Claire James, 1940's IMDB
In 1986, the strange oddyssey of beauty queen and WW2-era starlet Claire James came to an end in her decrepit 3,000 square foot home at 1287 Ozeta Terrace in West Hollywood, a house her parents had bought in 1938 when the James family first moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis. The house was described at the time as having an expansive lawn and "views to Catalina."
Also in 1938, Claire was "Miss California" at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City. A reporter wrote that "the crowd goes wild in a frenzy of whistling and stomping" every time Claire makes an appearance on stage, but she got second-place, causing a disgusted Earl Carroll, nightclub impresario, to unofficially crown her the following night as the "rightful" winner. She lands an MGM contract and in 1942 marries director Busby Berkeley, but has the marriage annulled within a year. Claire marries three more times during the 1940's and early 1950's, each stormy union lasting from a few months to two years, and in between, Claire dates frequently and appears in minor roles in mostly B movies. In the midst of divorcing her last husband in 1951, she has a son, Blake. Claire's last signifigant movie role was as one of several dime-a-dance girls in the campy "The Revolt of Mamie Stover" with Jane Russell in 1956.
Claire James, second from right, with Linda Darnell at The Hollywood Canteen
htttps://s-media-cache-ako.pinimg.com. Hollywood Photos.
Claire had an equally beautiful sister, Diana, described as a "sadistic monster," a "speed freak," and a "compulsive Beverly Hills cat burglar." Diana married and divorced a cross-dressing race car driver who later becomes a biological female.
This dysfunctional family is described by Claire's niece, Catherine James, a Rock groupie, in her 2007 memoir "Dandelion." Catherine escaped her mother's vicious abuse at age 11 and ended up in an orphanage. Meanwhile, Claire and her adult son Blake share a bedroom at the house on Ozeta Terrace. The other bedrooms are used as storage closets for Claire's "amazing, silky wardrobe." A book reviewer described Blake as "an alcoholic mama's boy." According to the author of "Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen," "the house and the old Cadillacs in the garage slowly rot, and the curtains are always drawn."
Claire's sister, Diana
http://www.cate11.com/albums/album_i...96/1381004.htm
Here is Catherine James' (Claire's niece) Official Website:
http://www.cate11.com/page/page/4584998.htm
Claire James died of Cirrhosis of the liver at age 65 in 1986. Her son Blake spent much of his inherited money on drugs. On September 2, 1987, he and the girl who is driving his car are too wasted on drugs to notice a stopped panel truck and plow into it at 60 MPH, killing Blake upon impact. Soon after, Claire's brother, Robert James, has two 40-foot dumpsters delivered to Ozeta Terrace and throws everything out. Later, actor Julian Sands (the hunky blonde in "Room With a View") buys the house, which today is worth three million dollars.
Here is a youtube look at Claire in the 1942 movie "Orchestra Wives" at 1:53
• Video Link
Prev
.
ick_Powell_Show_Premiere_Episode_1961.JPG
Wiki
Linear Mode
