Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste ; January 2nd 1919-July 5th 1948) was an American movie star and famous pin-up girl of the 1930s and 40s.
She was born in Wisconsin, the youngest of five children, and despite her legal father being listed as Alfred Ridste, who left the family shortly after her birth, she was likely the child of her mother Clara's second husband Charles Fenner, who likewise left the family within two years. The family relocated to San Bernardino, California when Frances was four, and she herself left for San Francisco at age fifteen to pursue a career in show business.
Renaming herself 'Carole' after Screwball Comedy icon Carole Lombard, and selecting 'Landis' out of a phone book, she also dyed her hair from brown to blonde, and started out as a Hula dancer. She quickly worked her way up to become a popular lounge singer with Carl Ravazzo Orchestra, and then later headed for Hollywood at the age of 17. After six months there, she met Busby Berkley at an audition, and he helped her get a contract with Warner Brothers. She made her debut as an extra in A Star Is Born (1937), and appeared in various westerns as a bit player, also doing plenty of pin-up modelling. Her contract was ended prematurely in 1938, and she went back to modelling, radio and stage work, until a fortuitous meeting with Hal Roach. During this time, she also had slight cosmetic surgery to alter her nose and chin.
Cast in One Million B.C. as Loana, a beautiful cavewoman in a Fur Bikini, she became an instant sex symbol and was nicknamed 'The Ping Girl' - a name she did not like, believing it referred to a man's erection - and was signed by 20th Century Fox. A condition of her signing was to begin an affair with studio head Darryl Zanuck and, when she chose to end the relationship, she was assigned mainly roles in B-movies.
She also proved very popular with the war effort, as she toured numerous army bases, and was known for spending more time with the troops than any other Hollywood star. She later wrote a book about the tours titled Four Jills In A Jeep, and starred in the later film adaptation - a musical, where her voice was deemed good enough to not be dubbed. She appeared in a few other musicals too. She also starred in the Broadway musical A Lady Says Yes, with Jacqueline Susann, with whom she was rumored to have an affair.
Carole was known for her numerous short marriages that rarely lasted longer than a few months, giving her a reputation as a floozy that did not help her image or career. Rex Harrison was the great love of her life, but unfortunately they were both married at the time and, although she filed for divorce from her spouse, he would not leave his for her. On the news that he would go overseas for a role, and fearing distance spelled the end of the affair, coupled with fear of her looks fading as she approached 30, she committed suicide on July 5th 1948 at the age of 29. Prophetically, she had once been quoted as saying "I will not and would not grow old". Her final film to be released was Brass Monkey, a British production that was not released in America until 1951. Her last filmed performance was Noose.
The character Jennifer North in Valley of the Dolls was based on her. She was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
Selected filmography:
- A Star Is Born (1937)
- Varsity Show (1937)
- Blondes at Work (1938)
- One Million B.C. (1940)
- Moon over Miami (1941)
- I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
- Four Jills in a Jeep (1944)
- Noose (1948) - final performance
- Brass Monkey (1949) - released posthumously
Tropes associated with her work:
- As Herself: She plays herself in Four Jills in a Jeep. The only difference is that her real-life husband at the time was given an Adaptation Name Change from Thomas Wallace to Ted Warren. She actually wore her own wedding dress in the scene as well.
- The Cast Show Off:
- In an era where many stars were dubbed in movie musicals, she was deemed good enough to do her own singing in Four Jills in A Jeep and other musicals. She had previously worked her way up as a singer in San Francisco.
- The film I Wake Up Screaming is a noir rather than a musical, but she still gets a song called "The Things I Love".
- The Danza: She plays Carol in her small role in the film Blondes at Work.
- Disowned Adaptation: She had no creative control over Four Jills in a Jeep and disliked how it was Lighter and Softer than what she'd written.
- Dye Hard: One of the famous blonde bombshells of the late 30s and early 40s, but she was actually a natural brunette. She dyed her hair back brown in the hopes of being offered more serious roles but it didn't take.
- Embarrassing Nickname: She hated her nickname 'The Ping Girl' and actually refused to attend a party Hal Roach threw to introduce her as such.
- Friendship on the Set: She was close friends with Cesar Romano, first meeting on the film Dance Hall and later playing love interests in A Gentleman At Heart.
- Leg Focus: She first got famous for pin-up photos that showcased her legs. She herself said."You see when the boys needed someone to pose in a skin-tight white bathing suit, go sleigh riding in shorts, or climb a ladder in a skirt they would yell 'Get Landis!' and Landis was willin'. That made everybody happy except, maybe, the goody-goods and the bluenoses and I suspect they took a second peek now and then."
- Ms. Fanservice: With a reputation as 'The Ping Girl', her beauty and sex appeal overshadowed her talent.
- Romance on the Set:
- She had an affair with Kay Francis during the filming of Four Jills in a Jeep that, although she maintained they were merely Just Friends, the latter's diaries made it explicit that it was sexual. She was also rumoured to have had an affair with Jacqueline Susann during a production of The Lady Says Yes.
- She was in a relationship with Busby Berkley himself during the movie Varsity Show and he wanted to marry her, but his mother wouldn't allow it.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: She was such a shining example of the trope in real life that she inspired a fictional example in Valley of the Dolls - Jennifer was Jacqueline Susann's way of immortalising her.
- Star-Making Role: One Million BC put her on the map.
- Those Two Actors: She and Betty Grable starred in Moon Over Miami, I Wake Up Screaming and Four Jills in a Jeep.
- What Could Have Been:
- She was supposed to appear in only a few scenes in the musical Varsity Show. When another dancer quit, she was put in the big dance finale.
- She was offered a Paramount contract, but turned it down to star in the stage production Once Upon A Night that ended up closing after only two performances.
- She was offered the role in Sand And Blood on the condition that she dye her hair brown. As Hedy Lamarr had been the first choice, she didn't want to be the
Poor Man's Substitute and refused. The role went to Rita Hayworth. - She replaced Joan Davis in Moon Over Miami.
