Rare and beautiful 4.85 x 7.15-inch color 1940s magazine image, boldly signed in blue ballpoint pen in-person for inveterate autograph hound Frances Zane in the 1950s. In good condition. Gorgeous leading lady, singer and pin-up started out in bit roles in forgettable films of the late 1930s and early 1940s, billed as Constance Keane. In 1941, she landed a speaking role in I Wanted Wings, for which Paramount changed her name to Veronica Lake and contrived her trademark peekaboo hairdo. Audiences adored everything about her-- her acting, her smoky voice, her unique style-- and a star was born. She went on to star in Hold Back the Dawn (1941), Sullivan's Travels (1941), This Gun for Hire (1942), the horror-themed comedy I Married a Witch (1942), The Glass Key (1942), So Proudly We Hail! (1943), and The Blue Dahlia (1946), after which her career inexplicably fizzled. In 1973, the blonde beauty died tragically of hepatitis, aged only 50. Her autograph is highly sought and rather elusive in authentic format.

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