There is luck in stardom that an actress can reinvent herself or re-enter the Hollywood market as an adult actress and then there are tragedies where the actress is just about to enjoy her new found fame when an irreversible illness strikes or when she disappears from view and is then found dead with a note of apology to a son.
After having looked up information on the careers of some female artists, I have come to the conclusion that there is a small proportion of actresses that seek stardom who never strong enough to resist the pressures of being behind the set. It would be presumptuous to assume that sad stories resulting in a tragic ending for an upcoming starlet is just something that came around in the sixties or fifties. Here I wanted to touch on the lives of two promising actresses, Suzan Ball and Natalie Wood.
I was not aware of Suzan Ball until I read about some supporting work that she did. What a tragedy that she had tumour growths on her leg that went malignant causing her career to end. Back in the fifties the cancer treatment was not as sophisticated as it is today and I would like to think that are attitude towards employing a disable actress are better. One of her legs was amputated because of the cancer and she was given a prosthesis, was then married and did appear again in film but her future ended very prematurely. Her film career lasted only about three years ending with Chief Crazy Horse in 1955.
Another actress who met a tragic ending was Natalie Wood who had managed to mature in films and was accepted for many roles but met a sad ending perhaps because she had lost her balance on the boat she liked to travel on. Natalie Wood was known for her acting alongside James Dean who also had a brief career. When one reads about the fact that she had likely drunk and taken some pills before that tragic moment one questions what exactly caused her to fall overboard.
Everybody knows that pills and alcohol make a terrible mix. In any case, she left a bereaved husband and family and many fans were shocked by the unexpected demise. A later investigation revealed that one of her wrists was injured during an earlier accident making it impossible for her to grab hold of a rock and stay afloat. So if there was foul play, she might have been purposely thrown over because the killer knew she could not stay afloat for long.
These are two of the tragedies to hit Hollywood in the last century. Hopefully today's actress will seek early treatment for cancer if it is diagnosed and stay clear of pill and alcohol mixes.
