Lili Damita


Lili Damita was a French-American actress and singer who appeared in 33 films between 1922 and 1937.

Early life and education

Lili Damita was born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré in Blaye, France on 10 July 1904. She was educated in convents and ballet schools in several countries, including her native France, as well as Spain and Portugal. At 14, she was enrolled as a dancer at the Opéra de Paris.

Early career in revue, modeling and German film

As a teenager, she was performing in popular music halls, eventually appearing in the Revue at the Casino de Paris. She worked as a photographic model. Offered a role in film as a prize for winning a magazine beauty competition in 1921, she appeared in several silent films before being offered her first leading role in Das Spielzeug von Paris by Hungarian-born director Michael Curtiz. She was an instant success, and Curtiz directed her in two more films: Fiaker Nr. 13 and Der goldene Schmetterling. Damita continued appearing next in German productions directed by Robert Wiene, G.W. Pabst and British director Graham Cutts.

Hollywood career

In 1928, Damita was invited to Hollywood by Samuel Goldwyn and made her American film debut in The Rescue. She was leased out to various studios, appearing with stars and leading men such as Maurice Chevalier, Laurence Olivier, James Cagney, Gary Cooper and Cary Grant. Her films included box office successes The Cock-Eyed World, the semi-silent The Bridge of San Luis Rey and This Is the Night.

Personal life

In 1935, she married unknown actor Errol Flynn, who became one of Hollywood's biggest box office attractions, with whom she had a son, Sean Flynn. Following the marriage, she retired from the screen. The couple had an acrimonious divorce in 1942. She is portrayed by Barbara Hershey in the TV film My Wicked, Wicked Ways based on Flynn's autobiography. While living in Palm Beach, Florida, Damita married Allen Loomis in 1962, a retired Fort Dodge, Iowa, dairy products manufacter, and spent part of each year living there. They divorced in the mid-80s.
During the Cambodian Civil War, her son Sean Flynn was working as a freelance photo journalist under contract to Time magazine when he and fellow journalist Dana Stone went missing on the road south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 6 April 1970. Although Damita spent an enormous amount of money searching for her son, he was never found, and in 1984 he was declared legally dead.

Death

Lili Damita died of Alzheimer's disease on 21 March 1994, in Palm Beach, Florida, aged 89. She was interred in the Oakland Cemetery in Fort Dodge, Iowa, her last husband's hometown.

Selected filmography

YearFilmRoleNotes
1922Maman Pierre
1922La belle au bois dormant
1922L'Empereur des pauvresRiquette
1922La fille sauvageHenriette Villedieu
1923Corsica
1924Une femme dans la nuit
1924The ClairvoyantSuzanne
1925
1925Das Spielzeug von ParisCélimène aka Susana Armard
1926Fiaker Nr. 13
Lilian
1926Geheimnisse einer Seele
Uncredited
1926Der goldene Schmetterling
Lilian
1926Man spielt nicht mit der Liebe
CalixtaLost film
1927The Queen Was in the ParlourPrinzessin Nadya von Kraya
1927Die berühmte Frau
Sonja Litowskaja
1928Die große Abenteuerin
1928Scandal in Paris
1929The RescueLady Edith TraversIncomplete film
1929The Bridge of San Luis ReyCamila Filmed as both silent and part-talkie, only the silent version of this film survives
1929The Cock-Eyed WorldMariana Elenita
1930Let Us Be Gay
Kitty
1931The Bachelor Father
alternate language version
1931Fighting CaravansFelice
1931The Woman BetweenJulie Whitcomb
1931Friends and LoversMrs. Alva Sangrito
1932This Is the NightGermaine
1932One Hour with You
Mitzi Olivieralternate language version
1932The Match KingMarta Molnar
1933Goldie Gets AlongGoldie LaFarge
1934A Man Has Been StolenAnnette
1935Brewster's MillionsRosalie La Rue
1935Frisco KidBelle Morra
1936The Devil on HorsebackDiane Corday
1937Escadrille of ChanceEdwige

Selected stage musicals