) and ''[[This Is the Night (1932 film)|This Is the Night]]'' (1932).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b8319b1/|title=This Is the Night (1932)|work=BFI|access-date=2017-07-09|language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[Image:Damita & Flynn.jpg|thumb|Damita and husband [[Errol Flynn]] at Los Angeles airport, 1941]]
Following a lengthy affair with Curtiz,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thomson |first1=David |title=No Mistakes |url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/12/20/michael-curtiz-casablanca-no-mistakes/ |access-date=September 23, 2020 |work=The New York Review of Books |date=December 20, 2018 |quote="(Curtiz) married one actress, Lucy Doraine, and had a lengthy affair with another, Lili Damita, before he married Bess Meredyth"}}</ref> she married unknown actor [[Errol Flynn]] in 1935 and retired from the screen. Flynn soon became one of Hollywood's biggest box office attractions, and in 1941 they had a son, [[Sean Flynn (photojournalist)|Sean Flynn]]. The couple had an acrimonious divorce in 1942. She is portrayed by [[Barbara Hershey]] in the TV film ''[[My Wicked, Wicked Ways]]'' (1985) based on Flynn's autobiography. While living in [[Palm Beach, Florida]], Damita married Allen Loomis in 1962, a retired [[Fort Dodge, Iowa]], dairy products manufacter, and spent part of each year living there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1994/scene/people-news/lili-damita-119554/|title=Lili Damita|agency=Associated Press|date=1994-03-25|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref> They divorced in the mid-80s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.palmbeachpost.com/article/20110408/ENTERTAINMENT/812034892|title=Tragic, tempestuous life of Palm Beach's forgotten star, Lili Damita|last=Eyman|first=Scott|website=The Palm Beach Post|language=en|access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref>

During the [[Cambodian Civil War]] ([[Khmer Rouge]] reign), her son Sean Flynn was working as a freelance [[photo journalist]] under contract to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine when he and fellow journalist [[Dana Stone]] went missing on the road south of [[Phnom Penh]], [[Cambodia]], on 6 April 1970.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Brady|first=Brendan|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983766,00.html|date=2010-05-02|magazine=Time|access-date=2020-04-22|language=en-US|issn=0040-781X}}</ref> Although Damita spent an enormous amount of money searching for her son, he was never found, and in 1984 he was declared legally dead.

==Death==
Damita died of [[Alzheimer's disease]] on 21 March 1994, in [[Palm Beach, Florida]], aged 89.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-26-mn-38526-story.html|title=Lily Damita; Star of Early Talking Films|date=1994-03-26|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-19}}</ref> She was interred in the [[Oakland Cemetery (Fort Dodge, Iowa)|Oakland Cemetery]] in [[Fort Dodge, Iowa]], her last husband's hometown.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilson|first=Scott|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&q=Liliane+Marie+Carre+silent+films&pg=PA175|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.|date=2016-08-19|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-2599-7|language=en}}</ref>

==Selected filmography==
[[File:Lili Damita and Victor McLaglen.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Promotional photo of Damita and [[Victor McLaglen]] for ''[[The Cock-Eyed World]]'' (1929)]]
[[File:The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929) 1.jpg|thumb|right|180px|''[[The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929 film)|The Bridge of San Luis Rey]]'' (1929)]]
[[File:Lili Damita-Gary Cooper in Fighting Caravans.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Damita and [[Gary Cooper]] in ''[[Fighting Caravans]]'' (1931)]]
[[File:Fighting Caravans (1931) 2.jpg|thumb|right|180px|With [[Ernest Torrence]], Gary Cooper, and [[Tully Marshall]] in ''Fighting Caravans'' (1931)]]
[[File:Lili Damita and Lester Vail.jpg|thumb|right|180px|With [[Lester Vail]] in ''[[The Woman Between (1931 American film)|The Woman Between]]'' (1931)]]
[[File:Thelma Todd, Roland Young, Lili Damita.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Thelma Todd]], [[Roland Young]], Lili Damita in ''[[This Is the Night (1932 film)|This Is the Night]]'' (1932)]]
[[File:This is the Night.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Charles Ruggles]], [[Cary Grant]], Lili Damita and [[Roland Young]] in ''[[This Is the Night (1932 film)|This Is the Night]]'' (1932)]]
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
!Film
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1922
|''Maman Pierre''
|
|
|-
|1922
|''La belle au bois dormant''
|
|
|-
|1922
|''L'Empereur des pauvres''
|Riquette
|
|-
|1922
|''La fille sauvage''
|Henriette Villedieu
|
|-
|1923
|''Corsica''
|
|
|-
|1924
|''Une femme dans la nuit''
|
|
|-
|1924
|''[[The Clairvoyant (1924 film)|The Clairvoyant]]''
|Suzanne
|
|-
|1925
|''{{Ill|Prince Charming (1925 film)|fr|3=Le Prince charmant|lt=Prince Charming}}''
|
|
|-
|1925
|''[[Das Spielzeug von Paris]]''
|Célimène aka Susana Armard
|
|-
|1926
|''[[Fiaker Nr. 13]]'' (Cab No. 13)
|Lilian
|
|-
|1926
|''[[Geheimnisse einer Seele]]'' (Secrets of a Soul)
|
|Uncredited
|-
|1926
|''[[Der goldene Schmetterling]]'' (The Golden Butterfly)
|Lilian
|
|-
|1926
|''[[Man spielt nicht mit der Liebe]]'' (One Does Not Play with Love)
|Calixta
| Lost film
|-
|1927
|''[[The Queen Was in the Parlour (film)|The Queen Was in the Parlour]]''
|Prinzessin Nadya von Kraya
|
|-
|1927
|''[[Die berühmte Frau]]'' (The Famous Woman)
|Sonja Litowskaja
|
|-
|1928
|''[[Die große Abenteuerin]]'' (The Great Adventuress)
|
|
|-
|1928
|''Scandal in Paris''
|
|
|-
|1929
|''[[The Rescue (1929 film)|The Rescue]]''
|Lady Edith Travers
| Incomplete film
|-
|1929
|''[[The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929 film)|The Bridge of San Luis Rey]]''
|Camila (La Perichole)
| Filmed as both silent and part-talkie, only the silent version of this film survives
|-
|1929
|''[[The Cock-Eyed World]]''
|Mariana Elenita
|
|-
|1930
|''[[Let Us Be Gay]]'' (Soyons gais)
|Kitty
|
|-
|1931
|''[[The Bachelor Father]]'' (Le père célibataire)
|
|alternate language version
|-
|1931
|''[[Fighting Caravans]]''
|Felice
|
|-
|1931
|''[[The Woman Between (1931 American film)|The Woman Between]]''
|Julie Whitcomb
|
|-
|1931
|''[[Friends and Lovers (1931 film)|Friends and Lovers]]''
|Mrs. Alva Sangrito
|
|-
|1932
|''[[This Is the Night (1932 film)|This Is the Night]]''
|Germaine
|
|-
|1932
|''[[One Hour with You]]'' (Une heure près de toi)
|Mitzi Olivier
|alternate language version
|-
|1932
|''[[The Match King]]''
|Marta Molnar
|
|-
|1933
|''[[Goldie Gets Along]]''
|Goldie LaFarge
|
|-
|1934
| ''[[A Man Has Been Stolen]]''
|Annette
|
|-
|1935
|''[[Brewster's Millions (1935 film)|Brewster's Millions]]''
|Rosalie La Rue
|
|-
|1935
|''[[Frisco Kid]]''
|Belle Morra
|
|-
|1936
|''[[The Devil on Horseback]]''
|Diane Corday
|
|-
|1937
|''Escadrille of Chance''
|Edwige
|
|-
|}

==Selected stage musicals==
* ''On Dit Ça'', Paris (1923)
* ''Sons o'Guns'', New York (1929/30)
* ''Here's How'', London (1934)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|first=Cedric Osmond|last=Bermingham|title=Stars of the screen 1931: A volume of biographies of contemporary actors and actresses engaged in photoplay throughout the world|location=London, UK|publisher=Herbert Joseph|year=1931}}
* {{cite book|title=Stars of the Photoplay|publisher=Photoplay Magazine|location=Chicago|year=1930|chapter=Lily Damita}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0198847}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* [http://silentladies.com/PDamita.html Photographs of Lili Damita] dead link
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=706 Photographs and literature]
* [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6956547/lili-damita Grave of Lili Damita]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damita, Lili}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century French actresses]]
[[Category:People from Gironde]]
[[Category:French emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:French film actresses]]
[[Category:French silent film actresses]]
[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease]]
[[Category:Deaths from dementia in Florida]]
[[Category:Burials in Iowa]]
[[Category:20th-century French women singers]]