Rita La Roy (born Ina La Roi Stuart; October 2, 1901 – February 18, 1993) was an American actress and dancer, beginning her career in 1929, and having her last significant role in 1940.

Career

La Roy appeared in over 50 films, the best known of which was ''

Blonde Venus ''Blonde Venus'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film starring Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant. It was produced and directed by Josef von Sternberg from a screenplay by Jules Furthman and S. K. Lauren, adapted from a story b ...

'', which starred

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. After her acting career, she had a school for models in Hollywood.

Early life

While the studio publicity machine claimed she had been born in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, she was actually born in the small town of

Bonners Ferry, Idaho Bonners Ferry (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is the largest city and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 census. History When gold was discovered in the East Kootenays of British ...

in 1901. Her early years saw her work as both a dress designer and a stock company actress, before moving onto vaudeville, where she became a dancer. Performing on the Pantages and Orpheum theater circuits, she was known for erotic acts, which included dances such as the "frog dance", the "

peacock dance The peacock dance or peafowl dance is a traditional Asian folk dance that describes the beauty and the movement of peacocks. There are several peacock dance traditions developed in Asia, among others are peacock dances of Myanmar, and in the we ...

" and the "cobra dance" in which her feet and legs were tied together under a stylized snakeskin so that she danced by undulating her torso."

Film career

In 1929, she made her film debut in ''

The Delightful Rogue ''The Delightful Rogue'' is a 1929 pre-Code romantic adventure film produced and distributed by RKO Pictures. The film was directed by A. Leslie Pearce, with the screenplay by Wallace Smith, based on his short story, ''A Woman Decides''. The ...

'', starring opposite matinee idol Rod La Rocque. Over the next several years, working as part of the

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

stable, she appeared in both starring and supporting roles. While her final significant role was in the 1940 comedy-mystery ''

Hold That Woman! ''Hold That Woman!'' is a 1940 American crime comedy film directed by Sam Newfield and starring the husband-and-wife team of James Dunn and Frances Gifford. The film follows the adventures of a skiptracer and his girlfriend as they attempt to rep ...

'', she had several small roles during the 1940s, including in such films as '' Sergeant York'' and '' You're My Everything''.

Post-film life

After retiring from film, for the most part, in the early 1940s, she ran the Rita La Roy Modeling School and Agency. She later wrote and produced her own shows for the local television station in Los Angeles, KTLA. For one of those programs she won an Emmy in 1948. She died of pneumonia in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

in 1993, aged 91.

Filmography

References

External links

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Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Roy, Rita 1901 births 1993 deaths American film actresses Vaudeville performers Emmy Award winners People from Bonners Ferry, Idaho Actresses from Idaho 20th-century American actresses