Claire Luce was a dancer and actress in the 1920s to the early 1950s. Reportedly, she was born on a train as it passed through Syracuse, NY. She grew up in Massachusetts, running away from home as a teenager to go to New York City to be a dancer. She performed in several stage dance and Broadway productions in the early 1920s. She then danced and performed in the Ziegfeld Follies later in the 20s. She moved into films around 1930, starring in "Up the River" with Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy. She also co-starred with Fred Astaire in the "The Gay Divorce". Other films followed, but she found her true interest acting in dramatic theater productions such as "Of Mice and Men" in the late 30s. She spent much of WWII in England doing charity work for the Allied military members. She was involved romantically with two British airmen during this time, but both were killed in action. At the end of the war she lingered in England, and became the first American actress to perform at Shakespeare's Globe Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon. Returning to the U.S. Claire performed in various Broadway and other stage productions as a serious actress. She even worked in an early television show. She was largely retired by the mid-50s, though she often lent her voice to aural recordings of reciting poetry and stage productions (such as Shakespeare). She died in Manhattan in 1989 (aged 85) after a long illness. She was a remarkably intelligent, talented, versatile, attractive actress and dancer, outlasting many of her peers.
Claire Luce was a dancer and actress in the 1920s to the early 1950s. Reportedly, she was born on a train as it passed through Syracuse, NY. She grew up in Massachusetts, running away from home as a teenager to go to New York City to be a dancer. She performed in several stage dance and Broadway productions in the early 1920s. She then danced and performed in the Ziegfeld Follies later in the 20s. She moved into films around 1930, starring in "Up the River" with Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy. She also co-starred with Fred Astaire in the "The Gay Divorce". Other films followed, but she found her true interest acting in dramatic theater productions such as "Of Mice and Men" in the late 30s. She spent much of WWII in England doing charity work for the Allied military members. She was involved romantically with two British airmen during this time, but both were killed in action. At the end of the war she lingered in England, and became the first American actress to perform at Shakespeare's Globe Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon. Returning to the U.S. Claire performed in various Broadway and other stage productions as a serious actress. She even worked in an early television show. She was largely retired by the mid-50s, though she often lent her voice to aural recordings of reciting poetry and stage productions (such as Shakespeare). She died in Manhattan in 1989 (aged 85) after a long illness. She was a remarkably intelligent, talented, versatile, attractive actress and dancer, outlasting many of her peers.
