Lenore Aubert (born Eleonore Maria Leisner, April 18, 1913The book ''Women in Horror Films, 1940s'' says that Aubert was born "on April 18, 1913 (although 1918 was given in publicity)." – July 31, 1993) was a model and Hollywood actress best known for her movie roles as exotic, mysterious women.

Early years

Aubert was born in what is now

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

(what was at the time the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

). She grew up in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

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 ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of ...

'' at the La Jolla Playhouse in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. 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. Her best-known role was as Dr. Sandra Mornay, a beautiful but sinister scientist, in the 1948 horror-comedy ''

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'' is a 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton (director), Charles Barton. The film features Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), who has partnered with Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert) in or ...

''. On June 4, 1950, Aubert co-starred in "People vs. William Tait", an episode of the television court show '' Famous Jury Trials''.

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 The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Activities and Housing Section and the Museum of Natural History. In 1983, she suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, 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 The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...

''. He was editor of the ''Suns TV listings magazine from its launch in 1973 until his retirement in 1994.

Personal life

Aubert was married to Julius Altman, who was Jewish, and the couple fled Austria after the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'' to escape Nazi persecution. They moved to the United States after spending time in Paris. She returned to the United States as the wife of millionaire Milton Greene. They divorced in 1974.

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aubert, Lenore American stage actresses American film actresses Emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to the United States 20th-century American actresses 1913 births 1993 deaths