Linda Darnell

 Linda Darnell (October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965)

She had a fear of fire, which in a tragic and ironic way was the cause of her untimely death. Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s. She rose to fame with co-starring roles opposite Tyrone Power in adventure films and established a main character career after her role in Forever Amber (1947). Furthermore, she won critical acclaim for her work in Unfaithfully Yours (1948) and A Letter to Three Wives (1949). Notorious for her unstable personal life, Darnell was incapable of dealing with Hollywood, and landed in a downward spiral of alcoholism, unsuccessful marriages and highly publicized or scandalous affairs.She failed to receive recognition from the industry and its critics, and disappeared from the screen in the 1950s. Darnell died from burns sustained in a house fire, which started from a smoldering cigar late at night. She is buried at Union Hill Cemetery in Kennett Square, PA.