A-list star quit Hollywood to work in bar died 'penniless' after tragic death

Veronica Lake, who was born Constance Frances Marie Okleman in Brooklyn, New York, captivated audiences when she graced screens in the 1940s. Despite starring in notable films such as This Gun for Hire and Sullivan's Travels, Lake's career had faded by the time she was 30. Known for her blonde locks and strikingly good looks, the actress suddenly disappeared from cinema screens almost as quickly as she appeared. In the early 1940s she was a superstar, adored by audiences and advertisers. She was one of five forties divas on whom the persona of Jessica Rabbit in the 1988 movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit was based with the others being Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Gene Tierney and Jayne Mansfield.

She made 26 movies and at the peak of her career, she earned $4,500 (£2,900) a week. According to a media outlet, in 1962 Lake was discovered working as a cocktail waitress and hostess in "a second-rate New York cocktail lounge". However, she would later confirm she was not down and out. "I'm sick and tired of having people ask me about that," she told an interviewer later. "I was paying $190 a month rent then and that's a long way from being broke."

According to her memoir she penned with the help of the celebrated ghostwriter Donald Bain she did not want to be rescued and enjoyed working in a bar.

In her book, Lake shared she made the decision to leave Hollywood in 1952. "I said, 'The hell with you, Hollywood,'" she wrote. "I've never been back."

"People felt very sorry for me," wrote Lake. "But I really enjoyed the job... I seem to have found peace. Spare me the high pressures of success. I've been there."

The actress, who was reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia as a child, allegedly turned to alcohol during the height of her fame to relieve herself from the symptoms.

In 1951, shortly after the IRS had seized their home due to unpaid taxes, she and her then-husband Andre DeToth filed for bankruptcy.

After three marriages, Lake had a brief comeback in the 1960s and early 1970s, including television appearances, stage work, and two low-budget films, Footsteps in the Snow (1966) and Flesh Feast (1970),

The troubled star was just 50 years old and penniless when she died of hepatitis in 1973.

According to the New York Times, Lake's ashes remained at a Vermont funeral home until 1976 when her friend, Donald Bain, paid $200 and had them shipped to her two close friends. The pair honoured Lake's wishes to spread her ashes in the waters off Miami.

However, the two apparently kept a small portion of the ashes, which were reportedly located at a New York antique store.