Lillian Gertrude Michael (June 1, 1911 – December 31, 1964) was an American film, stage and television actress.
Biography
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl H. Michael, she was born in
Talladega, Alabama
Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...
. She graduated from Talladega High school at the age of 14. In her youth, she played piano and organ, and she began Little Theatres in two communities. She became a singer on the radio.
Michael attended the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public ...
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, ...
to continue studying music. Her work there earned her a scholarship for studying five years in Italy.
Her childhood home in
Talladega, Alabama
Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...
was destroyed by fire in 2007.
In 1929 in Cincinnati she made her stage debut in the Stuart Walkerstock theater company. She subsequently appeared on Broadway in
Rachel Crothers
Rachel Crothers (December 12, 1878 – July 5, 1958) was an American playwright and theater director known for her well-crafted plays that often dealt with feminist themes. Among theater historians, she is generally recognized as "the most succes ...
' ''Caught Wet'' (1931). She entered the movies playing
Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television.
Biography
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...
's fiancée in ''Wayward'' (1932), but her best-remembered role is probably either as Rita Ross in ''
Murder at the Vanities
''Murder at the Vanities'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical film based on the 1933 Broadway show with music by Victor Young. It was released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen, stars Victor McLaglen, Carl Brisson, Jack ...
'' (1934), one of the last pre-
Code
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
films, in which she sang an ode to
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
(''Sweet Marijuana''), or as Alica Hatton, the snooty society girl in the
Mae West
Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...
comedy '' I'm No Angel'' (1933).
In 1937, Michael returned to the stage at the Cape Play House in Dennis, Massachusetts, with the lead in ''Damn Deborah''.
Among her television appearances, Michael was seen on ''
Fireside Theater
''Fireside Theatre'' (also known as ''Jane Wyman Presents'') is an American anthology drama series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Productions were low-budget and often based ...
'' eleven times between 1950 and 1955 and three times on ''
Schlitz Playhouse
''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'' is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to ''Schlitz Playhouse ...
''. She also made a guest appearance on ''
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...
'' in 1958 as Helen Rucker in "The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary."
She had an affair with writer Paul Cain (aka Peter Ruric). After they broke up, Cain, in his only novel published during his lifetime, ''Fast One'', based the character of the alcoholic lover on Michael.
Michael died on December 31, 1964, aged 53, in her Hollywood home.
Search for Beauty
''Search for Beauty'' is a 1934 American pre-Code dramedy film, with some musical Busby Berkeley-esque athletic sequences, directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Buster Crabbe and Ida Lupino (the film was released shortly before Lupino's 16th bi ...
'' (1934) - Jean Strange
* ''
Bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...
'' (1934) - Lady D'Argon
* ''
George White's Scandals
''George White's Scandals'' were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. F ...
Murder at the Vanities
''Murder at the Vanities'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical film based on the 1933 Broadway show with music by Victor Young. It was released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen, stars Victor McLaglen, Carl Brisson, Jack ...
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...
Four Hours to Kill!
''Four Hours to Kill!'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Richard Barthelmess.
Plot
Taft, a policeman, has fugitive murderer Tony Mako in custody and in handcuffs, two thousand miles from the prison from whi ...
Just like a Woman
"Just Like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan first released on his seventh studio album, '' Blonde on Blonde'' on June 20, 1966. It was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. A shorter edit was released as a sing ...
Parole Fixer
''Parole Fixer'' is a 1940 American crime film directed by Robert Florey.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover is credited for the source material, the 1938 book called ''Persons in Hiding'', a purported expose of corrupti ...
I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby
"I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew Le ...
Three's a Crowd
''Three's a Crowd'' (also known as ''Three's Company, Too'' in the ''Three's Company'' syndication package) is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off continuation of ''Three's Company'' that aired on ABC from September 25 ...
Bugles in the Afternoon
''Bugles in the Afternoon'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by William Cagney and starring Ray Milland, Helena Carter, Hugh Marlowe and Forrest Tucker, based on the 1943 novel by Ernest Haycox. The story features the Battle of the ...
'' (1952) - May
* '' No Escape'' (1953) - Olga Valerie Lewis
* '' Women's Prison'' (1955) - Chief Matron Sturgess
* ''
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'' is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to ''Schlitz Playhouse ...
'' (3 episodes, 1952–1957) - the Duchess
* ''Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson'' (1 episode, 1954) - Lisa Jenssen
* ''
Cavalcade of America
''Cavalcade of America'' is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented musicals, such as an adaptation of ''Show Boat'', and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially ...
'' (1 episode, 1953) - Major Pauline Cushman
* ''
Meet Corliss Archer
''Meet Corliss Archer'' is an American radio program from radio's Golden Age that ran from January 7, 1943, to September 30, 1956. Although it was CBS's answer to NBC's '' A Date with Judy'', it was also broadcast by NBC in 1948 as a summer repl ...
Private Secretary
A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family.
The role exists in ...
'' (1 episode, 1954) - Hollywood Star
* ''
The Ford Television Theatre
''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950 ...
The New Adventures of Charlie Chan
''The New Adventures of Charlie Chan'' is a crime drama series that aired in the United States in syndicated television from June 1957, to 1958. The first five episodes were made by Vision Productions in the United States, before production sw ...
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...
'' (1 episode, 1958) - Helen Rucker
* ''
Sea Hunt
''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges as ...