Carolyn Jones

She was buried in Melrose Abbey Memorial Park Cemetery, Anaheim, California. The author Jacqueline Susann and Landis had worked together during the early forties and became friends. Chemotherapy did little to slow the course of the disease and she died the following year in West Hollywood, California. The character of Jennifer North in the novel Valley of the Dolls and played by Sharon Tate in the film of the same name, was based partly on Carole Landis. While appearing in the television series Capitol in 1982, she was diagnosed with colon cancer and she played many of her scenes in a wheelchair. She was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to Motion Pictures, at 1765 Vine St. Her acting career began to decline after the demise of "The Addams Family" in 1966, and while she continued to act, her roles were sporadic. Carole Landis was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California in the "Everlasting Love" section.

In 1964 she began playing Morticia Addams in the television series The Addams Family, a role which brought her success as a comedienne and a Golden Globe Award nomination. There was a scandal, however his career resumed with relative ease. By 1963 she and Spelling were separated, and by 1964 they were divorced. Her final night alive had been spent with Harrison and it was Harrison who found her body the next morning. In 1958 she shared a Golden Globe Award for "Most Promising Newcomer" with Sandra Dee and Diane Varsi, and appeared with Elvis Presley in King Creole. Landis was reported to be crushed when Harrison refused to divorce his wife in her favour and unable to cope any longer, she committed suicide by taking an overdose of barbiturates. She appeared in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1957), and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party (1957). By 1948 her career had faded, she had health problems, and with three divorces and several failed romances behind her, she entered into a romance with the actor Rex Harrison who was at the time married to the actress Lilli Palmer.

Donna Reed was cast in her role. She starred in the film that was made about this tour, Four Jills and a Jeep but the response from the public was lukewarm, and Landis's career seemed to stall. A role in House of Wax (1953) brought her good reviews, and she was cast in From Here to Eternity (also 1953), but illness forced her withdrawal. Landis too became a popular pin-up with servicemen during World War II and toured with the USO in England and North Africa. In 1953 she married aspiring filmmaker Aaron Spelling, and her film career began to gain momentum. She had two roles playing opposite the pin-up Betty Grable in Moon Over Miami and I Wake Up Screaming both 1941. She secured a contract with Paramount Studios and made her first film in 1952. In a time when many actresses were dubbed in their singing roles, Landis' own voice was considered good enough and was used in her few musical roles.

Born Carolyn Sue Baker in Amarillo, Texas, Jones joined the Pasadena Playhouse in 1947. Tall, lean, blonde and glamorous, and with a strong singing voice, Landis appeared in a string of films in the early forties, usually as the second female lead. Carolyn Jones (April 28, 1929 - August 3, 1983) was an American actress. Her first starring role as a cave girl in One Million B.C. attracted a lot of attention and made her a celebrity if not a star. She continued appearing in uncredited bit parts until being signed to a contract in 1940. She worked as a nightclub singer and hula dancer before her 1937 film debut as an extra in A Star Is Born.

By the age of 15, Landis had married and left high school, but this marriage was annulled and she set herself on a path towards a career in show business. Born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste in Fairchild, Wisconsin to a Norwegian father and Polish mother, her early life was a struggle as her father abandoned the family and left them to fend for themselves. Carole Landis (January 1, 1919 - July 5, 1948) was an American film actress.