Priscilla Lawson

 Priscilla Lawson, born Priscilla Jones Shortridge (March 8, 1914 – August 27, 1958)

She was an American actress best known for her role as Princess Aura in the original Flash Gordon serial (1936). Lawson was a professional model 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. However, her film career was over within five years. At one time married to movie actor Alan Curtis, she joined the armed forces under her married name in 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. Lawson divorced Curtis in 1940. In later life, she managed a stationery shop in Los Angeles, California. On August 27, 1958, Lawson died at 44 in Monrovia, California, due to cirrhosis and upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by a duodenal ulcer. She is buried at Live Oak Memorial Park in Monrovia, California.