Monday, July 09, 2012

Carole Lesley and the Illusion of Glamour


Like many Fifties teenagers, I collected favourite photos from newspapers and magazines and pasted them into scrapbooks.  The stars of that time were so glamorous; posed provocatively to show off tiny waists, beautiful breasts and legs yet, though sexy, there was nothing crude or pornographic about these pictures.  Even those actresses who created a scandal with nude calendar shots were hardly titillating. The Victorians had far worse to offer down Holywell Street.

This kind of pin up beauty is no longer the current style of feminine attraction on the screen  Take me as I am, judge me by my acting, current movie stars seem to say.  Of course, there are still some very beautiful actresses but somehow they all look alike, admittedly more natural, less painted and posed.  But also less special, individual, glamorous. Which may all be for the good.  Glamour is something of an illusion, a chimera, a false conceit.  How many of us now remember a lovely young film actress called Carole Lesley?   She was one of those starlets of the 1950’s and 60’s and as gorgeous as any of them.  She had some acting talent and might with time have improved, as did Diana Dors who became a very fine actress. Diana put on weight but took on many interesting character parts after dropping the luscious glamour image of her youth.  Somehow, Carole Lesley just didn’t make it past the beauty post.

When I met her in early 1973 I was helping out a friend who, like myself, was stuck at home with small children, counting pennies. She decided to supplement her income by taking on cleaning work for the social services  but couldn’t always make it to every client.  In such moments she called on me to take her place.  It was all unofficial but the odd fiver I made this way was like a treasure trove so I was happy to oblige.  She knew I was both reliable and unlikely to shop her. 

Lesley Dalling lived literally round the corner in a pleasant semi-detached house on a road, overlooking the railway station in New Barnet, London.  The front door was on the latch and she called me upstairs as I went in. I certainly didn’t recognise the beautiful peroxide blonde of my teenage years in the thin, sad looking woman with bleached hair showing dark roots, twisted up on her head.  I found her sitting up in bed, smoking a cigarette.  Cuddled up beside her was a small boy of about three years old, dressed in a vest and nothing else, sucking his thumb. 

I brought her a cup of tea and she asked me to sit with her for a while.  Lesley talked a lot about herself and her youth.  She was absorbed by it. I can hear her voice now as she told me that she had once met the Queen at a film premiere.
from my scrapbook
     ‘I used to go over to Paris to have my hair done and wore clothes by Maggy Rouff,' she told me, 'I was a model, you know, then I became a film star.’
I gathered that her husband, Michael, was still involved with films and would make her a star again.  When she was better.  She’d been depressed that was all. He was away on business even then on her behalf.  She seemed confused, slow, sad, no fire in her at all.  I mulled over what she had said as I went down again. Was it true or not?  Yet, I felt sure it wasn’t all fantasy.  There were still glimpses of her former loveliness. 

Despite the fact that at that time the atmosphere in the house was one of neglect, the sitting room was tidy and neat.   I noticed several attractive photos of her on the sideboard and it was then that the sudden realisation came to me.  She had mentioned the name Leslie Carol.  Could this possibly be Carole Lesley?   Running home after the job was finished and I’d bidden her goodbye for that day, I dug out my scrapbooks and found the few pictures I had. Was this glorious beauty really the pathetic woman I’d just spoken to?  It made me feel immensely sad to see that despite the youthful beauty, relentless efforts and promise, she had never risen to real fame. And this disappointment was slowly destroying her as it had so many other beautiful women of that time, caught up with the allure of stardom. 

Her real name was Maureen Carol Lesley Rippingale, born in Chelmsford on 27th May 1935.  Lesley was transfixed and compelled by the idea of stardom, the lure of the silver screen. At the age of sixteen, she ran away from home wearing her father’s shirt with two shillings and four pence in her pocket.  And she did indeed make her way to Paris where she took up modelling.  Re-naming herself Lesley Carol, she avidly attended premieres and other prominent events and managed to work her way to the Cannes Festival alongside Jayne Mansfield.  Her escort at the time was the handsome actor Richard Todd.   Sadly though, she was scarcely noticed at this event, all eyes being turned upon Jayne and her prodigious curvy assets.

Richard Todd
In 1954, Lesley was offered a seven year contract with Kenilworth pictures. Some of her minor roles in prestigious films such as Woman in a Dressing Gown, No Trees in the Street were considered as fine ones.  There was a television appearance in the 1960’s as Helen of Troy and several other film roles but somehow, she just didn’t have that special something that makes a face and figure stand out amongst the many hopefuls thronging the pages of PictureGoer.  She just didn’t grab the public imagination. In the end,  Associated decided to release her from her contract.  This just devastated her.  From then on she disappeared from the public eye altogether.  The fight had been taken out of her.  All her immense efforts had been in vain.

In August 1964 she married Michael Dalling and had two sons, the youngest of whom I met at her home.  I understand both these sons now live in the States and that, if Lesley was still alive, she would have grandchildren now. I never saw the first son though I would sometimes see Lesley walking down the street to collect him from school, the other little one with her. In February 1974, just a few months after I had given birth to my own son, I was shocked to read in the paper that she was said to have committed suicide.  I later heard that she was addicted to sleeping pills, had gone to several doctors in order to fuel her addiction, then hidden the stash of collected pills from her husband's surveillance under one of the bushes in the garden.  Her husband and relations feel sure her death was an accidental overdose, especially as she left no note.  But a couple of friends of ours have committed suicide and left not a whisper of their problems, fears, or intentions to their grieving family.  It is always so hard for those close to see the truth of a situation and we shall never enter the mind of Lesley to know what happened and whether it was indeed a tragic accident or pre-meditated.   All I can say is what I saw when I visited her sometime in 1973: a deeply depressed, once beautiful woman, still haunted by a glamorous past that had vanished like a mirage before her eyes. 

13 comments:

Unknown said...

It makes sad that you're oblivious to the hurt this could cause her 2 sons, both of whom I know. This would just wreck them. Do you think your probable embellshment of her neglect for her children, her home, and herself are worth your dramatic build up? And could it have possibly all been assessed correctly in the 30 minutes you spent with her one day? I hope they never read this. Shame on you.

Loretta Proctor said...

Priscilla, I know this is what you feel as I've read what you've said elsewhere and wonder a little why you keep following everything written about Carole after all this time. I do apologise if this seems hurtful to you but this is my experience and the truth as I encountered it and it was over several weeks, not thirty minutes. We sat and chatted several times in her bedroom when I visited and she told me even more than I have mentioned here. To assess any situation we need all the facts, as experienced by different people about those who have met a famous person. I have no wish at all to detract from Carole's dignity. Sho was a beautiful, sad lady and my heart went out to her at the time. Priscilla, there is no shame in depression or in people wishing to end their life...I have had a father who attempted to do so in a most terrible manner and three friends who sadly succeeded. I hope her sons are wise enough to have put their sad past behind them as I have with mine. But their mother was a public figure and in that sense belongs to us all.

Loretta Proctor said...

However, for your sake, I have edited out some of the details that may have upset you.

Steve Forrest. said...

Hello Lorri. I've just read your piece on Carole Leslie, about three and a half years after you put it up. It was a very good article and so was your follow up comment to Priscilla Brooks.
I saw Carole's name in the credits of a film on tv this morning and I was wondering if it was the same girl who starred in The Young Ones, with Cliff Richard. I remember her name well though because I used to buy The ABC Film Review in the early sixties, and they had a lot about ABPC films in their issues.
It's a strange game show business, some make it to the top while others don't. When you see some of the not very talented people earning tens of thousands in soaps etc. you realise a lot of it's down to being in the right place at the right time, and luck.
What a shame Carole's career didn't last longer, perhaps the studios could have possibly looked after young people like Carole a bit better.
How tragic for Carole to leave this world at such a young age, though, anyway I don't know what you think, but I'm sure she's at peace somewhere now.
Like you Lorri I've known loss through suicide, I lost my brother 26 years ago, and also a good friend of our family through suicide.
Anyway, thanks for putting that piece about Carole up.

Loretta Proctor said...

Thanks you, Steve. I'm so glad this article is still being read and people resonate with it. I'm so sad to hear of your own tragic experiences..they're all too common nowadays. Life's not easy!

I'm not sure if she was in The Young Ones..but I got a few of her films out of Lovefilm and she was so lovely. Take a look on there and see if you can find her films.

I feel Carole is at peace too.

Unknown said...

My late wife was Maureen Rippingales best friend.Both lived doors from each other and we're best friends both at school and after school.
They both had Maureen as their first name and spent most of their time in each others homes in Chelmsford.
Maureen got a job packing apples in Chelmsford but got the sack the first day.
My wife stayed at her house when she was at the film studio,and Maureen helped my wife get a job at the studio as a continuity girl.
Hope these extra facts might help someone.

Anna said...

I am 6 years late to your post. However, I found it extremely well written and informative. Carole Lesley only came to my attention after watching Diana Dors giving an interview regards her film; Yield to the Night. She also brought up the film, by the same director, called Woman in a Dressing Gown, which Carole was in. Diana relayed a story about Carole on set. Hence my interest in an actress I had not heard of. I too love researching the 'Golden Oldie' bygone days of Hollywood glamour, and she was certainly in that category - stunning woman.

Anonymous said...

I hope it maybe some comfort to Maureen's adult children, that so many years after her sad demise that people as of 2019 are still aware of her unfortunately short career. I myself had never heard of Maureen until earlier this afternoon when whilst enjoying a cup of tea I idly "leafed" through the endless rubbish that passes as TV "entertainment" and stumbled on a little gem that was previously unknown to me, which was the film "Operation Bullshine", and amongst the classic cast saw Maureen (Carole), and wondered why I had not heard more of her over the years. A small amount of surfing ultimately led me to Loretta's article on this page.

I feel it was very well written, and the spirit of its message was reasonably sensitive and sympathetic to Maureen's unfortunate plight.

Rather than impugn Loretta's post, I would hope the Maureen's grown children would choose to see a sympathetic and ongoing conversation regarding their mother as keeping her memory alive in a small way.

Unknown said...

Loretta Proctor and the anonymous commenter. I myself watched Operation Bullshine as I follow all our great british actors ie Donald Sindon and many others.and came across Carole Lesley ..thankyou Loretta for sharing your memories as without them people like me who has a loving interest in our actors will not find out more about them. It's very sad that she seemed to have took her life by suicide like many actors I follow like Nigel Green .I was trying to find out the exact location of her house not to visit and be morbid I just like knowing where they live as was a firefighter in Southgate Lo don and prob know area.date ofthis post Sat 16th May 2020 at 2p.m.hope her sons see these posts they know more than us about this so god bless them and hope they are happy that their Mummy is still remembered with fond affection ..in the past one of my fave actors was and is John Gregson and by sheer like was looking on a web page name John Gregson Actor and was able to get a picture from the gallery I wrote on there and actually spoke to his Son of the same name .I asked permission to lay flowers at his grave and they said yes and his daughter called me back and we had a chat about her dad and she told me she named her daughter GENEVIEVE after her dads film I know this is nothing to do with carole but if people interested in actors may appreciate it ... and thankyou again Loretta for your post .xx

Leslie Gee above post about carole and john Gregson said...

Leslie Gee above post .

Dave Horbury said...

Thanks for your memories of the beautiful Carole Lesley. It's so sad that she didn't achieve the success she wanted.

Neil said...

Just watching Carole Lesley on Talking Pictures tv in the 1962 film “ The Pot Carriers” which also starred Ronald Fraser and is worth watching

Dan L said...

Can anyone help me ? I've been a massive fan of Carole lesleys ever since I watched Operation Bullshine years ago �� I've been trying to locate her grave as I would love to leave some flowers to let her know she's still adored by many. I can't seem to find any information as to where she's buried. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks Dan.

Favourite Quotes

  • My home is my retreat and resting place from the wars: I try to keep this corner as a haven against the tempest outside, as I do another corner of my soul. Michelle de Montaigne
  • Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony: Mahatma Gandhi
  • Friends are people you can be quiet with. Anon.