Lili Damita (born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré; 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 Blaye (; oc, Blaia ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. For centuries, Blaye was a particularly convenient crossing point for those who came from the north and went to Bordea ...

, France, on 10 July 1904. Her father was an officer. 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.

Early career in revue, modeling and German film

As a teenager, she was performing in popular

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Br ...

s, eventually appearing in the Revue at the Casino de Paris. She worked as a

photographic model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Though mo ...

. Offered a role in film as a prize for winning a magazine beauty competition in 1921, she appeared in several

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s before being offered her first leading role in ''

Das Spielzeug von Paris ''Das Spielzeug von Paris'' (English title ''Red Heels'') is an Austrian silent film released in 1925 and directed by Michael Curtiz. It was the first film to feature French actress Lili Damita in the leading role. Plot A young British bohemi ...

'' (1925) by Hungarian-born director

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

. She was an instant success, and Curtiz directed her in two more films: '' Fiaker Nr. 13'' (1926) and '' Der goldene Schmetterling'' (1926). Damita continued appearing next in German productions directed by

Robert Wiene Robert Wiene (; 27 April 1873 – 17 July 1938) was a film director of the silent era of German cinema. He is particularly known for directing the German silent film ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' and a succession of other German Expressionism, ...

('' Die große Abenteuerin''; 1928),

G.W. Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...

('' Man spielt nicht mit der Liebe''; 1926) and British director

Graham Cutts John Henry Graham Cutts (1884 – 7 February 1958), known as Graham Cutts, was a British film director, one of the leading British directors in the 1920s. His fellow director A. V. Bramble believed that Gainsborough Pictures had been built ...

( ''The Queen Was in the Parlour''; 1927).

Hollywood career

In 1928, Damita was invited to Hollywood by

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...

and made her American film debut in '' The Rescue''. She was leased out to various studios, appearing with stars and leading men such as

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank H ...

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

and

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...

. Her films included

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fre ...

successes '' The Cock-Eyed World'' (1929), the semi-silent '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' (1929) and ''

This Is the Night This Is the Night may refer to: Film * ''This Is the Night'' (1932 film), an American pre-Code comedy film, Cary Grant's feature film debut * ''This Is the Night'' (2021 film), an American drama film Music * "This Is the Night", fourth track on ...

'' (1932).

Personal life

Following a lengthy affair with Curtiz, she married unknown actor

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, freque ...

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. The couple had an acrimonious divorce in 1942. According to her ex husband's memoir My Wicked, Wicked Ways, Damita was unstable and violent throughout the tumultuous relationship. She is portrayed by

Barbara Hershey Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...

in the TV film ''

My Wicked, Wicked Ways ''My Wicked, Wicked Ways'' is an autobiography written by Australian-born American actor Errol Flynn with the aid of ghostwriter Earl Conrad. It was released posthumously in 1959 and became immensely popular for its cynical tone and candid depic ...

'' (1985) based on Flynn's autobiography. While living in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intrac ...

, Damita married Allen Loomis in 1962, a retired Fort Dodge, Iowa, dairy product manufacturer, and spent part of each year living there. They divorced in the mid-80s. During the

Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khmer Rouge, supported by North Vi ...

(

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 ...

reign), her son Sean Flynn was working as a freelance

photo journalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

under contract to ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine when he and fellow journalist

Dana Stone Dana Hazen Stone (April 18, 1939; disappeared April 6, 1970) was an American photojournalist who worked for CBS, United Press International, and Associated Press during the Vietnam War. Biography Stone first traveled to Vietnam in 1965. Be ...

went missing on the road south of

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

, on 6 April 1970. 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 Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

on 21 March 1994, in

, aged 89. She was interred in the Oakland Cemetery in Fort Dodge, Iowa, her last husband's hometown.

Selected filmography

Lili Damita-Gary Cooper in Fighting Caravans

Selected stage musicals

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

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* *
Photographs of Lili Damita
dead link
Photographs and literature

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