Gwen Lee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gwen Lee (November 12, 1904 - August 20, 1961) was a statuesque blonde motion picture star from Hastings, Nebraska. Her given name was Gwendolyn Lepinski. She began as a model and was discovered by a casting director. Gwen was a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1928.
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[edit] Model Who Became A Film Star
Gwen signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in August 1925. Almost immediately she was cast in two MGM films, I'll Tell The World and A Little Bit of Broadway, produced by Robert Z. Leonard. At the end of the month she acted with Mae Murray in The Masked Bride, directed by Christy Cabanne. By September 1925, Lee was selected by MGM officials to represent the Culver City, California studio as a beauty contestant for the Eastern Star Fashion and Home Exposition, which was held in October. Occasionally Gwen appeared in movies only briefly but received notice for her chic attire. One such instance was the MGM Edmund Goulding production of Sally, Irene and Mary (1925). She was in only two scenes but looked ravishing in both. In one, she wore a gorgeous costume of black satin richly trimmed with lynx fur. In the other, the actress donned an evening dress of pink satin with a wrap to match.
[edit] Court Litigation
Miss Lee was sued by her mother, Mrs. Etta Lepinski, in March 1932. The then 27-year-old actress was charged in a petition for guardianship. The suit alleged that the young actress was incompetent to handle her affairs. Specifically she was incapable of managing her jewelry and personal property, which was valued in excess of $1,000. The case was filed in Los Angeles, California Superior Court. Gwen's mother dropped the suit in April, citing improvement in her daughter's health. In May 1932 Lee was sued by the Wilshire Boulevard clothier Marks, Ltd., for failure to pay for clothes she purchased from them between April and November 1931. Also in 1932, a New York, New York cloak and suit house filed suit against her, alleging she failed to pay for clothing amounting to approximately $412.
[edit] Later Screen Performances
The actress career as a movie star continued for almost a decade into the era of sound motion pictures. Lee played Marjory in Untamed (1929), with Joan Crawford and Robert Montgomery. She would again appear with Crawford and Marie Prevost in the prison drama Paid (1930). Some highlights of the 1930s saw her in The Galloping Ghost, with famed football running back Red Grange in 1931. The same year Lee acted in the crime drama, The Lawless Woman, with Vera Reynolds. She made a western, Broadway To Cheyenne (1932), with Rex Bell. Her final film roles were in Man-Proof and Paroled From The Big House, (both 1938).
Gwen Lee died in Reno, Nevada in 1961.
[edit] References
- The Los Angeles Times, Maytime Will Have Ensemble, August 19, 1923, Page III 37.
- The Los Angeles Times, Gwen Appears, August 14, 1925, Page A9.
- The Los Angeles Times, Another Discovery, August 30, 1925, Page D18.
- The Los Angeles Times, Quartet of Beauties Who Will Vie for Eastern Star Cup, Page B2.
- The Los Angeles Times, Film Displays Fashions, October 20, 1925, Page A11.
- The Los Angeles Times, Incompetency Charge Against Gwen Lee Drops, April 1, 1932, Page A12.
- The Los Angeles Times, Actress Sued On Clothes Account, May 24, 1932, Page A8.
- The Los Angeles Times, Cloak and Suit House Action Names Gwen Lee, October 17, 1932, Page A2.
- Oakland, California Tribune, Mother Sues Film Actress, Friday Evening, March 11, 1932, Page B7.
