Suzanne Kaaren was born on March 21, 1912 in Brooklyn, New York. When she was a teenager she won a high-jumping contest. She wanted to compete in the Olympics but her parents wouldn't let her. Suzanne started modeling and was hired to be one of the original Rockettes. She signed a contract with 20th Century Fox in 1933. Suzanne was given small ...
[on first meeting John Wayne] I was in some little club down in Mexico with a group of people--and Wayne, who could drink with the best of them--came up and stated he wanted to dance with me. A Mexican general I was with told him, "No". A big fight ensued, and the police came and took Duke away!
2
[on working with Bela Lugosi in The Devil Bat (1940)] What a gentleman. He always kissed my hand goodnight. He took the film . . . very seriously. What a distinguished man.
3
[on working with The Three Stooges in Disorder in the Court (1936)] What fun! "Disorder in the Court" is the biggest moneymaker of all the Stooge comedies. I only did it as a lark--I had a little time when Jules White saw me dancing and said, "With those legs, you've gotta do it".
Interviewed in Tom Weaver's book "Science Fiction Confidential" (McFarland & Co., 2002).
3
The second wife of actor Sidney Blackmer, she lived in his family home in Salisbury, North Carolina, after his death in 1973 and stayed there until it was ravaged in a fire (by a rolled-out log she had burning in a fireplace) in 1984. She later deeded the burned-out home to her son, Jonathan, a Washington attorney. Her second son is named Brewster.
4
Arrived in Hollywood under contract to 20th Century-Fox and later MGM, but in a most erratic career that continually moved from unbilled roles to co-star parts. Best known probably as the young ingénue in one of Bela Lugosi's lesser horrors The Devil Bat (1940), which had Lugosi as a madman who raises bats and trains them to suck victim's blood at will.
Had two sons - Jonathan Blackmer and Brewster Blackmer.
7
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. offered her a part as one of the Ziegfeld Follies at the age of 15, but her parents refused him.
8
Made news in the 1980s when she refused to move from her apartment building after it was purchased by Donald Trump. He wanted to evict her in order to tear down the building, but after going to court, she was allowed to stay. In 1998, it was ruled that Trump could turn the apartments into condos, and she was, therefore, given $750,000 compensation.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Cotton Club
1984
The Duchess of Park Avenue (uncredited)
Rationing
1944
Information Girl (uncredited)
I Married an Angel
1942
Simone (uncredited)
What's the Matador?
1942
Short
Dolores Sanchez
Rags to Riches
1941
Glenda Hayes
Roar of the Press
1941
Angela Brooks
The Devil Bat
1940
Mary Heath
The Ghost Comes Home
1940
Nightclub Flower Girl (uncredited)
City of Chance
1940
Mrs. Williams (uncredited)
Coat Tales
1939
Short
Model
The Women
1939
Princess Mara (uncredited)
Miracles for Sale
1939
Magician's Assistant in Demo (uncredited)
Yes, We Have No Bonanza
1939
Short
Singing Sister (uncredited)
Mexicali Rose
1939
Carruthers' Secretary (uncredited)
Idiot's Delight
1939
Nurse #3 (uncredited)
Pride of the Navy
1939
Undermined Role (uncredited)
Trade Winds
1938
Russian Girl (uncredited)
Sweethearts
1938
Woman in Lobby (uncredited)
Phantom Ranger
1938
Joan Doyle (as Suzanne Karen)
Blondes at Work
1938
Olive
Here's Flash Casey
1938
Mitzi LaRue
Romance of Louisiana
1937
Short
Empress Josephine
Angel
1937
Girl Who Gambles (uncredited)
Rhythm in the Clouds
1937
Dorothy Day
The Wildcatter
1937
Julia Frayne
Sing While You're Able
1937
Gloria
A Million to One
1937
Pat Stanley
When's Your Birthday?
1937
Diane Basscombe
No Place Like Rome
1936
Short
Lydia - Roman Slave Girl
White Legion
1936
Gloria Blank
Undercover Man
1936
Linda Forbes
Wives Never Know
1936
Miss Flinton (uncredited)
Disorder in the Court
1936
Short
Gail Tempest (uncredited)
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
Ruth Blair (uncredited)
The Big Broadcast of 1936
1935
Young Woman in Negligee (uncredited)
The Affair of Susan
1935
Girl on Beach (uncredited)
Strangers All
1935
Frances Farrell
Women Must Dress
1935
Janet Howard
Wild Gold
1934
One of the Golden Girls
Sleepers East
1934
uncredited
Bottoms Up
1934
Wolf's Secretary
Three on a Honeymoon
1934
Flirt (uncredited)
Close Relations
1933
Short
Girl in Depot (uncredited)
Seasoned Greetings
1933
Short
Girl Looking in Store Window (uncredited)
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Ghost Comes Home
1940
performer: "Moonlight Bay" 1912 - uncredited
Yes, We Have No Bonanza
1939
Short performer: "Red River Valley/She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain" - uncredited
Rhythm in the Clouds
1937
performer: "Hawaiian Hospitality", "Two Hearts are Dancing"
$8 Million
