June Lang (born Winifred June Vlasek, May 5, 1917 – May 16, 2005) was an American film actress.

Early life

Born Winifred June Vlasek in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she was the daughter of Edith and Clarence Vlasek, After the family moved to Los Angeles, Lang trained at a school of dance and performed in revues in theaters in Los Angeles. She graduated from Beverly Hills High School.

Career

At age 16, Lang was a dancer at a vaudeville theater in Los Angeles when she left that job to seek work at the Fox Film studio. The company had her teeth straightened and changed her name from Vlasek to Lang. Lang made her film debut in 1931, with much of her early work coming in minor roles in musical and dramatic films. She gradually securing second lead roles in mostly

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...

s for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

. She played her debut feature film role in ''Young Sinners''. Noted for her fragile and demure appearance, she was usually cast as the little sister or the heroine's best friend in light comedies and adventure films. Early in Lang's career, she was a blonde when she worked for Fox Film, averaging "about one good role a year" and spending more time posing for publicity photographs while wearing a bathing suit. Her last film under her contract was ''Bonnie Scotland'' (1935), for which Fox loaned her to

Hal Roach Studios Hal Roach Studios was an American motion picture and television production studio. Known as ''The Laugh Factory to the World'', it was founded by producer Hal Roach and business partners Dan Linthicum and I.H. Nance as the Rolin Film Company on Ju ...

. Fox did not renew her contract, and during her time of "brief retirement" she changed her hair color to chestnut. An encounter with producer Darryl F. Zanuck at the Trocadero night club led to her being cast as the romantic lead in '' Captain January'' (1936) for the new 20th Century Fox. Within 12 weeks she had five significant roles in films. She soon graduated to leading roles, most notably in '' Bonnie Scotland'' (with

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo ...

, 1935), in '' The Road to Glory'' (with

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...

Warner Baxter Warner Leroy Baxter (March 29, 1889 – May 7, 1951) was an American film actor from the 1910s to the 1940s. Baxter is known for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1928 film '' In Old Arizona'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor a ...

and Lionel Barrymore—written in part by

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most ...

—1936), and as Joyce Williams in '' Wee Willie Winkie'' (directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

, with Shirley Temple,

Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...

, and

Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary '' Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made s ...

, 1937).

Personal life

Lang first married her Hollywood agent, Victor Orsatti, on May 29, 1937, but they divorced on August 5, 1937. Her reputation as a wholesome leading lady was somewhat tarnished when she married Johnny Roselli, a Chicago connected

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...

who helped control Hollywood movie unions, on April 1, 1939. Lang later said she had no idea that Rosselli was a mobster. Lang and Rosselli divorced in March, 1943.FBI FOIA
John Roselli FBI FOIA files Fox Studios had released Lang from her contract one year before she was married to Rosselli. She was released from contract in 1938, because against Fox studio orders, she left the United Kingdom, after she was cast in '' So This Is London'', which was filmed at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to ...

in London, Fox's U.K. studio.. Lang and her mother left London because they feared an impending war in Europe. Three years after marrying him, Lang divorced Rosselli, but she later found it more difficult to secure consistent film work. Lang married John Morgan in 1946 (they divorced in 1952), with whom she had a daughter. Lang semi retired from acting in 1947, after struggling as a free lancer to re-establish her film career for several years. Lang occasionally appeared in minor roles on television. Lang died in 2005 in Valley Village, California. She is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

Partial filmography

*'' Young Sinners'' (1931) - Minor Role (uncredited) *'' The Miracle Woman'' (1931) - Church Choir Singer (uncredited) *'' She Wanted a Millionaire'' (1932) - Beauty Contest Contestant (uncredited) *'' Chandu the Magician'' (1932) - Betty Lou Regent *'' I Loved You Wednesday'' (1933) - Ballet Dancer *'' The Man Who Dared'' (1933) - Barbara Novak *'' Now I'll Tell'' (1934) - Girl at Beach (uncredited) *'' She Learned About Sailors'' (1934) - Girl at Dance Hall (uncredited) *'' Love Time'' (1934) - Minor Role (uncredited) *'' Music in the Air'' (1934) - Sieglinde Lessing *'' George White's 1935 Scandals'' (1935) - Chorine (uncredited) *'' Bonnie Scotland'' (1935) - Lorna MacLaurel *'' The Country Doctor'' (1936) - Mary MacKenzie *'' Every Saturday Night'' (1936) - Bonnie Evers *'' Captain January'' (1936) - Mary Marshall *'' The Road to Glory'' (1936) - Monique La Coste *''

White Hunter White hunter is a literary term used for professional big game hunters of European or North American backgrounds who plied their trade in Africa, especially during the first half of the 20th century. The activity continues in the dozen African ...

'' (1936) - Toni Varek *'' Nancy Steele Is Missing!'' (1937) - Sheila O'Neill - aka Nancy Steele *'' Wee Willie Winkie'' (1937) - Joyce Williams *'' Ali Baba Goes to Town'' (1937) - Princess Miriam / June Lang *'' International Settlement'' (1938) - Joyce Parker *'' One Wild Night'' (1938) - Gale Gibson aka Jennifer Jewel *'' Meet the Girls'' (1938) - Judy Davis *'' Zenobia'' (1939) - Virginia *'' Forged Passport'' (1939) - Rosa *'' For Love or Money'' (1939) - Susan Bannister *'' Captain Fury'' (1939) - Jeanette Dupre *'' Inside Information'' (1939) - Kathleen Burke *'' Convicted Woman'' (1940) - Georgia Mason aka The Duchess *'' Isle of Destiny'' (1940) - Virginia Allerton *'' Redhead'' (1941) - Dale Carter *'' The Deadly Game'' (1941) - Christine Reisner *'' Too Many Women'' (1942) - Gwenny Miller *'' Footlight Serenade'' (1942) - June *''

The City of Silent Men ''The City of Silent Men'' is a lostProgressive ...

'' (1942) - Helen Hendricks *'' Stage Door Canteen'' (1943) - Herself (Cameo) *'' Flesh and Fantasy'' (1943) - Angela (uncredited) *'' Up in Arms'' (1944) - Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) *'' Three of a Kind'' (1944) - Delores O'Toole *''Lighthouse'' (1947) - Connie Armitage

References

* Quinlan, David. ''Quinlan's Film Stars''. Batsford Books, 1996 edition.

External links

* *
Photographs of June Lang
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, June American film actresses 1917 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American actresses Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Actresses from Minneapolis 21st-century American women