Helene Stanley was an American actress who is best known for being the live model for Cinderella, Aurora, and Anita Radcliffe in Disney’s animated classics. She also appeared in several films and TV shows, such as The Asphalt Jungle, Carnival Story, and Davy Crockett. She had a turbulent personal life, being married three times, including to notorious gangster Johnny Stompanato. She retired from show business in 1961 and died in 1990 at the age of 61. But what was the cause of her death and why was it not reported?
Early Life and Career
Helene Stanley was born as Dolores Diane Freymouth on July 17, 1929, in Gary, Indiana. Her parents were Michael Freymouth, who was an acrobat who worked in Europe, and Gerty Freymouth (née Seigert). She made her film debut at age 14 in Girls’ Town, a low-budget movie from PRC, and then played a series of juvenile roles at Universal in 1943-45, sometimes as part of a teen dancing group known as The Jivin’ Jacks and Jills. She worked at MGM and elsewhere from 1945-50 and at 20th Century-Fox in 1952, but her roles never rose above starlet level. Her last role at MGM, notable if uncredited, was in The Asphalt Jungle as the sexy teenager who causes Doc’s downfall. Her live-action cinema career ended with Dial Red O in 1955, both English and German-language versions. However, in a second career she made major, if invisible, contributions to Disney animated features, which used live-action films as the basis for animation. Helene modeled Cinderella, Aurora, and Anita Radcliffe in Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians, respectively. Amusingly, one critic complained that Cinderella was too “voluptuous”! Also for Disney, Helene appeared in the Davy Crockett TV-films as Davy’s wife Polly. According to Wikipedia, her collaboration with Disney started around 1948.
Personal Life and Marriages
Helene Stanley was married three times, and each marriage had its own drama. Her first husband was Johnny Stompanato, a gangster who worked for Mickey Cohen and was involved in various crimes, such as gambling, extortion, and prostitution. They married on January 17, 1953, and divorced on February 10, 1955. Stompanato was abusive and violent towards Helene, and once stabbed her in the arm during an argument. He also threatened to kill her if she ever left him. After their divorce, Stompanato had a fatal affair with Lana Turner, a famous actress who was Helene’s friend and co-star in The Bad and the Beautiful. On April 4, 1958, Stompanato was stabbed to death by Turner’s 14-year-old daughter, Cheryl Crane, who claimed she was protecting her mother from his attack. The case was a media sensation and a scandal that rocked Hollywood. Helene testified at the inquest and supported Turner’s version of events. The death was ruled as a justifiable homicide.
Her second husband was David Niemetz, a Beverly Hills physician who was also a friend of Stompanato. They married on March 15, 1957, and had a son, David Niemetz Jr., in 1961. After they were married, Helene formally retired from show business in 1962, one year after the birth of her son. According to IMDb, her marriage to Niemetz was happier and lasted until her death.
Death and Mystery
Helene Stanley died on December 27, 1990, in Los Angeles. The cause of her death was not reported, and there is very little information available about her final years. Some sources claim that she died of ovarian cancer, but this is not confirmed. Her death was not widely publicized, and she did not receive any obituaries or tributes from the media or the industry. She was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California, next to her husband Niemetz, who died in 1987.
Why was the cause of her death not reported? Why did she fade away from the public eye and the entertainment world? Was she happy and content with her life, or did she suffer from any problems or illnesses? These are some of the questions that remain unanswered about Helene Stanley’s cause of death and her mysterious demise. She was a beautiful and talented woman who left behind a legacy of iconic Disney characters, but also a life of secrets and tragedies.
