Suzan Ball(1934-1955)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Suzan Ball, a second cousin of Lucille Ball, was born on March 3, 1934, in
Jamestown, New York. She came to Hollywood with her family in 1941. She
sang with the Mel Baker Orchestra from 1948-1953. Her first part in
Hollywood was as a harem girl in Aladdin and His Lamp (1952) at Monogram. She got an
interview with the talent department of Universal-International and
signed a contract. In 1952 she was proclaimed "The New Cinderella Girl
of 1952". She had a fleeting romance with Scott Brady, who she met on the
set of Untamed Frontier (1952), and they planned to marry. She then filmed City Beneath the Sea (1953) and
fell for Anthony Quinn, who was still married. Their romance lasted only a
year because Quinn was still in love with his wife, Katherine DeMille. Suzan was
proclaimed one of the most important "New Stars of 1953" by Hedda Hopper. On
her next film, East of Sumatra (1953), she suffered an injury to her right leg during
a dance number. Later in 1953, while filming War Arrow (1953), she was told by
doctors that her leg had developed tumors. Later that year at home, she
slipped on some spilled water and broke her leg. She was rushed to the
hospital and operated on to remove the tumors. The operation was not a
success and she was told that amputation of her right leg would be
necessary. In December of 1953, she became engaged to Richard Long. On
January 12, 1954, her leg was amputated. On April 4th, 1954, she was
married to Long in Santa Barbara wearing an artificial limb. Some
guests in attendance at her wedding were Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh,
David Janssen and Jeff Chandler. In May 1955 she embarked on a nightclub tour. In
July, while rehearsing a scene for an episode of Climax! (1954), she collapsed
and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors found that the cancer had
spread to her lungs. On August 5th, 1955, Suzan died of cancer, only
six months after her 21st birthday. She fought her battle with cancer
for 16 months and lost. She was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetary. Her
husband Richard was always praised for his love and devotion to Suzan
during her long illness.