Lana Turner

There is some discrepancy as to whether her birth date is February 8, 1920 or 1921.

Most sources agree that 1920 is the correct year of birth. Her parents were Mildred Frances (Cowan) and John Virgil Turner, a miner, both still in their teens when she was born.

Lana herself said in her autobiography that she was one year younger (1921) than the records showed, but then this was a time where women, especially actresses, tended to "fib" a bit about their age.

In 1929, her father was murdered and it was shortly thereafter her mother moved her and the family to California where jobs were "plentiful". Once she matured into a beautiful young woman, she went after something that would last forever: stardom. She wasn't found at a drug store counter, like some would have you believe, but that legend persists. She pounded the pavement as other would-be actors and actresses have done, are doing and will continue to do in search of movie roles.

Turner's father was murdered in December 1930 after participating in an all-night crap game in San Francisco, where the family had moved. The case was never solved.

In 1937, Lana entered the movie world, at 17, with small parts in They Won't Forget (1937), The Great Garrick (1937) and A Star Is Born (1937). These films didn't bring her a lot of notoriety, but it was a start.

In 1938 she had another small part in Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) starring Mickey Rooney. It was this film that made young men's hearts all over America flutter at the sight of this alluring and provocative young woman--known as the "Sweater Girl"--and one look at that film could make you understand why: she was one of the most spectacularly beautiful newcomers to grace the screen in years.

Her auburn hair was bleached for Idiot's Delight (1939). She was withdrawn from the film, but the fact that she had become a blonde not only changed her screen image but gave her such an outgoing, swinging personality that Hollywood called her the Nightclub Queen.

By the 1940s Lana was firmly entrenched in the film business.

She had good roles in such films as Johnny Eager (1941), Somewhere I'll Find You (1942) and Week-End at the Waldorf (1945). If her career was progressing smoothly, however, her private life was turning into a train wreck, keeping her in the news in a way no one would have wanted. Without a doubt her private life was a threat to her public career. She was married eight times, twice to Stephen Crane. She also married Ronald Dante, Robert Eaton, Fred May, Lex Barker, Henry Topping and bandleader Artie Shaw. She also battled alcoholism.

Gave birth to her only child at age 22, a daughter Cheryl Christina Crane (aka Cheryl Crane) on July 25, 1943. Child's father is her 2nd ex-husband, Stephen Crane.

Campaigned for Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1944 presidential election.

Lana Turner had an acting ability that belied the "Sweater Girl" image MGM thrust upon her, and even many of her directors admitted that they knew she was capable of greatness (check out The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)). Unfortunately, her private life sometimes overshadowed her professional accomplishments. Lana Turner was born Julia Jean Mildred Francis Turner in Wallace, Idaho.

Suffered three stillbirths (in 1949, 1951 and 1956) during her life as a result of having the Rh factor.

She became involved with co-star Fernando Lamas while filming The Merry Widow (1952). He was supposed to co-star with her again in Latin Lovers (1953), but they had a falling out and Lamas was replaced in the film by Ricardo Montalban.

Was offered the role of Eloise Y. Kelly in Mogambo (1953) but she turned it down. Ava Gardner, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

February 14, 1954, CBS: This episode was an hour long tribute to help celebrate MGM's 30th anniversary. Lana Turner made a live appearance on the show and performed the "Madame Crematante" number (aka "A Great Lady Has An Interview") that Judy Garland had performed in 1946's "Ziegfeld Follies". Among the male singers/dancers featured were Steve Forrest, Edmund Purdom, and John Ericson.

According to the Richard Burton biography "And God Created Burton" Turner had an affair with the actor when they were filming The Rains of Ranchipur (1955) together.

In yet another scandal, her daughter by Crane, Cheryl Crane, fatally stabbed Lana's boyfriend, gangster Johnny Stompanato, in 1958. It was a case that would have rivaled the O. J. Simpson murder case. Cheryl was acquitted of the murder charge, with the jury finding that she had been protecting her mother from Stompanato, who was savagely beating her, and ruled it justifiable homicide. These and other incidents interfered with Lana's career, but she persevered.

The release of Imitation of Life (1959), a remake of a 1934 film (Imitation of Life (1934)), was Lana's comeback vehicle. Her performance as Lora Meredith was flawless as an actress struggling to make it in show business with a young daughter, her housekeeper and the housekeeper's rebellious daughter. The film was a box-office success and proved beyond a doubt that Lana had not lost her edge.

By the 1960s, however, fewer roles were coming her way with the rise of new and younger stars.

She still managed to turn in memorable performances in such films as Portrait in Black (1960) and Bachelor in Paradise (1961). By the next decade the roles were coming in at a trickle.

Her last appearance in a big-screen production was in Witches' Brew (1980).

Her final film work came in the acclaimed TV series Falcon Crest (1981) in which she played Jacqueline Perrault from 1982-1983. After all those years as a sex symbol, nothing had changed--Lana was still as beautiful as ever.

Was offered the role of Mrs. Cabot on the series Hotel (1983), but made so many demands that she was dropped and replaced by Anne Baxter.

Her daughter, Cheryl Crane, wrote a book about her life with her mother, her mother's 7 husbands and numerous boyfriends and living in Hollywood. It was entitled "Detour: A Hollywood Story" and was published in 1988 (ISBN:o-380-70580-X)

Although diagnosed with throat cancer in 1992, Turner continued to smoke until almost the very end of her life.

Is portrayed by Brenda Bakke in L.A. Confidential (1997)

Featured in "Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 1998).