Lynne Carver ~ The Tragic Ingenue

 

Lynne Carver was a beautiful 1930s ingenue who died young from cancer

She was born Virginia Reid Sampson on September 13, 1916 in Lexington, Kentucky. Her father, Reid Sampson, was a mining engineer. The family moved to Alhambra, California in 1931. When she was a teenager she modeled for artist Henry Clive. Lynne learned how to play the piano and took singing lessons. After graduating from high school she began her acting career on the stage. In 1934 she made her film debut in the comedy Down To Their Last Yacht  (she was billed as Virginia Reid). Then she was chosen to be a Goldwyn Girl in the musical Kid Millions. She enjoyed a short-lived romance with Howard Hughes. On March 31, 1935 she married Dr. Ralph McClung, an Alabama dentist. They split up just a year later. MGM offered her a long term contract in 1936. Lynne was given supporting roles in numerous films including Maytime, The Bride Wore Red, and A Christmas Carol.

The auburn haired beauty got the chance to show off her singing voice in the musical Everybody Sing with Judy GarlandJudy Garland. She married Nicholas Nayfack, a producer, in 1937. This marriage lasted five years. After MGM dropped her contract her career quickly stalled. During the 1940s she bits parts in the films The Human Comedy and Presenting Lily Mars. Her final film was the 1948 western Crossed Trails. Lynne was engaged to actor John Burt but she called the wedding off. In 1948 she married William Mullaney, a theatrical agent. The couple moved to New York City where she continued to act in the theater. Tragically in 1954 she was diagnosed with cancer. On August 12, 1955 she died from the disease at the young age of thirty-eight. She was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.