Rae Randall was an aspiring actress from Canada who sadly took her own life
She was born Sigrun Solvason on December 15, 1897 in Saskatchewan, Canada. Her mother and father had both immigrated from Iceland. Rae was the seventh of nine children. At the age of eighteen she moved to Los Angeles, California to become an actress. On July 16, 1924 she married Fred R. Hessert, a fifty-nine year old mining engineer. She landed bit parts in the films The Godless Girl and The King Of Kings. The lovely blonde also worked as a double for Greta Garbo. Her husband was not supportive of her career and they separated in 1928. Rae moved into a small studio apartment and covered the walls with photos of herself and Greta Garbo. Cecil B. DeMille gave her a small role in his 1932 epic Sign Of The Cross. Unfortunately her acting career never took off and she became very depressed. Tragically on May 4, 1934 she committed suicide by swallowing cyanide. She was only thirty-six years old. A note was found that said "I would like to be cremated and my ashes scattered without ceremony at all." Rae was cremated at Grandview crematory in Los Angeles and her ashes were scattered as she requested. Her estranged husband Fred told reporters "She always said she could be as great a star as Greta Garbo. She died pursuing that dream of stardom."
