LAURETTE TAYLOR

Laurette Taylor was a stage and film actress from the 1900s to the 1940s. She is as famous for her private life as for her performing, because she is widely considered to have been bisexual, and some of her lovers included Nazimova, Tallulah Bankhead, and Dorothy Arzner. She appeared in solely three films: Peg o' My Heart, Happiness, and One Night in Rome (all adapted from her stage triumphs). She is better known for her work on Broadway in such productions as: The Ringmaster, Alias Jimmy Valentine, and The Glass Menagerie in 1945 (where she made an amazing comeback after having made limited appearances for many years due to severe alcoholism). In 1960, a play called "Laurette", based on her life, was produced with Judy Holliday in the lead role, but it closed during previews due to Holliday's illness. In 1963, a musical adaptation of this play, renamed "Jenny", opened on Broadway with Mary Martin in the starring role. For many years, director George Cukor tried to make a film version of Miss Taylor's life, but never succeeded. Taylor passed away in 1946 at the age of 63.