Suspicious Facts About Carole Landis, The Tragic Blonde
Before there was Marilyn Monroe, there was Carole Landis. Known to her fans as “The Ping Girl,” Landis was Hollywood’s favorite bodacious blonde…for all of about 15 minutes. In her short career, she didn’t snag any Academy Awards, but she did snag a husband or two…or four. Her tumultuous off-screen romances ultimately led to her tragic and unexpected suicide. Or was it foul play? Read on and decide for yourself.
1. Her Life Was Always A Mystery
Carole Landis—if that was even her real name—was born on New Year’s Day in 1919 in Fairchild, Wisconsin. Less than thirty years later, her lover would—allegedly—discover her lifeless body on the floor of her bathroom. And while her suicide is definitely a mystery, the circumstances surrounding her birth were equally suspicious.
2. She Was An Enigma
Landis’ birth is one of those riddles wrapped up in an enigma, stuffed into a paradox, and then boxed in a quandary. Frankly, there are only two things we know for sure about Landis’ birth. One: her real name was Frances Lillian Mary Ridste.
Two: Clara Ridste was her mother. Oh, and she was, actually, born on New Year’s Day. But the identity of her father?
Well, that’s a lot less clear. And a lot more scandalous.
3. Her Father Abandoned Her
At the time of her birth, Landis’ mother was married to the railroad-drifting mechanic, Alfred Ridste. Under suspicious circumstances and for unexplained reasons, Alfred abandoned the family shortly after Landis’ birth.
He didn’t exactly write a going away letter, but it looks like his motives for leaving had something to do with Landis herself.
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4. She Had Daddy Issues
Carole Landis’ biographer, E. J. Fleming, put forth a plausible theory to unravel the odd circumstances of Landis’ birth. He put forth the idea that Landis wasn’t, in fact, Alfred’s child.
He claimed that there was sufficient evidence to support the idea that Landis was the child of her mother’s second husband, Charles Fenner. Either way, Landis couldn’t keep a father...
