Susan Evans Grove
P h o t o g r a p h y
Elva La Treque, born Ellen Johnson (January 19, 1923 - March 2, 1995) was an American actress best known for a prolific portfolio of femme fatales. After being discovered by Mitsumount executives in her late teens it didn’t take her long to find her place in the studio system or in the world of Hollywood. Coming from a modest background in Menominee, Michigan, La Treque's parents worked for Lloyd’s industries in manufacturing and retail. Her film career spanned from 1942 to 1956 when she fell out of favor with the studio and was unable to make the leap to television. In 1968 she made one last attempt in the B movie “Fred, Carol, Ted, and Granny” by the failing Helmsdale Productions. The film was released one year shy of the infinitely more successful “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice”. The failure of the film and the success of the Mazursky film rendered La Treque unable to slay her long fought demons and in 1975 she was institutionalized and remained so until 1994 when the doctors threw their hands up and released her. She died less than a year later in New York City.
Childhood
Elva was born Ellen Johnson on 19 January 1923 in Menominee, Michigan she was the only child of James (Jimmy) and Marjorie (Madge) Johnson. Jimmy worked at the Llyod’s Manufacturing Company making wicker for baby carriages while Madge worked at Lloyd’s Department store. It was afternoons after school spent at the Wonder Store (so called for its European goods and products rivaling any big city department store) where Elva formed her early desire for the finer things in life but it was at the on site Lloyd’s Theater where she figured out how to get them. In 1940 when Gracie Allen, who was running for President on the Surprise Party ticket, came to town to accept her nomination as Mayor, Elva got to meet her first real life movie star. Allen was later disqualified for mayorship since she was not a resident but the stars were indelibly in Elva’s eyes from that moment on.
Her big chance came when her father met well known Hollywood Director James Mitchell Leisen who was home in Menominee visiting his family. The two were smelt fishing on the Interstate Bridge when Jimmy Johnson convinced the successful director of “Hold Back the Dawn” to see his daughter in a lukewarm summer stock production of “Destiny Rides Again”. Leisen was so taken by the 19 year old Elva (then Ellen) that he immediately called Joel Goldberg-Steinfarb, then president of Mitsumount pictures, and told him to come immediately to see the girl perform. After days of tough negotiations Ellen Johnson signed her first contract with Mitsumount and officially became Elva La Treque.
Early Career
Mistumount wasted no time putting Elva to work. Her first year with the studio brought her starring roles in “Swiss Miss”, “Horsin' Around”,“The Ice Queen”, and "The Brass Ring". These first films were light fare and did not give her much chance to show her talent. Many critics have said that her real career came later in 1943 with the release of “Dame in Distress” where she was able to fully exercise her flare for melodrama which would infiltrate both her career and her personal life.
La Treque’s career spanned the heyday of the studio system. Mitsumount, like other studios at the time, managed every aspect of the lives of their actors. Where they were seen and with whom was very carefully controlled to protect the image of each star under contract.
Elva La Treque
La Treque, c. 1947
Born: Ellen Johnson
19 January 1923
Menominee, Michigan
Died: March 2, 1995 (aged 72)
New York, NY
Resting Place: Greenwood Cemetery
Brooklyn, NY U.S.
Citizenship: United States
Occupation: Actress
Years active: 1942–1968
Works: See full list under career
Spouses:
Blanc La Rocque
(m 1945; div 1946)
Blanc La Rocque
(m 1948; div 1953)
Armand Steele
(m 1953; div 1953)
Blanc La Rocque
(m 1954; div 1959)
Blanc La Rocque
(m 1960; div 1965)
B.F. Sambuca
(m 1968; wid 1969)
Children: 1
Parents:
James Johnson
Marjorie Johnson
Awards: Oscar for "Jesus the Man, Jesus the Myth, Jesus the Musical"
The Noir Years
With the exception of a smattering of musicals like “Jesus the Man, Jesus the Myth, Jesus the Miracle" (1946) and "Fanny and the Fudgepackers" (Broadway 1957) the mid 1940’s to the mid 1950’s were a prolific time of dark and meaty roles for La Treque. Such films as “The Big Gun Series” (1947 and 1948), “The Skirt Who Knew Too Much” (1945), “Lovelock, Nevada” (1947), “Evil Woman Good Whiskey” (1949), and “A Day at the Races” (1952) made La Treque a household name and a box office bonanza.
Last of Her Career
Jolted by the tabloids after the critical failure of “The Freak Show” in 1955, La Treque insisted on the opportunity to portray more glamorous women. The studio let her try her hand with “The Stylemaker” (1956) and “The Good Life” (1956) but both were roles of "the older woman" and it was clear the studio no longer saw her in leading roles. She had aged out and was meant to step aside for the younger, fresher talent. She was 33.
Later Life
After years of working back to back La Treque was beside herself with grief. Distraught over her fourth failed marriage to Blanc La Roque and the end of her relationship with her studio Ms. La Treque attempted suicide in 1961 by jumping off the Empire State Building. A strong gale force wind carried her nearly 20 blocks to Rockefeller Center where she crashed through a window and into the boardroom of Rockefeller himself. The Rockefeller family immediately pressed charges for damages and for breaking and entering. The care and concern that La Treque’s lawyer B.F. Sambuca showed for her during this ordeal allowed him to hold the honorable position as La Treque’s last husband, an accolade he lost a few years later when he passed away.
Finally after years of famine La Treque signed on for the 1968 in a Helmsdale Production entitled “Peter, Carol, Fred and Granny” where she was cast beyond her age as Granny. Despite being cast in role older than her actual years, La Treque’s ego forced her to leave
the first rehearsal and went to the first plastic surgeon she could find. Unfortunately this did not turn out well and she later sued the plastic surgeon, blaming him for how ridiculous she looks in the film. The producers tried to scrap the film altogether but the novice production company could not find a loophole in Fred’s contract and therefore were ordered by the courts to release it. La Treque’s performance in this forgettable production shows signs of Elva’s impending mental health issues as well as her poor choice in plastic surgeons. In 1969 La Treque had her first in a series of nervous breakdowns that eventually led her daughter to admit her to a sanitarium where she remained for nineteen years. Finally doctors released her stating she was untreatable and overmedicated. Elva La Treque died a year later in a Midtown theater that was hosting a retrospective of the films of the late Georgette De Ville who had been La Treque’s rival.
Career
Films
Swiss Miss1942; Brass Ring 1942; Horsin Around 1942; Ice Queen 1942; The Dame in Distress 1943; Bella no Bella 1944; Babe in the Woods 1944; The Skirt Who Knew Too Much 1945; Prowling Through Reality 1945; The Wrong Turn 1945; Incompetent Ingenue 1946; Jesus the Man, Jesus the Myth, Jesus the Miracle 1946; The Bigger Gun 1947; Lovelock, Nevada 1947; The Biggest Gun 1948; Road Block 1952; Sin City 1949; Evil Woman Good Whiskey 1949; Wedding Bells 1951; Return to Sin City 1951; Charmed 1951; Not Worth the Price 1952; A Day at the Races 1952; Marguerite's Merlot 1953; Enough Isn’t Enough 1954; The Head Turner 1955; The Freak Show 1955; The Stylemaker 1956; The Good Life 1956; Melondolly Baby 1956; Pete, Carol, Fred, and Granny 1968“
Theater
Destiny Rides Again” 1942 (Summer Stock); Fanny and the Fudgepackers,1957 (Broadway)
Personal Life
Marriage
Elva La Treque was married six times, four of them to co-star Blanc LaRocque. The two others were a short lived union with bodyguard Armand Steele and a brief marriage to lawyer B.F. Sambuca which left her widowed.
Children
While filming “Bella No Bella” in Italy Le Treque gave birth to a daughter Blancette La Treque. Since it did not fit in with the studio's plans for La Treque's career the child was left behind when filming was completed. Eighteen years later La Treque discovered the young woman who had been working as her maid was in fact her only child. Indications are strong that La Treque knew the father was Blanc La Rocque given the name she gave her after adopting the girl post nutrico. Unfortunately La Rocque had passed away by the time the child was discovered.
While Blancette is the only child La Treque acknowledged; there were rumors in 1947 that she was pregnant with the Tin Man’s love child and in 1950 that she had given birth to a 34 year old accountant. Other than tabloid stories these births were never confirmed.