Mara Lane Profile

Mara Lane

	(Dorothy Bolton)
1 August 28	is born in Vienna, Austria, where her father, Briton John Bolton, works for an American oil firm; he will later die in a U.S. car crash. Her mother is Russian-born pianist Olga Mironova. Her younger sister, Jacelyn Olga, will become actress Jackie / Jocelyn Lane.
?	trains for the Viennese ballet
?	lives in Russia
c. 40	goes to the United States
30 October 42	arrives aboard the Jutlandia in New York from Copenhagen, Denmark
?	attends high school in New York
9 March 48	arrives aboard the Queen Elizabeth in New York from Southampton, England
50	moves to London, England
?	is studying dress design when spotted in a restaurant by a talent scout
?	catches the eyes of the press at the International Film Festival in Venice
December 53	columnist Harrison Carroll knows: “British beauty Mara Lane, over here to test for RKO, was at the Famous restaurant with actor Laurence Harvey…”
?	is hailed a contract player for Remulus Films
54	Howard Hughes’ RKO signs her for a Hollywood contract for the upcoming Susan Slept Here
6 January 54	rejects Howard Hughes’ movie offers claiming she doesn’t want to get a build-up like Faith Domergue or Ursula Thiess and then few roles follow
April 54	Walter Winchell tells: “Pageant is enhanced by Mara Lane’s photos. She has Elizabeth Taylor’s face. And Mara resembles Jane Russell – when she inhales…”
October 54	Winchell reveals: “Now that the John Woolfs (Edna Romney) have their final decree Mara Lane will be his next…”
55	while filming Angela in Italy she catches the eye of wealthy Italian prince Alessandro “Dado” Ruspoli. He tries to get his passport back so that he can travel to Switzerland to divorce his Princess Francesca and marry Mara.
June 56	columnist Erskine Johnson writes: “Mara Lane, dubbed Britain’s answer to Marilyn Monroe before Diana Dors, is back at work after a skiing accident that busted her leg in three places. The brunet sizzler, I hear, may take the Grace Kelly route as the wife of Prince Dado Ruspoli…”
May 57	Winchell informs: “The B’way British colony hear that London starlet Mara Lane may become Prince Dado Ruspoli’s princess…”
May 59	is off to Scotland to forget her broken engagement with German playboy heir Gunther Sachs. She will stay with friends at their castle in the highlands.
January 61	columnist Dorothy Kilgallen reports: “Bob Neal, once considered the leading contender in the Debbie Reynolds marital sweepstakes, now seems interested in the actress Mara Lane…”
February 61	she, Bill Dugger, Nancy Holmes, and Paul McNamara are considered a “Palm Springs foursome”
15 August 61	marries San Antonio oilman William Dugger in a civil ceremony in London. He’s 38; she’s 31. She says they plan to live in Rome for a year and then return to the States.
?	she and her husband honeymoon in Portofino, Italy. Afterwards they plan to visit his wells in Texas and his ranch in Paraguay.
November 62	is reported passing thruogh New York on her way to rejoin her husband in Beverly Hills after filming for five months in Yugoslavia
June 72	columnist Suzy says: “The local sensation is erstwhile English actress Mara Lane’s soon-to-be-finished house. Designed and decorated by international flash Valerian Rybar, it boasts a cathedral ceiling, amongst other breathtaking features. Itäs a present to Mara from her beloved (and steadfast) friend, David McConnell, the cosmetics heir…”
14	dies in Marbella, Spain

Sources: Giseld Dervishi, Photoplay, Picture Show Annual 1954, People Today, Chronicle-Telegram, Europe?s Top Pin-Ups, The Lethbridge Herald, Traverse City Record-Eagle, Nevada State Journal, Syracuse Herald-Journal, Ironwood Daily Globe, The Zanesville Signal, Revue, The Lima News, The Palladium-Times, The Valley Independent, The Daily Gleaner, www.Ancestry.com
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Links: Filmography