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Biography
Veronica Lake was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 14, 1919
(some sources say 1922) with the birth name of Constance Frances
Marie Ockleman. Her father worked for an oil company as a ship
employee. While still a child, Veronica's parents moved to Florida
when she wasn't quite a year old. By the time she was five, the
family had returned to Brooklyn. She was expose to acting early
when she starred in a primary school play. It was to be her only
stage outing, at least for a while. When Veronica was 12, her
father died in an explosion on the oil ship. One year later her
mother wed Anthony Keane and Veronica took his last name as her
own. From that point on the family moved around a lot, living in
Canada, New York State, and Miami, Florida. By the time Veronica
had graduated from high school in Miami, she was already known as
one of the local Miami beauties. She felt that she was ready for
films. Her mother and step-father moved to a small home in Beverly
Hills, California in 1938 where Mrs. Keane enrolled her lovely
daughter in the well known Bliss Hayden School of Acting in
Hollywood. She didn't have to wait long for a part to come her way.
Her first movie was as one of the many coeds in the RKO film,
SORORITY HOUSE in 1939. It was a minor part, to be sure, but it was
a start. Veronica quickly followed up that project with two other
films. ALL WOMEN HAVE SECRETS and DANCING CO-ED, both in 1939, were
again bit roles for the pretty young woman from the East Coast, but
she didn't complain. After all, other would-be starlets took a
while before they ever received a bit part. Veronica continued her
schooling, in 1940, while taking a bit roles in two more films,
YOUNG AS YOU FEEL and FORTY LITTLE MOTHERS. Prior to this time, she
was still under her natural name of Constance Keane. Now, with a
better role in 1941's I WANTED WINGS, she was asked to change her
name and Veronica Lake was born. Now, instead of playing coeds, she
had a decent, speaking part. Veronica felt like an actress. The
film was a success and the public loved this bright newcomer.
Paramount, the studio she was under contract with, then assigned
her to two more films that year, HOLD BACK THE DAWN and SULLIVAN'S
TRAVELS. The latter received good reviews from the always tough
film critics. As Ellen Graham, in THIS GUN FOR HIRE the following
year, Veronica now had top billing. She had paid her dues and was
on a roll. The public was enamored with her. In 1943, Veronica
starred in only one film. She portrayed Lieutenant Olivia D'Arcy in
SO PROUDLY WE HAIL! with Claudette Colbert. The film was a
box-office smash. It seemed that any film Veronica starred in would
be an unquestionable hit. However, her only outing for 1944, in THE
HOUR BEFORE DAWN would not be well-received by wither the public or
the critics. As Nazi sympathizer, Dora Bruckmann, Veronica's role
was dismal at best. Critics immensely disliked her accent because
it wasn't true to life. Her acting itself suffered because of the
accent. Mediocre films trailed her for all of 1945. It seemed that
Veronica was dumped in just about any film to see if it could be
salvaged. HOLD THAT BLONDE, OUT OF THIS WORLD, and MISS SUSIE
SLAGLE'S was just a waste of talent for the beautiful blonde. The
latter film was a shade better than the previous two. In 1946,
Veronica bounced back in THE BLUE DAHLIA with Howard Da Silva. The
film was a hit, but it would be the last decent film for Veronica.
Paramount continued to put her in pathetic movies. After 1948,
Paramount discharged the once, prized star and she was on her own.
In 1949, she starred in the Twentieth Century film SLATTERY'S
HURRICANE. Unfortunately, another weak film. She was not on the big
screen again until 1952 when she appeared in STRONGHOLD. By
Veronica's own admission, the film "was a dog." From 1952 to 1966,
Veronica made television appearances and even tried her hand at the
stage. Not a lot of success for her at all. By now alcohol was the
order of the day. She was down on her luck and drank heavily. In
1962, Veronica was found living in an old hotel and working as a
bartender. She, finally, returned to the big screen in 1966 in
FOOTSTEPS IN THE SNOW. Another drought ensued and she appeared on
the silver screen for the last time in 1970's FLESH FEAST a very
low budget film. On July 7, 1973, Veronica died of hepatitis in
Burlington, Vermont. The beautiful actress with the long blonde
hair was dead at the age of 53.
Biography courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com).
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Veronica Lake
