Turner, Lana

orig. Julia Jean Mildred Frances Turner

born Feb. 8, 1920/21, Wallace, Idaho, U.S.

died June 29, 1995, Los Angeles, Calif.

U.S. film actress.

Allegedly discovered as a teenager at a Hollywood soda fountain, she made her screen debut in 1937. A sultry, shapely blonde, publicized by MGM as the "Sweater Girl," she became a popular World War II pinup while starring in movies such as Ziegfeld Girl (1941), Honky Tonk (1941), and Johnny Eager (1942). In films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), Peyton Place (1957), and Imitation of Life (1959) she established her signature role of "good girl gone bad." Her tumultuous private life included eight marriages and the sensational 1958 stabbing death of her gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, by her 14-year-old daughter.

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▪ 1996

      (JULIA JEAN TURNER), U.S. actress (b. Feb. 8, 1920, Wallace, Idaho—d. June 29, 1995, Los Angeles, Calif.), was a sultry Hollywood glamour queen whose shapely figure was featured in a series of "Sweater Girl" films, vehicles that made her one of the most popular pinups among U.S. servicemen in World War II. Her screen roles often mirrored her tumultuous private life, which was headlined by eight marriages and the sensational 1958 stabbing death of her gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, by her 14-year-old daughter. As legend has it, the golden-haired starlet was in high school when she was "discovered" at a soda fountain by a Hollywood film journalist. After making her film debut in They Won't Forget (1937), Turner appeared as a showgirl in Ziegfeld Girl (1941) before starring opposite Clark Gable in two films, Honky Tonk (1941) and Somewhere I'll Find You (1942). She played a gangster's moll in Johnny Eager (1942) but was best remembered for her sizzling sex appeal as a murdering adulteress in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). Turner portrayed an alcoholic actress in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and earned an Academy Award nomination for her role as a neurotic mother in the blockbuster Peyton Place (1957). She had two other box-office smash hits, Imitation of Life (1959) and Madame X (1966), before her career began to slide. She made a steady stream of melodramas and turned to television soap operas in the 1970s and '80s, with roles in "The Survivors" and "Falcon Crest."

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▪ American actress

original name  Julia Jean Mildred Francis Turner 

born February 8, 1920/21, Wallace, Idaho, U.S.

died June 29, 1995, Los Angeles, Calif.

      American film actress known for her glamorous looks and sexual allure. Though her skill as an actress was limited, Turner excelled in roles that highlighted her sexuality and working-class roots. She enjoyed her greatest popularity in the 1940s and '50s, often playing the part of a “good girl gone bad.”

      Turner endured a difficult childhood. After the family moved to San Francisco, her parents separated and she was placed in a foster home (where she was abused). Soon thereafter her father was murdered. Turner was reunited with her mother, and in 1936 they moved to Los Angeles, where, as legend has it, the golden-haired starlet was “discovered” at a drugstore soda fountain by a Hollywood film journalist. That led to a small part in Warner Brothers' They Won't Forget (1937), directed by Mervyn LeRoy (LeRoy, Mervyn), who suggested she drop her nickname, Judy, for something more glamorous; she chose Lana. LeRoy took her with him when he moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1938, and she remained under contract there until 1956.

      Turner's early film roles were undistinguished, but the tight sweater she had worn in They Won't Forget prompted studio publicists to promote her as the “Sweater Girl,” and the sexy photographs she posed for were in great demand. American servicemen later made her one of their favourite pinups during World War II.

      Encouraged by this interest, MGM costarred her as a showgirl in the glamorous Ziegfeld Girl (1941). She then starred in several romantic dramas opposite some of the studio's biggest male leads, including Clark Gable (Gable, Clark) in Honky Tonk (1941) and Somewhere I'll Find You (1942) and Robert Taylor in Johnny Eager (1942). Her most memorable role, however, was that of a murderous adulteress in the film noir classic The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). Her later box office hits include The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Peyton Place (1957), Imitation of Life (1959), and Madame X (1966). Thereafter she occasionally appeared in minor film melodramas and such television soap operas as Falcon Crest.

      Turner's screen roles often mirrored her tumultuous private life. Her seven husbands included bandleader Artie Shaw (Shaw, Artie) and movie-Tarzan Lex Barker, and she was romantically linked to numerous other men. She made headlines nationwide when her 14-year-old daughter, Cheryl Crane, stabbed to death Turner's abusive gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato. Turner's account of her life, Lana—the Lady, the Legend, the Truth, was published in 1982.

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