Born #OTD 1904: Lili Damita

Warner Bros.

Upon this day, one hundred and twenty years ago, model, dancer, and actress Lili Damita graced the world with her presence, born in the fair town of Blaye, France. After a degree of success in the German cinema, she ventured to Hollywood in 1928, working for various studios over the next decade.

In 1935, she would take Errol Flynn, a young actor yet to achieve renown, as her husband. Alas, their union was fated to be short-lived, and Flynn later claimed her demeanor to be erratic and even violent throughout their seven years of marriage. Many years hence, their son, Sean Flynn, a photojournalist, vanished without a trace in Cambodia, during the brutal reign of the Khmer Rouge. He was never to be found, and was presumed dead in 1984. 

Lili Damita succumbed to the cruel clutches of Alzheimer's disease in the year 1994, at the age of 89.

Photo: A promotional still from the 1932 film 'The Match King' features a cheerful Lili Damita emerging from a small, old-fashioned bathtub, a towel chastely wrapped about her form. Behind her stands an older woman, played by Greta Meyer, holding up another towel to provide additional cover.

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