Bombshell ~ MBW ~ West Hollywood

Beverly Blvd. ~ West Hollywood

"I wasn't a sex symbol, I was a sex zombie." - Veronica Lake

One of the 1940's most lusted-after actresses, Veronica Lake lived 50 tumultuous years. After rising to stardom in 1941's "I wanted wings", her career went through various fits and starts before coming to a halt in the 50's. After breaking her ankle in 1959, Lake was unable to continue working as an actress, and had lost all her money due to divorces and the IRS. She moved to New York and drifted between cheap hotels in Brooklyn and Manhattan. In a downward spiral, she was arrested several times for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. A reporter found her working as a barmaid at the all women's Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan, and wrote a widely read article led to some television and stage appearances which went nowhere.

Her physical and mental health declined steadily and by the late 1960s Lake was in Hollywood, Florida, apparently immobilized by paranoia (which included claims she was being stalked by the FBI). Lake was 50 when she died of hepatitis and acute renal failure (complications of her alcoholism) near Burlington, Vermont. Her ashes were scattered off the Virgin Islands.

She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6918 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the motion picture industry, and said of her life: I was always a rebel and probably could have got much farther had I changed my attitude. But when you think about it, I got pretty far without changing attitudes. I'm happier with that. (sourced partially from Wikipedia)