Jump to content

Lenore Aubert

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lenore Aubert
Aubert in 1945
Born
Eleanore Maria Leisner

(1913-04-18)April 18, 1913
DiedJuly 31, 1993(1993-07-31) (aged 80)
Years active1938–1952
Known forDr. Sandra Mornay
Notable workAbbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Spouses
Julius Altman
(m. 1938; div. 1956)
Milton Greene
(m. 1959; div. 1974)

Lenore Aubert (born Eleonore Maria Leisner,[1] April 18, 1913[note 1][1] – July 31, 1993) was a model and Hollywood actress best known for her movie roles as exotic, mysterious women.

Early years

[edit]

Aubert was born in what is now Celje, Slovenia (what was at the time the Austro-Hungarian Empire). She grew up in Vienna.[citation needed]

Career

[edit]

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[2] at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. 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.[3] Her best-known role was as Dr. Sandra Mornay, a beautiful but sinister scientist, in the 1948 horror-comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

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

Later years

[edit]

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.[citation needed]

She did volunteer work for the United Nations Activities and Housing Section and the Museum of Natural History. In 1983, she suffered a stroke, which eventually impaired her memory.[citation needed]

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. He was editor of the Sun's TV listings magazine from its launch in 1973 until his retirement in 1994.[5][6]

Personal life

[edit]

Aubert was married to Julius Altman, who was Jewish, and the couple fled Austria after the Anschluss to escape Nazi persecution. They moved to the United States after spending time in Paris.[1]

She returned to the United States as the wife of millionaire Milton Greene. They divorced in 1974.[citation needed]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1938 Bluebeard's Eighth Wife Party Guest Uncredited
1943 They Got Me Covered Mrs. Vanescu
1944 Passport to Destiny Grete Neumann
1944 Action in Arabia Mounirah al-Rashid
1945 Having Wonderful Crime Gilda Mayfair
1946 The Catman of Paris Marie Audet
1946 The Wife of Monte Cristo Countess of Monte Cristo Haydée
1947 The Other Love Yvonne Dupré
1947 I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now Fritzi Barrington
1947 The Prairie Ellen Wade
1948 The Return of the Whistler Alice Dupres Barkley
1948 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein Sandra Mornay
1949 Barbary Pirate Zoltah
1949 Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff Angela Gordon
1949 The Silver Theatre Episode: "The Farewell Supper"
1949 Suspense Episode: "The Thin Edge of Violence"
1950 Actors Studio 2 episodes
1950 Famous Jury Trials Episode: "The People vs. William Tait"
1951 Falschmunzer am Werk Madame Winter
1952 A Girl on the Road Princesse Véra (final film role)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The book Women in Horror Films, 1940s says that Aubert was born "on April 18, 1913 (although 1918 was given in publicity)."

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Mank, Gregory William (2005). Women in Horror Films, 1940s. McFarland. pp. 367–378. ISBN 9781476609553. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  2. ^ Johnson, Erskine (October 14, 1943). "Hollywood Doings". Kingsport Times. Tennessee, Kingsport. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 4. Retrieved August 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "Lenore Aubert". Issuu.
  4. ^ "Television Highlights of the Week". The Boston Globe. June 4, 1950. p. 6 - A. Retrieved May 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Cappello, Bill (February 15, 2008). "Bill's Blog: Lenore Aubert".
  6. ^ Family, Toronto Sun (October 3, 2007). "The Departed 1".
[edit]