Lane Sisters

The Lane Sisters were a family of American singers and actresses. The sisters were Leotabel (Leota) (October 25, 1903 – July 25, 1963), Dorothy (Lola) (May 21, 1906 – June 22, 1981), Rosemary (April 4, 1913 – November 25, 1974), and Priscilla Lane (June 12, 1915 – April 4, 1995).

Lola, Rosemary, and Priscilla Lane had a successful singing act as the "Lane Sisters" that transitioned into film careers, beginning with 1938's Four Daughters, the first of four films in which they starred together. Leota Lane did not find the same success as her sisters and left Hollywood for New York before their breakthrough. A fifth sister, Martha, did not enter show business. Actress Gale Page was not related to the Lane Sisters, but starred as the fourth sister in their films.

Sisters

Early lives

The sisters were from a family of five daughters. Leotabel (Leota) (October 25, 1903 – July 25, 1963), Dorothy (Lola) (May 21, 1906 – June 22, 1981), Rosemary (April 4, 1913 – November 25, 1974), and Priscilla (June 12, 1915 – April 4, 1995), were born to Dr. Lorenzo A. Mullican and his wife, Cora Bell Hicks. Their sister, Martha (1905–????) did not enter show business. The first three children had been born in Macy, Indiana, but the family moved in 1907 to Indianola, Iowa, a small college town south of Des Moines. Here Dr. Mullican had a dental practice. The Mullicans owned a large house with 22 rooms, some of which they rented out to students attending nearby Simpson College.