Fontaine La Rue fascinated me for years, but she was elusive. I wanted to know what became of her and what her life was like before and after she left films. She was Dora Rogers, the Keystone Vamp, in the 1910s, and Fontaine La Rue in the 1920s. That I knew, but what became of her?
I hit a number of dead ends. But, I was on the right track. Just before pulling out the old Ouija board from the attic and calling the spirit world, I did a blog on her, Fontaine La Rue, where are you? Fontaine didn’t get in touch, but her family did!
You can now read her story in Hairpins and Dead Ends!
They adored their grandmother and great-grandmother and were eager to tell what they remembered about her. They filled in all the missing pieces and I provided some information they didn’t know.
One thing I learned, Fontaine was short. Just over five feet. Fontaine La Rue, I concluded, was a small woman with a big name.
She was also into the paranormal; she used a Ouija board. I located her big home in Hollywood, the one built with her “picture” money. I visited her final resting spot in Calvary Cemetery.
As grateful as I am to her family for telling me about their mysterious relative, I have often wondered what would have happened had I dusted off my old Ouija board and tried to contact Fontaine myself?
Closeups and Canvases 