Priscilla Lawson

Priscilla Lawson (born Priscilla Jones Shortridge, March 8, 1914 – August 27, 1958), was an American actress best known for her role as Princess Aura in the original Flash Gordon serial (1936).

Priscilla Lawson
Lawson in 1936
Born
Priscilla Jones Shortridge

(1914-03-08)March 8, 1914
Indianapolis, Indiana
DiedAugust 27, 1958(1958-08-27) (aged 44)
Los Angeles, California
OccupationFilm actress
Years active1935-1941
Spouse(s)Gerald Lawson (m. 1932-1933; his death)
Alan Curtis
(m.1937-1940; divorced)
Parent(s)Elisabeth (née Hess) and Elmer Shortridge

Early years

Born in St. Paul, Indiana, Lawson was the daughter of Elmer Shortridge, a railroad yard foreman and machinist, and his wife, Elizabeth Shortridge née Hess.[1]

Career

Lawson was a professional model[2] by her early twenties and was named Miss Miami Beach in 1935, after which she was employed as an Earl Carroll chorus girl at the Miami Casino. This gained her a contract with Universal Studios, which used her in a variety of small roles. However, in 1936 she was cast in the serial Flash Gordon as the voluptuous daughter of the villain, Ming the Merciless. Princess Aura's rivalry with Dale Arden for Flash Gordon's affection was one of the centerpieces of the serial and gained Lawson cult figure status.

Roy Kinnard wrote in Science Fiction Serials that "Lawson's notable physical assets were responsible for incurring the wrath of censors" in the filming of Flash Gordon.[3] Co-star Jean Rogers told him that censors ordered retakes of Chapter 1 of the serial with Lawson "wearing slightly less revealing garb."[3]

Her screen career ended in 1941.[4]

Personal life

Lawson was married to:

  • Gerald A. Lawson (1906-1933), a furniture salesman, on 8 March 1932; he died the following year of croupous pneumonia.
  • Alan Curtis (1909-1953), an American movie star, in November 1937. They divorced in 1940.[5]

Later life

After her second marriage ended, Lawson enlisted in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. An unverified rumor claims she lost a leg in an accident while serving in the Army. Another version is that she lost a leg in a 1937 car crash. However, her Flash Gordon co-star Jean Rogers denied that Lawson had lost a leg, and it was also rejected in a biographical review in an Indianapolis journal.

In later life, she managed a stationery shop in Los Angeles, California, and worked for two pottery companies as a finisher.

Death

On August 27, 1958, Lawson died at 44 in Monrovia, California, due to cirrhosis and upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by a duodenal ulcer. She was interred at Live Oak Memorial Park in Monrovia.[6]

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1935His Night OutHatcheck GirlUncredited
1935The Great ImpersonationMaidUncredited
1936Dangerous WatersValparaiso Bar Girl - Back to WallUncredited
1936Don't Get PersonalBridesmaidUncredited
1936Sutter's GoldNative GirlUncredited
1936Flash GordonPrincess AuraSerial
1936The Phantom RiderDance-Hall GirlSerial, Uncredited
1936Yours for the AskingMinor RoleUncredited
1936Straight from the ShoulderMinor RoleUncredited
1936Wives Never KnowLaboratory AssistantUncredited
1936The Big Broadcast of 1937Minor RoleUncredited
1936Rose BowlFlorence Taylor
1936The Accusing FingerHat Check GirlUncredited
1936College HolidayStudent / Phone OperatorUncredited
1937Internes Can't Take MoneyNurseUncredited
1937King of GamblersGraceUncredited
1937Double WeddingFelice
1937The Last GangsterGirl in DiveUncredited
1938Arsène Lupin ReturnsSwitchboard OperatorUncredited
1938The First Hundred YearsMary Brown - Lynn's SecretaryUncredited
1938The Girl of the Golden WestNina Martinez
1938Test PilotMabel
1938Three ComradesFrau Brunner - Sanatorium ClerkUncredited
1938The Toy WifeDark WomanUncredited
1938Heroes of the HillsMadeline Reynolds
1938Three Loves Has NancyGertie - at the PartyUncredited
1939The WomenHairdresser #1Uncredited
1941Billy the KidBessie - BarmaidUncredited, (final film role)
gollark: Columbus found a greener than usual part of Antarctica, and then the whole North America myth made its way into popular culture as a real thing.
gollark: Yes. North America isn't real.
gollark: Suuuuuure he did.
gollark: I thought it'd be something like a fraction of a second for all of human history.
gollark: Wait, only a billion?

References
  1. "Father of Actress, Miss Lawson, Dies". The Oshkosh Northwestern. Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Associated Press. March 15, 1939. p. 10. Retrieved April 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Typical Cinderellas". Ironwood Daily Globe. Michigan, Ironwood. January 8, 1937. p. 14. Retrieved April 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Kinnard, Roy (1998). Science Fiction Serials: A Critical Filmography of the 31 Hard SF Cliffhangers; With an Appendix of the 37 Serials with Slight SF Content. McFarland. p. 39. ISBN 9780786437450. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  4. "Priscilla Lawson" at the AFI Film Catalog
  5. "Not Wanted". Pottstown Mercury. Pennsylvania, Pottstown. Associated Press. March 14, 1940. p. 13. Retrieved April 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. (2 volume set). McFarland. p. 430. ISBN 9781476625997. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
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