Louise Brooks Trivia

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She left her home at the age of 16 to join Ruth St. Denis' and Ted Shawn's Denishawn modern dance company. (imdb.com)

Considered three of her favorite films to be An American in Paris (1951), Pygmalion (1938) and The Wizard of Oz (1939). (imdb.com)

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#44). [1995] (imdb.com)

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives." Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 106-107. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. (imdb.com)

Was the chief example for a type of women called "Flapper," which evolved in the 1920s.

Was a dancer-showgirl before becoming an actress.

Her father was a lawyer.

She was raised in Wichita.

By 1946, she had to take a $40-a-week job as a sales girl at Saks Fifth Avenue to make a living.

Provided the inspiration for British band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark`s 1991 Hit "Pandora`s Box." The Promo Video Clip features lead Singer Andy McCluskey inter cut with images from the artists Film of the same name.

Her favorite actress was Margaret Sullavan.

In Neil Gaiman`s novel, American Gods, the character Czernobog called her the "greatest American actress of all time."

Her first autobiography, entitled `Naked On My Goat`, was thrown into an incinerator by her own hand.

Marlene Dietrich was sitting in Georg Wilhelm Pabst`s office, ready to accept the role of Lulu in Pandora`s Box at the same time Brooks walked out on her Paramount contract.

Was the inspiration for the stage play "Show Girl," which, in turn, inspired the comic strip "Dixie Dugan." She was also the inspiration for Italian cartoonist Guido Crepax`s comic strip/graphic novel "Valentina." Brooks and Crepax became pen pals as a result.

A 20th Century-Fox talent scout spotted a girl named Linda Carter in a play and offered her a screen test. "Linda Carter" was actually Brooks, who was attempting a comeback. (July 1938)

Filed for bankruptcy. (6 February 1932)

Briefly the mistress of CBS founder William Paley, who secretly provided her with a yearly pension for the rest of her life.

Opened a dance studio in Beverly Hills. It failed because of a financial scandal involving her business partner. On 30 July 1940, Brooks boarded a train back to Kansas, leaving Hollywood for good. She opened a dance studio in Wichita and wrote a booklet, "The Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing."

After retiring, went on to write many witty and intelligent essays on the film industry.

As a child, one of her best friends was Vivian Vance who played Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy" (1951).

Trying to make a Hollywood comeback after working in Europe, she turned down an offer to star with James Cagney in the classic The Public Enemy (1931). The role could have revitalized her career.

Interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rochester, New York, USA.

After retiring from cinema in 1938, she was found working as a $40-a-week salesgirl at Saks Fifth Avenue.