Lenore Aubert (born Eleonore Maria Leisner,
April 18, 1913
[The book ''Women in Horror Films, 1940s'' says that Aubert was born "on April 18, 1913 (although 1918 was given in publicity)."] – July 31, 1993) was a model and Hollywood actress best known for her movie roles as exotic, mysterious women.
Early years
Aubert was born in what is now
Celje
)
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, pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia
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,
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. She grew up in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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.
Career
In New York, she found work as a model and was eventually offered a stage role as Lorraine Sheldon in ''
The Man Who Came to Dinner
''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of N ...
''
[ ] at the
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.
History
La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...
in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
. She began her U.S. film career in the early 1940s, taking the French-sounding screen name Lenore Aubert.
She was professionally pursued by Louis B. Mayer, to be put under a seven year contract to Metro Goldwyn-Mayer, however Samuel Goldwyn, with whom she was already under contract, refused to sell her contract to M.G.M.
Her European accent limited her choice of roles, and she played such parts as a Nazi spy and a French war bride. She was most fond of her role in the 1947 film ''
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
"I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Orlob, the lyrics by Will M. Hough and Frank R. Adams. Orlob worked for Joseph E. Howard generating songs for Howard's productions and Howard presented the song a ...
'', playing glamorous entertainer Fritzi Barrington. Her best-known role was as Dr. Sandra Mornay, a beautiful but sinister scientist, in the 1948 horror-comedy ''
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'' is a 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton. The film features Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) who has become partners with Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert), as Dracula requires a "simp ...
''.
On June 4, 1950, Aubert co-starred in "People vs. William Tait", an episode of the television court show ''
Famous Jury Trials
''Famous Jury Trials'' is a dramatized court show that first appeared on radio, followed by television, and then in the movies. The series ran on radio from 1936 through 1949, then on television from 1949 through 1952, and finally in a movie in 1 ...
''.
Later years
Aubert's film career was basically over by the end of the 1940s. She and her husband then moved back to New York City, starting a garment business. A few years later, the couple divorced. She went back to Europe, only to return to the United States in 1959.
She did volunteer work for the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Activities and Housing Section and the
Museum of Natural History
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...
. In 1983, she suffered a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
, which eventually impaired her memory.
Much of Aubert's life after her film career is known from a personal interview in August 1987 by Jim McPherson (1938-2002) of the ''
Toronto Sun
The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...
''. He was editor of the ''Suns TV listings magazine from its launch in 1973 until his retirement in 1994.
Personal life
Aubert was married to Julius Altman, who was Jewish, and the couple fled Austria after the ''
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
'' to escape Nazi persecution. They moved to the United States after spending time in Paris.
[
She returned to the United States as the wife of millionaire Milton Greene. They divorced in 1974.
]
Death
Aubert died on the morning of July 31, 1993 at age 80 in Great Neck, New York
Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck (village), New York, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, New York, Great Neck Es ...
.
Filmography
Notes
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubert, Lenore
American stage actresses
American film actresses
Emigrants from Austria to the United States after the Anschluss
20th-century American actresses
1913 births
1993 deaths