BIRTH: October 16, 1923
DEATH: April 10, 1965
AGED: 41 years
DIED FROM: Fire in home, burned 90% of her body. Not sure of the cause of the fire although cigarettes may be the likely culprit but not sure if it was Linda or her friend.
REAL NAME: Monetta Eloyse Darnell
MARRIED: 3 Times
AFFAIRS: Howard Hughes, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Italian actor Giuseppe Amato, Vic Orstti. Dated Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper, George Montgomery, Kay Keyser, Eddie Albert..etc, etc, etc.,
CHILDREN: 1 adopted daughter
NICKNAME: Filmdom’s Most Eligible Bachelorette.
TALENT: she loved to paint and draw
KNOWN FOR: her exquisite beauty
I am taking a major risk…why? This is, I believe, Joel’s favourite actress and I hope I do this amazing gal justice since she is not well known which is sad. If Joel has anything more to add, please let me know in your comment. This is a gal that I always wanted to know more about even when I was a kid because she was not only strikingly beautiful, but she seemed intelligent and and full of spunk. She deserved a lot more than what she was given, partly, I believe, due to Darryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox, who lusted after her but whom she rejected. You can see that he made sure she just didn’t get the parts she deserved due to the creep but most of them were creeps who had power and the almighty casting couch. She grew up one of 5 kids whom her mom saw stars in front of her beautiful girl and decided to capitalize on her daughter’s beauty lying about her age, mind you, I don’t think Linda minded at the time but she was only 13! When they headed to Hollywood and Hollywood found out about her young age, they actually told her to go home until she was of age! When she returned, still young, in my humble opinion, she starred in films from the get go with people believing she was much older than her 16/17 yrs. Her mom had a bad reputation for being a bully on set and nasty, with Linda, finally, kicking her out of her life. Linda actually loved painting, travelling and didn’t care much about the whole scene and had few Hollywood friends except for Ann Miller.
She did have bad taste in men, with her first husband introducing her to alcohol which led her to a downward spiral of alcoholism and her so-called love of her life, Joseph L Mankiewicz using her for 6 years before dropping her to stay with his wife calling her a nice gal but with terrifying personal problems. She did deal with depression and even a couple of suicide attempts while trying to get sober. She was staying with her former secretary and friend, when, in the middle of the night, she awoke to fire in the home. She got her friend’s daughter and friend to the 2nd storey window and they jumped but fearing the fall, she tried to find a different way out. She was burned over 90% of her body and died a day later. What a horrible way to go for someone who deserved an Oscar nod, if not the Oscar for A Letter to 3 Wives and who just wanted to be loved.
FILMS
1. A Letter To Three Wives-1949
2. My Darling Clementine-1946
3. Blood and Sand-1941
4. Fallen Angel- 1945
5. Unfaithfully Yours-1948
6. Night Without Sleep-1952
7. Forever Amber-1947
8. Hangover Square-1945
9. Star Dust-1939
10. The Mark Of Zorro-1940
I haven’t seen many of her films so, after, Blood and Sand, I chose movies that I would want to see in order, mind you there are other films I want to see not even listed. Which are your favourite films of hers? Have you seen any?
