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Lenita Lane
Lenita Lane
Lenita Lane
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Lenita Mary Lane (December 16, 1901 – March 15, 1995) was an American stage and film actress. She appeared in several Broadway plays before turning to movies. Her more than two dozen movie appearances include The Mad Magician (1954) and The Bat (1959).

Key Information

Personal life

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Lane was born on December 16, 1901, in Parnassus, Pennsylvania. In April 1936 she married director Crane Wilbur. They remained married until his death in 1973. Lane died in Culver City, California on March 15, 1995, aged 93. She is buried with her husband at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.[1]

Filmography

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References

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Lenita Lane

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Lenita Lane (May 6, 1903 – March 15, 1995) was an American stage and film actress known for her early career in Broadway theater and her subsequent appearances in more than two dozen films, including memorable roles in the horror and thriller genres. After performing in several Broadway productions, Lane transitioned to motion pictures, where she built a steady screen presence over multiple decades. Her notable film credits include "The Mad Magician" (1954) and "The Bat" (1959), as well as earlier work such as "While America Sleeps" (1939). She was married to actor and director Crane Wilbur. Lane died on March 15, 1995.

Early life

Birth and background

Lenita Lane was born Lenita Mary Lane on December 16, 1901, in Parnassus, Pennsylvania, USA. Information about her family, childhood, or other early background in Pennsylvania is scarce, with available biographical sources providing no further details beyond her birth date and place.

Stage career

Broadway appearances

Lenita Lane began her Broadway career with her debut in the 1924 production Flame of Love. She appeared in a total of six Broadway productions between 1924 and 1936, including Kept in 1926, Congratulations in 1929, Penny Arcade in 1930, Border-Land in 1932, and Timber House in 1936. These credits reflect her work as a performer in Broadway productions during the 1920s and 1930s.

Film career

Early and uncredited roles

Lenita Lane began her screen career in the late 1930s, appearing predominantly in uncredited bit parts and minor supporting roles that contributed to the Hollywood studio system. Her earliest documented film appearance came in 1939 with an uncredited role as Mrs. Spencer's Friend in the all-female ensemble comedy The Women, directed by George Cukor. That same year, she had a credited part as Mary Miller in the short film While America Sleeps. During the 1940s, Lane continued to secure small roles in a variety of films, many of them uncredited, often portraying nurses, society women, hotel managers, or unnamed friends and acquaintances. Credited performances from this period include Mrs. Whitman in Girl in 313 (1940), Bentley's Nurse in Manhattan Heartbeat (1940), Dorothy Sawter in For Beauty's Sake (1940), Cataloni's Nurse-Receptionist in Man at Large (1941), Dr. Anne Bonney in Dead Men Tell (1941), and Lucy Manderley in Castle in the Desert (1942), a Charlie Chan mystery. She also appeared credited as Mrs. Clark in The Devil on Wheels (1947), directed by her husband Crane Wilbur, and uncredited as Mrs. Flora Sanford in Home Sweet Homicide (1946). Into the early 1950s, Lane's work remained largely in the realm of minor, frequently uncredited parts, exemplified by her role as Ms. Scott in I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. (1951). Her early film contributions reflected the typical path of many supporting players in the studio era, filling atmospheric or functional roles in both A-pictures and lower-budget productions with little on-screen recognition. This pattern of small-scale involvement dominated her career until she began receiving more prominent credited roles in the mid-1950s.

Notable credited roles

Lenita Lane's most notable credited film roles came in the 1950s, consisting of supporting appearances in horror and mystery productions that marked the culmination of her screen career. In The Mad Magician (1954), she portrayed Alice Prentiss in the 3D horror film starring Vincent Price, with the screenplay contributed by her husband Crane Wilbur. Her final credited performance was as Lizzie Allen in The Bat (1959), directed by Crane Wilbur and featuring prominent co-stars Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead in a thriller centered on a masked killer terrorizing a mansion's inhabitants. This role in The Bat stands as her most visible contribution to cinema, reflecting her involvement in mid-century genre films through her connection to Wilbur. Lane retired from acting following The Bat, with no further credited screen appearances recorded.

Personal life

Marriage to Crane Wilbur

Lenita Lane married actor, director, and screenwriter Crane Wilbur in April 1936. She was his fifth wife. Their marriage endured until Wilbur's death in 1973, at which point Lane became a widow. Wilbur directed Lane in her final two films, The Mad Magician (1954) and The Bat (1959).

Later years and death

Retirement and passing

Lenita Lane retired from acting after appearing in the 1959 film The Bat. Following retirement, she and her husband Crane Wilbur relocated to Toluca Lake, California. Public information about her activities during this period is limited. Lane died on March 15, 1995, in Culver City, Los Angeles County, California, at the age of 93. No cause of death is documented in available sources. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California, in the Lincoln Terrace section, companion lawn crypt (Map #H80, Lot 4229, Crypt 6). The inscription on her marker reads "In Loving Memory Wife of Crane Wilbur."
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