Rita La Roy (born Ina La Roi Stuart; October 2, 1901 – February 18, 1993) was an American actress and dancer, beginning her career in 1929, and having her last significant role in 1940.

Career

La Roy appeared in over 50 films, the best known of which was ''

Blonde Venus ''Blonde Venus'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film starring Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant. It was produced, edited and directed by Josef von Sternberg from a screenplay by Jules Furthman and S. K. Lauren, adapted fro ...

'', which starred

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. After her acting career, she had a school for models in Hollywood.

Early life

While the studio publicity machine claimed she had been born in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, she was actually born in the small town of

Bonners Ferry, Idaho Bonners Ferry (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is the largest city in and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The Porthill-Ryk ...

in 1901. Her early years saw her work as both a dress designer and a stock company actress, before moving onto vaudeville, where she became a dancer. Performing on the Pantages and Orpheum theater circuits, she was known for erotic acts, which included dances such as the "frog dance", the "

peacock dance The peacock dance or peafowl dance is a traditional Asian folk dance that describes the beauty and the movement of Peafowl, peacocks. There are several peacock dance traditions developed in Asia, including the peacock dances of Myanmar, of the w ...

" and the "cobra dance" in which her feet and legs were tied together under a stylized snakeskin so that she danced by undulating her torso.

Film career

In 1929, she made her film debut in '' The Delightful Rogue'', starring opposite matinee idol

Rod La Rocque Roderick Ross La Rocque (November 29, 1898 – October 15, 1969) was an American actor. Biography La Rocque was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edmund La Rocque and Ann (née Rice) La Rocque. His father was of French-Canadian descent and his mo ...

. Over the next several years, working as part of the

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

stable, she appeared in both starring and supporting roles. While her final significant role was in the 1940 comedy-mystery '' Hold That Woman!'', she had several small roles during the 1940s, including in such films as ''

Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known by his rank as Sergeant York, was an American soldier who was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor fo ...

'' and '' You're My Everything''.

Post-film life

After retiring from film, for the most part, in the early 1940s, she ran the Rita La Roy Modeling School and Agency. She later wrote and produced her own shows for the local television station in Los Angeles, KTLA. For one of those programs she won an Emmy in 1948. She died of pneumonia in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh-most populous city in Southern California ...

in 1993, aged 91.

Filmography

References

External links

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Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Roy, Rita 1901 births 1993 deaths American film actresses American vaudeville performers People from Bonners Ferry, Idaho Actresses from Idaho 20th-century American actresses RKO Pictures contract players Deaths from pneumonia in California