Petite blonde lead of the 1940s who built a career out of an aloof attitude and an eye-obscuring “peek-a-boo” hairstyle. Along with many routine films, Lake did appear in a handful of fondly-remembered efforts: Preston Sturges’ “Sullivan’s Travels” (1941), Rene Clair’s “I Married a Witch” (1941), Frank Tuttle’s “This Gun for Hire” (1942) and George Marshall’s “The Blue Dahlia” (1946), the last two featuring her most appropriate co-star, the equally low-key Alan Ladd.
- Also Credited As:
Connie Keane, Constance Frances Marie Ockleman, Constance Keane
- Born:
on 11/14/1919 in Brooklyn, New York
- Died:
07-JUL-73.
- Job Titles:
Actor, Barmaid
Family
- Daughter: Diane De Toth. born on October 16, 1948
- Daughter: Elaine Detlie. born on August 21, 1941
- Father: Harry Ockleman. of German-Dutch extraction; killed in accident in February 1932
- Mother: Constance Charlotta Ockleman.
- Son: Anthony Michael de Toth. born on October 26, 1945
- Son: William Anthony Detlie. born prematurely on July 8, 1943 after Lake tripped on a lighting cable while making “The Hour Before the Dawn” (1944); died on July 15, 1943 of uremic poisoning
- Step-father: Anthony Keane. married Lake’s mother in 1933; staff artist with the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE; died on September 10, 1946
Significant Others
- Husband: Andre de Toth. married on December 16, 1944; separated in June 1951; divorced in June 1952
- Husband: John Detlie. born c. 1908; married on September 25, 1940; divorced in December 1943
- Husband: Joseph A McCarthy. married on August 28, 1955 in Traverse City, Michigan divorced in 1960
- Husband: Robert Carelton-Munro. English-born; married in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in June 1972; reportedly in the process of divorce at the time of Lake’s death
- Companion: Andy Elickson. had four-year romance which ended with his death in September 1965 before they could be married
Education
- Miami High School, Miami, Florida
Milestones
- 1939 Made film debut in “All Women Have Secrets”
- 1941 Achieved star status in “I Wanted Wings”
- 1941 Changed name to Veronica Lake
- 1942 Co-starred with Alan Ladd for the first time in “This Gun for Hire”
- 1942 Performed “A Sweater, a Sarong, and a Peekaboo Bang” with Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour in Paramount’s all-star review, “Star Spangled Rhythm”; Lake’s vocal dubbed by Martha Mears
- 1946 Made headlines when husband Andre De Toth assaulted 20 year old Seward Hewitt, a fan who tried to stroke Lake’s famous locks
- 1947 Loaned out to United Artists; acted in film directed by De Toth, “Ramrod”
- 1948 Made last film under Paramount contract, “Isn’t It Romantic?”
- 1949 De Toth arranged for her to play second lead in his 20th Century Fox production, “Slattery’s Hurricane”
- 1950 Made television debut in CBS drama, “Shadow of the Heart”
- 1951 Journeyed to Mexico to star in independent, low-budget film, “Stronghold”, released in 1952
- 1951 Lake and De Toth declared voluntary bankruptcy; $120,000 home sold at auction
- 1951 Made stage debut in Atlanta in “The Voice of the Turtle” opposite Carl Betz
- 1959 Endured three years of professional inactivity; plagued by problems with children and several physical accidents
- 1962 Accepted offer of WJZ-TV in Baltimore to host their Saturday evening movie show
- 1962 Discovered by reporter working as a barmaid in the Martha Washington Hotel, New York
- 1962 Named an innocent dupe in real-estate scam by New York State Attorney General’s Office
- 1965 Arrested for public drunkenness in Galveston TX
- 1966 Returned to film acting in Canadian “Footsteps in the Snow”
- 1970 Acted in last film (also co-produced), “Flesh Feast”
- Began working off-Broadway and in stock, then settled in England, where she appeared in “Madame Chairman” and “A Streetcar Named Desire”
- Grew up in Lake Placid NY and Miami FL
- Stage work in 1950s included road tour of “Peter Pan” and stock productions of “The Gramercy Ghost”, “Remains to Be Seen”, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, and “I Am a Camera”
- Was known as Constance or Connie Keane during her first few years in Hollywood; used stepfather’s surname
- Won third prize in a beauty contest; encouraged by her mother, she moved to Hollywood in 1938
