File:1940s decade montage.png|Above title bar: events which happened during World War II (1939–1945): From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching "Omaha" Beach on "D-Day"; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of France; The Holocaust occurred during the war as Nazi Germany carried out a programme of systematic state-sponsored genocide, during which approximately six million European Jews were killed; The Japanese attack on the American naval base of Pearl Harbor launches the United States into the war; An Observer Corps spotter scans the skies of London during the Battle of Britain; The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the first uses of nuclear weapons, killing over a quarter million people and leading to the Japanese surrender; Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Government, on board USS ''Missouri'', effectively ending the war. Below title bar: events which happened after World War II: From left to right: The Declaration of the State of Israel in 1948; The Nuremberg Trials were held after the war, in which the prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany were prosecuted; After the war, the United States carried out the Marshall Plan, which aimed at rebuilding Western Europe; The ENIAC, the world's first general-purpose electronic computer.|420px|thumb rect 1 1 224 195 Normandy Landings rect 227 1 407 195 Battle of France rect 409 1 572 195 The Holocaust rect 1 198 148 383 Attack on Pearl Harbor rect 151 198 288 383 Battle of Britain rect 291 198 420 383 Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki rect 424 198 572 383 Surrender of Japan rect 0 384 572 411 World War II rect 1 412 125 599 Israeli Declaration of Independence rect 128 412 290 599 Nuremberg Trials rect 294 412 438 599 Marshall Plan rect 441 412 572 599 ENIAC

Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
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The 1940s was the decade that started on January 1, 1940 and ended on December 31, 1949.

The Second World War took place in the first half of the decade, which had a profound effect on most countries and people in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. The consequences of the war lingered well into the second half of the decade, with a war-weary Europe divided between the jostling spheres of influence of the West and the Soviet Union. To some degree internal and external tensions in the post-war era were managed by new institutions, including the United Nations, the welfare state and the Bretton Woods system, providing to the post–World War II boom which lasted well into the 1970s. However the conditions of the post-war world encouraged decolonialisation and emergence of new states and governments, with India, Pakistan, Israel, Vietnam and others declaring independence, rarely without bloodshed. The decade also witnessed the early beginnings of new technologies (including computers, nuclear power and jet propulsion), often first developed in tandem with the war effort, and later adapted and improved upon in the post-war era.

Politics and wars

Wars

World War II (1939–1945)

* Nazi Germany invades Poland, Denmark, Norway, Benelux, and the French Third Republic from 1939 to 1941.

* Soviet Union invades Poland, Finland, occupies Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Romanian region of Bessarabia from 1939 to 1941.

* Germany faces the United Kingdom in the Battle of Britain (1940). It was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces, and was the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign up until that date.

* Germany attacks the Soviet Union (June 22, 1941).

* The United States enter World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It would face the Empire of Japan in the Pacific War.

* Germany and Japan suffer defeats at Stalingrad, El Alamein, and Midway in 1942 and 1943.

* Normandy Landings. The forces of the Western Allies land on the beaches of Normandy in Northern France (June 6, 1944).

* Yalta Conference, wartime meeting from 4 February 1945 to 11 February 1945 among the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union—President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Premier Joseph Stalin, respectively—for the purpose of discussing Europe's postwar reorganization, intended to discuss the re-establishment of the nations of war-torn Europe.

The Holocaust, also known as The Shoah (Hebrew: '''', Latinized ''ha'shoah''; Yiddish: '''', Latinized ''churben'' or ''hurban'') is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, its allies, and collaborators. Some scholars maintain that the definition of the Holocaust should also include the Nazis' systematic murder of millions of people in other groups, including ethnic Poles, the Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, gay men, and political and religious opponents. By this definition, the total number of Holocaust victims is between 11 million and 17 million people.

* The German Instrument of Surrender signed (May 7–8, 1945). Victory in Europe Day.

* Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and August 9, 1945); Surrender of Japan on August 15.

* World War II officially ends on September 2, 1945.

Arab–Israeli conflict (Early 20th century–present)

* 1948 Arab–Israeli War (1948–1949) – The war was fought between the newly declared State of Israel and its Arab neighbours. The war commenced upon the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine in mid-May 1948. After the Arab rejection of the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (UN General Assembly Resolution 181) that would have created an Arab state and a Jewish state side by side, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria attacked the state of Israel. In its conclusion, Israel managed to defeat the Arab armies.

Major political changes

Establishment of the United Nations Charter (June 26, 1945) effective (October 24, 1945).

Establishment of the defense alliance NATO April 4, 1949.

Internal conflicts

1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine.

Victory of Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong in the Chinese Civil War.

Beginning of Greek Civil War, which extends from 1946 to 1949.

Decolonization and independence

1944 - Iceland declares independence from Denmark.

1945 - Indonesia declares independence from the Netherlands (effective in 1949 after a bitter armed and diplomatic struggle).

1946 - The French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon dissolves to the independent states of Syria and Lebanon. The French settlers are forced to evacuate the French colony in Syria.

1947 - Partitioning of the British Raj into a secular Union of India and a Muslim Dominion of Pakistan. British rule in Burma ends in 1948.

1948 - Establishment of the State of Israel.

1949 - The People's Republic of China is officially proclaimed.

Economics

US Population is 132,122,000c.

Unemployed in 1940- 8,120,000c.

National Debt is $43 Billion

Average Salary $1299

Average Teacher Salary $1441

Minimum Wage $.43 per hour

55% of US homes have indoor plumbing

Life expectancy for women is 68.2

Life expectancy for men is 60.8

Auto Deaths 34,500c.

Science and technology

Technology

The Atanasoff-Berry computer is considered the first digital electronic computer built by John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry at Iowa State University during 1937-1942.

Construction of the Colossus computer which was used by British codebreakers to read encrypted German messages during World War II.

The first test of technology for an atomic weapon is made (Trinity test) as part of the Manhattan Project.

The development of radar.

The development of ballistic missiles.

The development of jet aircraft.

The Jeep.

The development of commercial television.

The Slinky.

The microwave oven.

The invention of Velcro.

The invention of Tupperware.

The invention of the Frisbee

Science

Physics: the development of quantum theory and nuclear physics.

Mathematics: the development of game theory and cryptography.

Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki crossed the Pacific Ocean proving the practical possibility that people from South America could have settled Polynesia in pre-Columbian times.

Willard Libby developed radiocarbon dating - a process which revolutionized archaeology.

The development of modern evolutionary synthesis.

Popular culture

Film

Oscar winners: ''Rebecca'' (1940), ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1941), ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''Casablanca'' (1943), ''Going My Way'' (1944), ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945), ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (1946), ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), ''Hamlet'' (1948), ''All the King's Men'' (1949).

Some of Hollywood's most notable blockbuster films of the 1940s include: ''The Maltese Falcon'' directed by John Huston (1941), ''It's a Wonderful Life'' directed by Frank Capra (1946), ''Double Indemnity'' directed by Billy Wilder (1944), ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' directed by Vincente Minnelli (1944), ''Casablanca'' directed by Michael Curtiz (1942), ''Citizen Kane'' directed by Orson Welles (1941),"The Great Dictator directed by Charlie Chaplin (1940).",''The Big Sleep'' directed by Howard Hawks (1946), ''The Lady Eve'' directed by Preston Sturges (1941), ''The Shop Around the Corner'' directed by Ernst Lubitsch (1940), ''White Heat'' directed by Raoul Walsh (1949), ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' directed by Michael Curtiz (1942), and ''Notorious'' directed by Alfred Hitchcock, (1946). The Walt Disney Studios released the animated feature films ''Pinocchio'' (1940), ''Dumbo'' (1941), ''Fantasia'' (1941), and ''Bambi'' (1942).

Although the 1940s was a decade dominated by World War II important and noteworthy films about a wide variety of subjects were made during that era. Hollywood was instrumental in producing dozens of classic films during the 1940s, several of which were about the war and some are on most lists of all-time great films. European cinema survived although obviously curtailed during wartime and yet many films of high quality were made in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Soviet Union and elsewhere in Europe. The cinema of Japan also survived. Akira Kurosawa and other directors managed to produce significant films during the 40s.

Film Noir, a film style that incorporated crime dramas with dark images, became largely prevalent during the decade. Films such as ''The Maltese Falcon'' and ''The Big Sleep'' are considered classics and helped launch the careers of legendary actors such as Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner. The genre has been widely copied since its initial inception.

In France during the war the tour de force ''Children of Paradise'' directed by Marcel Carné (1945), was shot in Nazi occupied Paris. Memorable films from post-war England include David Lean's ''Great Expectations'' (1946) and ''Oliver Twist'' (1948), Carol Reed's ''Odd Man Out'' (1947) and ''The Third Man'' (1949), and Powell and Pressburger's ''A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946), ''Black Narcissus'' (1946) and ''The Red Shoes'' (1948), Laurence Olivier's ''Hamlet'', the first non-American film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) directed by Robert Hamer. Italian neorealism of the 1940s produced poignant movies made in post-war Italy. ''Roma, città aperta'' directed by Roberto Rossellini (1945), ''Sciuscià'' directed by Vittorio De Sica (1946), ''Paisà'' directed by Roberto Rossellini (1946), ''La terra trema'' directed by Luchino Visconti (1948), ''The Bicycle Thief'' directed by Vittorio De Sica (1948), and ''Bitter Rice'' directed by Giuseppe De Santis (1949), are some well-known examples.

In Japanese cinema ''The 47 Ronin'' is a 1941 black and white two-part Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. ''The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail'' (1945), and the post-war ''Drunken Angel'' (1948), and ''Stray Dog'' (1949), directed by Akira Kurosawa are considered important early works leading to his first masterpieces of the 1950s. ''Drunken Angel'' (1948), marked the beginning of the successful collaboration between Kurosawa and actor Toshirō Mifune that lasted until 1965.

Music

The most popular music style during the 1940s was swing which prevailed during World War II. In the later periods of the 1940s, less swing was prominent and crooners like Frank Sinatra, along with genres such as bebop and the earliest traces of rock and roll, were the prevalent genre.

Literature

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway in 1940.

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus in 1942.

The Stranger by Albert Camus in 1942.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in 1943.

Anti-Semite and Jew by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1943.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand in 1943.

No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1944.

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren in 1945.

The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank in 1947.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller in 1949.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell in 1949.

Fashion

Even with the challenges imposed by shortages in rayon, nylon, wool, leather, rubber, metal (for snaps, buckles, and embellishments) and even the amount of fabric which could be used in any one garment, the fashion industries wheels kept chugging slowly along, producing what it could. After the fall of France in 1940, Hollywood drove fashion in the United States almost entirely, with the exception of a few trends coming from war torn London in 1944 and 1945, as America's own rationing hit full force, and the idea of function seemed to overtake fashion, if only for a few short months until the end of the war. Fabrics shifted dramatically as rationing and wartime shortages controlled import items such as silk and furs. Floral prints seem to dominate the early 1940s, with the mid to late 40s also seeing what is sometimes referred to as "atomic prints" or geometric patterns and shapes. The color of fashion seemed to even go to war, with patriotic nautical themes and dark greens and khakis dominating the color palates, as trousers and wedges slowly replaced the dresses and more traditional heels due to shortages in stockings and gasoline.

People

World leaders

Chancellor Adolf Hitler Prime Minister Ion Victor Antonescu Emperor Hirohito Prime Minister Benito Mussolini General Secretary Joseph Stalin President Franklin D. Roosevelt President Harry S. Truman Prime Minister Winston Churchill Prime Minister Clement Attlee President Federico Laredo Brú - until late 1940 President Fulgencio Batista President Ramón Grau President Carlos Prío Socarrás President Charles de Gaulle Prime Minister John Curtin Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan Chairman Mao Zedong Chairman Chiang Kai-shek Reza Shah Pahlavi - until 1941 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Prime Minister and President Hồ Chí Minh Prime Minister David Ben Gurion Head of state Francisco Franco President İsmet İnönü Prime-Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru President Juan Perón President Eduardo Santos President Darío Echandía Olaya President Alberto Lleras Camargo President Mariano Ospina Pérez General Aung San President Getúlio Vargas President Romulo Betancourt Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Military leaders

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring Field Marshal Erich von Manstein Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt Marshal Ion Victor Antonescu General Hideki Tōjō General Kuniaki Koiso Field Marshal Hajime Sugiyama Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto Fleet Admiral Osami Nagano Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov Field Marshal Ivan Konev General Dwight D. Eisenhower General George Marshall General Douglas MacArthur General Omar Bradley General George S. Patton Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King Field Marshal Harold Alexander Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery Général d'Armée Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Général d'Armée Charles de Gaulle General Henri Winkelman

Activists and religious leaders

Joel Brand

Behic Erkin

Varian Fry

Mohandas Gandhi

Billy Graham

Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Necdet Kent

Aristides de Sousa Mendes

Pope Pius XII

Martha Sharp

Waitstill Sharp

Chiune Sugihara

Raoul Wallenberg

Entertainers

Dana Andrews

Jean Arthur

Fred Astaire

Mary Astor

Lauren Bacall

Josephine Baker

Joseph Barbera

Carl Barks

Anne Baxter

Jack Benny

William Bendix

Ingrid Bergman

Humphrey Bogart

Charles Boyer

Walter Brennan

James Cagney

Cab Calloway

Lon Chaney Jr.

Charles Chaplin

Montgomery Clift

Claudette Colbert

Ronald Colman

Gary Cooper

Abbott and Costello

Joseph Cotten

Joan Crawford

Bing Crosby

Dorothy Dandridge

Bette Davis

Doris Day

Olivia de Havilland

Marlene Dietrich

Walt Disney

Kirk Douglas

Irene Dunne

Duke Ellington

Alice Faye

Errol Flynn

Henry Fonda

Joan Fontaine

Clark Gable

Ava Gardner

Judy Garland

Greer Garson

Paulette Goddard

Betty Grable

Cary Grant

Sidney Greenstreet

Carl Stuart Hamblen

William Hanna

Rita Hayworth

Katharine Hepburn

Bob Hope

Lena Horne

Walter Huston

Jennifer Jones

Danny Kaye

Gene Kelly

Alan Ladd

Veronica Lake

Hedy Lamarr

Dorothy Lamour

Bert Lancaster

Laurel and Hardy

Charles Laughton

Peter Lawford

Vivien Leigh

Gene Lockhart

June Lockhart

Carole Lombard

Peter Lorre

Myrna Loy

Ida Lupino

Vera Lynn

Fred MacMurray

Fredric March

Ray Milland

Carmen Miranda

Marilyn Monroe

Margaret O'Brien

Maureen O'Hara

Gregory Peck

Walter Pidgeon

Dick Powell

Eleanor Powell

William Powell

Tyrone Power

Anthony Quinn

Claude Rains

Basil Rathbone

Ronald Reagan

Edward G. Robinson

Ginger Rogers

Roy Rogers

Cesar Romero

Mickey Rooney

Rosalind Russell

Joseph Schildkraut

Lizabeth Scott

Barbara Stanwyck

James Stewart

Elizabeth Taylor

Robert Taylor

Gene Tierney

Spencer Tracy

Lana Turner

Robert Walker

John Wayne

Orson Welles

Richard Widmark

Cornel Wilde

Jane Wyman

Loretta Young

Musicians

Marian Anderson

The Andrews Sisters

Louis Armstrong

Gene Autry

Pearl Bailey

Benny Carter

Charlie Barnet

Count Basie

Irving Berlin

Mills Brothers

Les Brown

Les Paul

Sammy Cahn

Cab Calloway

Nat King Cole

Perry Como

Bing Crosby

Jimmy Dorsey

Tommy Dorsey

Billy Eckstine

Duke Ellington

Ella Fitzgerald

Ira Gershwin

Dizzy Gillespie

Benny Goodman

Dick Haymes

Billie Holiday

Lena Horne

Betty Hutton

Mahalia Jackson

Harry James

Al Jolson

Danny Kaye

Sammy Kaye

Gene Krupa

Mario Lanza

Peggy Lee

Johnny Mercer

Glenn Miller

Charles Mingus

Vaughn Monroe

Charlie Parker

Édith Piaf

Cole Porter

Bud Powell

Max Roach

Richard Rodgers

Paul Robeson

Artie Shaw

Dinah Shore

Frank Sinatra

Kate Smith

Ink Spots

Billy Strayhorn

Ernest Tubb

Sarah Vaughan

Hank Williams

Bob Wills

Teddy Wilson

Sports

During the 1940s Sporting events were disrupted and changed by the events that engaged and shaped the entire world. The 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games were cancelled because of World War II. During World War II in the United States Heavyweight Boxing Champion Joe Louis and numerous stars and performers from American baseball and other sports served in the armed forces until the end of the war. Among the many baseball players (including well known stars) who served during World War II were Moe Berg, Joe Dimaggio, Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial (in 1945), Warren Spahn, and Ted Williams. They like many others sacrificed their personal and valuable career time for the benefit and well being of the rest of society. The Summer Olympics were resumed in 1948 in London and the Winter games were held that year in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Baseball

During the early 1940s World War II had an enormous impact on Major League Baseball as many players including many of the most successful stars joined the war effort. After the war many players returned to their teams, while the major event of the second half of the 1940s was the 1945 signing of Jackie Robinson to a players contract by Branch Rickey the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Signing Robinson opened the door to the integration of Major League Baseball finally putting an end to the professional discrimination that had characterized the sport since the 19th century.

Joe Dimaggio

Bill Dickey

Bob Feller

Josh Gibson

Hank Greenberg

Monte Irvin

Buck Leonard

Johnny Mize

Stan Musial

Satchel Paige

Branch Rickey

Jackie Robinson

Ted Williams

Boxing

During the mid-1930s and throughout the years leading up to the 1940s Joe Louis was an enormously popular Heavyweight boxer. In 1936 he lost an important 12 round fight (his first loss) to the German boxer Max Schmelling and he vowed to meet Schmelling once again in the ring. Louis's comeback bout against Schmelling became an international symbol of the struggle between the USA and democracy against Nazism and Fascism. When on June 22, 1938, Louis knocked Schmelling out in the first few seconds of the first round during their rematch at Yankee Stadium, his sensational comeback victory riveted the entire nation. Louis enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 10, 1942 in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Louis's cultural impact was felt well outside the ring. He is widely regarded as the first African American to achieve the status of a nationwide hero within the United States, and was also a focal point of anti-Nazi sentiment leading up to and during World War II.

Buddy Baer

Ezzard Charles

Billy Conn

Rocky Graziano

Joe Louis

Sugar Ray Robinson

Max Schmelling

Jersey Joe Walcott

Tony Zale

See also

1940s in television

1940s in literature

Timeline

The following articles contain brief timelines which list the most prominent events of the decade.

1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943 • 1944 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949

References

External links

Heroes of the 1940s - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

1940's.org

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Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
name	Veronica Lake
birth date	November 14, 1922
birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
death date	July 07, 1973
death place	Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
birth name	Constance Frances Marie Ockelman
other names	Constance Keane, Connie Keane
spouse	John S. Detlie (1940–1943; 2 children)André De Toth (1944–1952; 2 children)Joseph A. McCarthy (1955–1959)Robert Carleton-Munro (1972–1973) (her death)
occupation	Actress
years active	1939–1970 }}

Veronica Lake (November 14, 1922 – July 7, 1973) was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in ''Sullivan's Travels'' and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle. She had a string of broken marriages and, after her career declined, long struggles with mental illness and alcoholism.

Early life and career

Lake was born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Harry E. Ockelman, of Danish-Irish descent, worked for an oil company aboard a ship. Her father died in an industrial explosion in Philadelphia in 1932 when she was ten. Her mother, née Constance Charlotta Trimble (1902–1992), (listed as "Veronica F." on the 1920 census), married family friend Anthony Keane, a newspaper staff artist, a year later, and Lake began using his last name.

Lake was sent to Villa Maria, an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Montreal, Canada, from which she was expelled. The Keane family later moved to Miami, Florida. Lake attended Miami Senior High School in Miami, where she was known for her beauty. She had a troubled childhood and was, according to her mother, diagnosed as schizophrenic.

In 1938 Lake moved with her mother and stepfather to Beverly Hills, where her mother enrolled her in the Bliss-Hayden School of Acting. Her first appearance on screen was for RKO, playing a small role among several coeds in the 1939 film, ''Sorority House''. Similar roles followed, including ''All Women Have Secrets'' and ''Dancing Co-Ed''. During the making of ''Sorority House'' director John Farrow first noticed how her hair always covered her right eye, creating an air of mystery about her and enhancing her natural beauty. She was then introduced, while still a teenager, to the Paramount producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr. He changed her name to Veronica Lake because the surname suited her blue eyes.

Her contract was subsequently dropped by RKO. She married art director John S. Detlie, 14 years her senior, in 1940. A small role in the comedy, ''Forty Little Mothers'', brought unexpected attention. In 1941 she was signed to a long-term contract with Paramount Pictures. On August 21, 1941, she gave birth to her first child, Elaine Detlie.

1940s icon

Her breakthrough film was ''I Wanted Wings'' in 1941, a major hit in which Lake played the second female lead and was said to have stolen scene after scene from the rest of the cast. This success was followed by ''Hold Back the Dawn'' later that year. She had starring roles in more popular movies, including ''Sullivan's Travels'', ''This Gun for Hire'', ''I Married a Witch'', ''The Glass Key'', and ''So Proudly We Hail!''. Looking back at her career years later, Lake remarked, "I never did cheesecake; I just used my hair."

For a short time during the early 1940s Lake was considered one of the most reliable box office draws in Hollywood. She became known for onscreen pairings with actor Alan Ladd. At first, the couple was teamed together merely out of physical necessity: Ladd was just 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall and the only actress then on the Paramount lot short enough to pair with him was Lake, who stood just 4 feet 11½ inches (1.51 m). They made four films together.

A stray lock of her shoulder-length blonde hair during a publicity photo shoot led to her iconic "peekaboo" hairstyle, which was widely imitated. During World War II, she changed her trademark image to encourage women working in war industry factories to adopt more practical, safer hairstyles.

Although popular with the public, Lake had a complex personality and acquired a reputation for being difficult to work with. Eddie Bracken, her co-star in ''Star Spangled Rhythm'' was quoted as saying, "She was known as 'The Bitch' and she deserved the title." In that movie, Lake took part in a song lampooning her hair style, "A Sweater, A Sarong and a Peekaboo Bang", performed with Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour. Joel McCrea, her co-star in ''Sullivan's Travels'', reputedly turned down the co-starring role in ''I Married a Witch'', saying, "Life's too short for two films with Veronica Lake."

Lake's career stumbled with her unsympathetic role as Nazi spy Dora Bruckman in 1944's ''The Hour Before the Dawn''. During filming, she tripped on a lighting cable while pregnant and began hemorrhaging. She recovered, but her second child, William, was born prematurely on July 8, 1943, dying a week later from uremic poisoning. By the end of 1943 her first marriage ended in divorce. Meanwhile, scathing reviews of ''The Hour Before Dawn'' included criticism of her unconvincing German accent.

Nonetheless, Lake was earning $4,500 per week under her contract with Paramount. She had begun drinking more heavily during this period and people began refusing to work with her. Paramount cast Lake in a string of mostly forgotten films. A notable exception was ''The Blue Dahlia'' (1946), in which she again co-starred with Ladd. During filming, screenplay writer Raymond Chandler referred to her as "Moronica Lake". Paramount decided not to renew her contract in 1948.

She married film director Andre De Toth in 1944 and had a son, Andre Anthony Michael De Toth, known as Michael De Toth (October 25, 1945 – February 24, 1991), and a daughter, Diana De Toth (born October 16, 1948). Lake was sued by her mother for support payments in 1948.

Lake earned her pilot's license in 1946 and was able to fly solo between Los Angeles and New York.

Later years

After a single film for 20th Century Fox, ''Slattery's Hurricane'' (1949), her career collapsed. By the end of 1951 she had appeared in one last film (''Stronghold'', which she later described as "a dog"), filed for bankruptcy, and divorced de Toth. The IRS seized the remainder of her assets for unpaid taxes. Lake turned to television and stage work and in 1955 married songwriter Joseph A. McCarthy.

After breaking her ankle in 1959, Lake was unable to continue working as an actress. She and McCarthy divorced, after which she drifted between cheap hotels in Brooklyn and New York City and was arrested several times for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. A ''New York Post'' reporter found her working as a barmaid at the all-women's Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan. At first, Veronica claimed that she was a guest at the hotel and covering for a friend. Soon afterward, she admitted that she was employed at the bar. The reporter's widely distributed story led to some television and stage appearances, most notably in the off-Broadway revival of the musical "Best Foot Forward." (Her contract overlapped with the departing Liza Minnelli and the two briefly co-starred together.) In 1966, she had a brief stint as a TV hostess in Baltimore, Maryland, along with a largely ignored film role in ''Footsteps in the Snow''.

Her physical and mental health declined steadily. By the late 1960s Lake was in Hollywood, Florida, apparently immobilized by paranoia (which included claims she was being stalked by the FBI).

She spent a brief period in England, where she appeared in the plays ''Madame Chairman'' and ''A Streetcar Named Desire''.

When ''Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake'' (Bantam, 1972) was published, she promoted the book with a memorable interview on ''The Dick Cavett Show'', as well as an episode of "To Tell the Truth," on which the panel had to guess which of three disguised women was the "real" Veronica Lake. Two of the panelists, Bill Cullen and Peggy Cass, quickly disqualified themselves because they knew her. With the proceeds, she co-produced and starred in her last film, ''Flesh Feast'' (1970), a very low budget horror movie with a Nazi-myth storyline. She then moved to the UK, where she had a short-lived marriage with an "English sea captain", Robert Carleton-Munro, before returning to the U.S. in 1973, having filed for divorce.

Lake was immediately hospitalized. Although she had made a cheerful and positive impression on the nurses who cared for her, she was apparently estranged from her three surviving children, particularly her daughters. Elaine Detlie became known as Ani Sangge Lhamo after becoming a member of the Subud faith in New Zealand. Diana became a secretary for the US Embassy in Rome in the 1970s. Michael De Toth stayed with his mother on and off through the 1960s and 1970s. He married Edwina Mae Niecke. When Lake died he claimed her body.

Death

Lake died on July 7, 1973 of hepatitis and acute renal failure (complications of her alcoholism) in Burlington, Vermont, where her death was certified by Dr. Wareen Beeken at the Fletcher Allen Hospital and where she was seen by many staff members during her nearly two week stay. A rumor persists that she died in Montreal and was smuggled across the border to Vermont.

Her ashes were scattered off the coast of the Virgin Islands as she had requested. A memorial service was held in Manhattan, but only her son and handful of strangers attended. In 2004 some of Lake's ashes were reportedly found in a New York antique store. Her son Michael died on February 24, 1991, aged 45, in Olympia, Washington.

Lake has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6918 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the motion picture industry. She remains a legendary star today and her autographs and other memorabilia continue to draw high prices on eBay and other popular outlets.

Quotes

"I wasn't a sex symbol, I was a sex zombie." "You could put all the talent I had into your left eye and still not suffer from impaired vision."

"I've reached a point in my life where it's the little things that matter... I was always a rebel and probably could have got much further had I changed my attitude. But when you think about it, I got pretty far without changing attitudes. I'm happier with that." (1970)

References in popular culture

Barry Smolin's song "Veronica Lake" is about a sighting of a homeless Veronica Lake at Union Station in Los Angeles.

The Archie Comics character ''Veronica Lodge'' was partially named after Veronica Lake, who was in the midst of her early celebrity when the comic book character was introduced in the spring of 1942.

In 1997, the Academy Award-winning film ''L.A. Confidential'' paid homage to Lake's image and manner through Kim Basinger's starring role in an adaptation of James Ellroy's crime novel set in early 1950s Los Angeles. Basinger won an Oscar for her performance, which required her to deliberately resemble Lake. A scene included an image of Lake from ''This Gun for Hire'' screening in the background.

Jessica Rabbit from ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' was modeled on Veronica Lake and Rita Hayworth. Jessica also sports Lake's trademark peekaboo hairstyle.

The character of Ronnie Lake in the hit CBS drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' is named after her.

Her character in ''Sullivan's Travels'' inspired "Miss Lake," a song on London-based French songwriter Louis Philippe's 2007 album, ''An Unknown Spring''.

Billy Wilder's comedy ''The Major and the Minor'' has a scene in which the students of a girl's school - and their headmistress - all have peekaboo hairstyles. The boys in the scene mention "The girls at the school have an epidemic...They all think they're Veronica Lake".

In Alfred Hitchcock's suspense film ''Shadow of a Doubt'' (1943), the young daughter named Ann says her prayers before going to sleep... "God bless Mama, Papa, Captain Midnight, Veronica Lake, and the President of the United States."

Hellacopters recorded a tribute song called "Veronica Lake" on their latest album, ''Head Off!'' The song was originally written by the New Bomb Turks.

The spider in Bob Clampett's cartoon ''Eatin' on the Cuff'' puts on a Veronica Lake wig.

The Bugs Bunny cartoon ''A-Lad-In His Lamp'' features a lake called Veronica Lake.

Clips of Veronica Lake were used in ''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'', a 1982 spoof of film noir starring Steve Martin.

In the 2009 video game ''Still Life 2'', a sequel to the 2005 game, Veronica Lake is the favourite actress of the game's villain. He is obsessed with her movies, especially ''The Blue Dahlia''.

In 2010 Jack White III added a new girl to his acoustic guitar collection named Veronica Lake. It is a custom white Gretsch Rancher with a gold double pickguard and a picture of Veronica Lake on the back. He is currently playing Veronica with his band The Dead Weather.

In the Three Stooges short subject, "Higher Than A Kite", Larry Fine impersonates Veronica Lake, calling himself, "Moronica".

In ''Manhattan'' the Woody Allen character tells his young girlfriend that he's going to take her to see a Veronica Lake movie. She then jokingly confuses her with Rita Hayworth.

In ''Heavenly Creatures'', Juliet (Kate Winslet) and Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) are overheard apparently taking publicity photographs for a planned trip to Hollywood. Juliet says she'll lean back and put her hair on one shoulder and "look just like Veronica Lake".

In ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'', Veronica Lake is the location of the island Moosylvania.

In the Woody Woodpecker cartoon ''The Barber of Seville'' Woody styles his hair in a peek-a-boo and says, "Looks like Harmonica Lake."

In an episode of Are You Being Served?, Mrs. Slocombe remarks that she has been told that from the back she looks like Veronica Lake. Mr. Lucas replies that from the front she looks like Windermere Lake.

In Talespin, one character refers to a lake as "Veronica Lake" as a place known for serene fishing.

Film and television credits

+ Film
! Year	! Title	Role	Notes
1939	''Sorority House''	Coed	Uncredited, alternative title: ''That Girl from College''
1939	''''	The Attorney's New Bride	Credited as Connie Keane
1939	''Dancing Co-Ed''	One of Couple on Motorcycle	Uncredited, alternative title: ''Every Other Inch a Lady''
1939	''All Women Have Secrets''	Jane	Credited as Constance Keane
1940	''Young As You Feel''	Bit part	Credited as Constance Keane
1940	''Forty Little Mothers''	Granville girl	Uncredited
1941	''I Wanted Wings''	Sally Vaughn	First major film role
1941	''Hold Back the Dawn''	Movie Actress	Uncredited
1941	''Sullivan's Travels''	The Girl	First leading role
1942	''This Gun for Hire''	Ellen Graham	First of four films with Alan Ladd
1942	''''	Janet Henry	Second of four films with Alan Ladd
1942	''I Married a Witch''	Jennifer
1942	''Star Spangled Rhythm''	Herself
1943	''So Proudly We Hail!''	Lt. Olivia D'Arcy
1944	''''	Dora Bruckmann
1945	''Bring on the Girls''	Teddy Collins
1945	''Out of This World''	Dorothy Dodge
1945	''Duffy's Tavern''	Herself
1945	''Hold That Blonde''	Sally Martin
1946	''Miss Susie Slagle's''	Nan Rogers
1946	''''	Joyce Harwood	Third of four films with Alan Ladd
1947		Connie Dickason
1947	''Variety Girl''	Herself
1948		Susan Cleaver	Fourth and final film with Alan Ladd
1948	''''	Letty Stanton
1948		Candy Cameron
1949	''Slattery's Hurricane''	Dolores Greaves
1951	''Stronghold''	Mary Stevens
1966	''Footsteps in the Snow''
1970		Dr. Elaine Frederick	Alternative title: ''Time is Terror''

+ Television series
! Year	! Title	Role	Notes
1950	''Your Show of Shows''		1 episode
1950			1 episode
1950–1953	''Lux Video Theatre''	Various	3 episodes
1951	''Somerset Maugham TV Theatre''	Valerie	1 episode
1952	''Celanese Theatre''		1 episode
1952	''Tales of Tomorrow''	Paula	1 episode
1952	''Goodyear Television Playhouse''	Judy "Leni: Howard	1 episode
1953	''Danger''		1 episode
1954	''Broadway Television Theatre''		1 episode

References

Further reading

Oderman, Stuart, ''Talking to the Piano Player 2''. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN #1-59393-320-7.

External links

Photographs and literature

Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:American film actors Category:American people of Danish descent Category:Deaths from hepatitis Category:Deaths from renal failure Category:American people of Irish descent Category:People from Brooklyn Category:American aviators Category:Female aviators Category:1922 births Category:1973 deaths Category:Alcohol-related deaths in Vermont Category:20th-century actors

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