Lora Lee Michel was a child actress who rose to fame in the late 1940s, appearing in several Hollywood films with stars like Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, and Olivia de Havilland. She was hailed as the next Shirley Temple, but her life and career soon took a dark turn. She was involved in a custody battle, a fist fight, and a car theft, before disappearing from the public eye. What happened to Lora Lee Michel, and how did she die?
A Promising Start
Lora Lee Michel was born in La Grange, Texas, on September 13, 1940, to Willie Walker Willeford and Lena Smith Brunson. Brunson gave Michel and two other younger siblings up for adoption when Michel was five years old. She was adopted by Otto and Lorraine Michel in Schulenburg, Texas
Michel’s talent for performance was quickly discovered. She and her adoptive mother headed to Hollywood in 1946, where she captivated directors and audiences alike. She was in 19 films, including Good Sam, Tokyo Joe, and The Snake Pit. She earned $100 a day (equivalent to $1,200 in 2022), and was dubbed as the next Shirley Temple by the media
A Scandalous Trial
However, as Michel’s career bloomed, trouble at home started making headlines. In 1950, Michel told one of her friends that her adoptive mother was “starving her to keep her small and slim so that she could continue to get screen roles,” leading to Lorraine’s arrest.Michel’s birth mother, Lena Brunson, alerted by the publicity, filed a countersuit to reclaim custody of her daughter
During the custody hearing, a widely publicized fist fight occurred between Brunson and Michel’s former agent and drama coach Ona Wargin on one side and Lorraine and her friend Effie Forrest on the other, when Brunson attempted to hug and hold Michel A clergyman testified that Michel appeared to him to have been “terribly bruised”, which the girl claimed was from physical punishment administered by Lorraine However, Michel contradicted his testimony, saying she had not been physically punished but had only been sent to bed1 The girl’s drama coach backed the claim that Michel was being starved by her adopted parents, testifying that Lorraine had said, “I am determined to conquer her gluttonous appetite.” But the judge, who questioned Michel’s veracity, ruled the adoption was legal and awarded custody to the Michels and told them to take her back to Texas so she could live a “normal life.”
A Downward Spiral
After her adoptive parents died, Michel lived in several foster homes. She became pregnant at 17 years old, got married and was seemingly lost to history
She was married four times, often for a matter of weeks or months, before moving on without legally divorcing them With her fourth husband, Frank O’Neil Scot, she stole a car and drove it across state lines, resulting in both of them being sentenced in federal court in 19631
After her release from prison, she disappeared. It is believed she died from cancer in 1979, according to notes kept by her second husband, Joe Wendel Owen
A Mystery Solved?
In 2014, Michel’s sister, Barbara Michel Wright, who had been searching for her for decades, contacted Stacy Perman, an enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times, who had written a story about Michel in 2012. Perman helped Wright find Owen, who shared his notes and memories of Michel with them. Perman also found Michel’s death certificate, which confirmed that she had died of cancer in Houston, Texas, on June 29, 1979, at the age of 38
Wright was relieved to finally learn the fate of her sister, but also saddened by the tragedy of her life. She said, “She was a beautiful little girl. She had a lot of talent. She had a lot of potential. She could have been somebody.”
Lora Lee Michel’s story is a cautionary tale of the perils of fame and fortune, especially for young and vulnerable stars. She was a bright star that burned out too soon, leaving behind a legacy of mystery and sorrow
