Lenore Aubert
Lenore Aubert (born Eleonore Maria Leisner,[1] April 18, 1913[note 1][1] – July 31, 1993) was a model and Hollywood actress best known for her movie roles as exotic, mysterious women.
Lenore Aubert | |
|---|---|
 Aubert in 1945 | |
| Born | Eleanore Maria Leisner April 18, 1913 |
| Died | July 31, 1993 (aged 80) Great Neck, Long Island, New York, U.S. |
| Years active | 1938–1952 |
| Known for | Dr. Sandra Mornay |
| Notable work | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) |
| Spouses | Julius Altman
(m. 1938; div. 1956)Milton Greene
(m. 1959; div. 1974) |
Early years
Aubert was born in what is now Celje, Austro-Hungarian Empire. She grew up in Vienna.
Career
In New York, she found work as a model and was eventually offered a stage role as Lorraine Sheldon in The Man Who Came to Dinner[2] at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. She began her U.S. film career in the early 1940s, taking the French-sounding screen name Lenore Aubert.
Her European accent limited her choice of roles, and she played such parts as a Nazi spy and a French war bride. She was most fond of her role in the 1947 film I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now, playing glamorous entertainer Fritzi Barrington.[3] Her best-known role was as Dr. Sandra Mornay, a beautiful but sinister scientist, in the 1948 horror-comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
On June 4, 1950, Aubert co-starred in "People vs. William Tait", an episode of the television court show Famous Jury Trials.[4]
Later years
Aubert's film career was basically over by the end of the 1940s. She and her husband then moved back to New York City, starting a garment business. A few years later, the couple divorced. She went back to Europe, only to return to the United States in 1959.
She did volunteer work for the United Nations Activities and Housing Section and the Museum of Natural History. In 1983, she suffered a stroke, which eventually impaired her memory.
Much of Aubert's life after her film career is known from a personal interview in August 1987 by Jim McPherson (1938-2002) of the Toronto Sun. He was editor of the Sun's TV listings magazine from its launch in 1973 until his retirement in 1994.[5][6]
Personal life
Aubert was married to Julius Altman, who was Jewish, and the couple fled Austria after the Anschluss to escape Nazi persecution. They moved to the United States after spending time in Paris.[1]
She returned to the United States as the wife of millionaire Milton Greene. They divorced in 1974.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Bluebeard's Eighth Wife | Party Guest | Uncredited |
| 1943 | They Got Me Covered | Mrs. Vanescu | |
| 1944 | Passport to Destiny | Grete Neumann | |
| 1944 | Action in Arabia | Mounirah al-Rashid | |
| 1945 | Having Wonderful Crime | Gilda Mayfair | |
| 1946 | The Catman of Paris | Marie Audet | |
| 1946 | The Wife of Monte Cristo | Countess of Monte Cristo Haydée | |
| 1947 | The Other Love | Yvonne Dupré | |
| 1947 | I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now | Fritzi Barrington | |
| 1947 | The Prairie | Ellen Wade | |
| 1948 | The Return of the Whistler | Alice Dupres Barkley | |
| 1948 | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | Sandra Mornay | |
| 1949 | Barbary Pirate | Zoltah | |
| 1949 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff | Angela Gordon | |
| 1949 | The Silver Theatre | Episode: "The Farewell Supper" | |
| 1949 | Suspense | Episode: "The Thin Edge of Violence" | |
| 1950 | Actors Studio | 2 episodes | |
| 1950 | Famous Jury Trials | Episode: "The People vs. William Tait" | |
| 1951 | Falschmunzer am Werk | Madame Winter | |
| 1952 | Une fille sur la route | Princesse Véra | (final film role) |
Notes
- The book Women in Horror Films, 1940s says that Aubert was born "on April 18, 1913 (although 1918 was given in publicity)."
References
- Mank, Gregory William (2005). Women in Horror Films, 1940s. McFarland. pp. 367–378. ISBN 9781476609553. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- Johnson, Erskine (October 14, 1943). "Hollywood Doings". Kingsport Times. Tennessee, Kingsport. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 4. Retrieved August 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Lenore Aubert". Issuu.
- "Television Highlights of the Week". The Boston Globe. June 4, 1950. p. 6 - A. Retrieved May 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- Cappello, Bill (February 15, 2008). "Bill's Blog: Lenore Aubert".
- Family, Toronto Sun (October 3, 2007). "The Departed 1".