Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Lina Demille's Godless Girl by Lina Basquette Lina Demille's Godless Girl by Lina Basquette. AKA Lina Copeland Baskette. Born: 19-Apr-1907 Birthplace: San Mateo, CA Died: 30-Sep-1994 Location of death: Wheeling, WV Cause of death: unspecified Remains: Cremated. Gender: Female Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Actor. Nationality: United States Executive summary: The Godless Girl. Father: Frank Baskette Mother: Gladys Rosenberg Husband: Sam Warner (Co-Founder, Warner Bros., m. 4-Jul-1925, d. 5-Oct-1927, one daughter) Daughter: Lita Warner (b. 1926) Husband: J. Peverell Marley (cinematographer, m. 1929, div. 11-Sep-1930) Husband: Ray Hallam (m. 1931, d. 1931) Husband: Theodore Hayes (boxing trainer, m. 1931, div. 10-Sep-1932) Husband: Theodore Hayes (remarried, m. 1933, div. 1935, one son) Son: Edward Alvin Hayes (b. 1934) Husband: Henry Mollison (actor, div.) Husband: Warner Gilmore (div.) Husband: Frank Mancuso (m. 1959, div.) Author of books: Lina: Demille's Godless Girl ( 1990 , memoir) LINA BASQUETTE REMEMBERED. This is personal for me because as some of you know, Lina was my "mother" in dogs. Although she never gave an inch in the ring, she coached me for years. I wasn't the only one. Lina was generous with her knowledge, and at times, her criticism. Even so, we earned each other's respect back in the early seventies. Lina knew I studied her and while she was used to that, she realized that my admiration was genuine and took me under her wing. How I wish everyone in dogs could have someone like Lina as a mentor. I never found her lacking in dog sense and she was full of worldly wisdom beyond her years. Lina Basquette shared outrageous stories of her personal life - but then Lina was outrageous! Her loves and lovers were many, especially during those Zigfield Follies days. Lina Baskette was born in San Mateo, Calif. By age 9 she was under contract to Universal Studios for a series of silent films called "Lena Baskette Featurettes." Her name was changed to reflect her glamour image as a prima ballerina and a star in the Ziegfeld Follies . Although she made many films, her most famous was the lead in " The Godless Girl " in 1929. It was Cecil B. DeMille's last silent movie. Newspapers of the 1920's and 30's loved her! They gleefully reported her nine marriages and the presses rolled furiously when she re-married Sam Warner of Warner Brothers Studios. Lina's affairs with celebrities like Jack Dempsey were always newsworthy although I don't think the time Adolph Hitler put the make on her was reported. Perhaps due to the war but she told me and many others all the juicy details. Lina loved dogs almost as much as she loved men. For nearly thirty years, she bred top winning Great Danes under the Honey Hollow prefix, living in Bucks County, PA until the late seventies. She authored several books but alas, they are not in my library. Lina shared her life in the book entitled Lina - DeMille's Godless Girl. The autobiography was published in 1990 and my autographed copy is a treasure. She was never at a loss for words and when irked, she spared none at all. Sitting on a bale of hay at a tiny show in a NC tobacco barn, she blew a puff of smoke from her long brown cigarette and gestured at Jack Funk as he walked by with the OES King Boots. (Before the groups were split, and Boots was Top Working Dog) " Here I am in this arm pit of a show and he shows up! Look around you BJ, there's Houston and Toddie, and Jeff. Humph! Well, they wasted their client's money. " I think she was showing Big Kim Of Bella Dane, not sure, but she won the group that day and went on to Best In Show. At Indianapolis one year, she said of Tommy Glassford " He may have fast horses but he couldn't run from a fire. My legs are better and so is my dog! " Sure enough, she and "K" ran circles around Tommy in Group, she never missing a pirouette and despite heavy smoking (cigarettes were more than a prop for Lina), Lina wasn't even breathing hard as she came out of the ring. She went straight into the BIS ring, and Tommy clapped for them. Lina Basquette was always on stage, always the star. She had won the Group at a big show in Indianapolis and ringside was still crowded when she regally entered the BIS ring with Big Kim. There at the front of the Best In Show lineup was a very famous, very tough lady handler whose name I'll leave out as she is now judging. Head high, Lina walked diagonally across the ring and with a flourish, took the lead position. The other handler looked up, frowned, took her glorious Irish Setter by the ear and marched by Lina to the front of the line. Hand on hip, Lina watched her go by. A hush fell over ringside. It was the battle of the Titans. Lina waltzed her Dane back to the front of the line, never glancing at the other handler. The BIS judge sensed the drama. Checking his table, he tactfully kept his back to the ring to let it play out. The other handler watched Lina stack her dog and then she stomped to the front of the line again but by now, she was in the corner! Lina smiled, moved her big boy forward and center and he struck an imperial pose that clearly said GREAT Dane. The judge turned and pretending not to notice the two handlers separated from the rest of the lineup by fifteen feet of empty space, signaled for the go-around. Who won? To tell you the truth, I don't remember. It doesn't matter. The "show" was over and two of the greatest female handlers of all time had played to an audience of their peers. Memories, never to be forgotten. Lina rarely flew to assignments. She and "Special K" drove to shows and she continued to do so as a judge. Lina's driving worried my husband who said he'd rather fly with a blind pilot. She always laughed but always insisted on driving. On the way to dinner one night, she turned up an exit ramp and swore profusely as she backed precariously back down the ramp while Bill hung out the window guiding her and watching for cars coming up the ramp. We worried about her in later years but the road wasn't what took her. As a friend and as a judge, Lina told me Widow-Maker was " sprinkled with stardust " and when a very famous backer wanted to lease him, she and All Breed Judge E.W. Tipton said almost the same thing within a week of each other. Tip said, " there's still enough of us old guys out there who can find a great dog when he's owner handled. " A few months later, Tip gave Widow Maker a huge Group I on the Tarheel Circuit. I had no idea how ill he was until I learned later that day that he was unable to judge his second Group. Carroll James helped him to the car and drove him back to Tennessee. In an ironic twist, at the last show Lina judged (from a wheelchair), she awarded a big east coast Working Group to a mis- marked, owner-handled Widow Maker son I had bred. He went on to become #1 Akita that year. When I was writing for Kennel Review and Canine Chronicle, we talked about doing an interview. Lina always said " Oh honey, let's not hurry through it at shows " then, batting her eyelashes and affecting the burlesque Queen Mae West's famous line, she'd toss her head and say " Why don't you come up and see me sometime? " She vamped and flirted outrageously with my husband and we loved it, knowing she was reliving and sharing precious memories with us. We always planned that trip but never seemed to coordinate. Lina was away judging or we were showing. We thought there was plenty of time. She insisted Bill and I come to meet her half-sister, actress and dancer Marge Champion who was spending a week with her. We couldn't make that trip either because by then Bill was very sick. We cried together when I told her. Is she gone? I think not. As I write this, Lina Basquette is still pirouetting, still critiquing, still watching the dogs and the people she loved so much. I feel her presence, don't you? The Ring Steward says "You can now go back to a View From Ringside !" We invite the judges to learn how their Judging is viewed from ringside . Dog Show Exhibitors, Handler Interviews, Opinions, and Observations shared by those outside the ring. LINA BASQUETTE REMEMBERED. This is personal for me because as some of you know, Lina was my "mother" in dogs. Although she never gave an inch in the ring, she coached me for years. I wasn't the only one. Lina was generous with her knowledge, and at times, her criticism. Even so, we earned each other's respect back in the early seventies. Lina knew I studied her and while she was used to that, she realized that my admiration was genuine and took me under her wing. How I wish everyone in dogs could have someone like Lina as a mentor, although back then the word wasn't in use. I never found her lacking in dog sense but she was full of wisdom beyond her years. Lina Basquette shared outrageous stories of her personal life. But then Lina was outrageous! Her loves and lovers were many, especially during those Zigfield Follies days. Newspapers of the 1920's and 30's loved her! They gleefully reported her nine marriages and went berserk when she re-married Sam Warner of Warner Brothers Studios. Lina's affairs with celebrities like Jack Dempsey were always newsworthy although I don't think the time Adolph Hitler put the make on her was reported. Perhaps due to the war but she told me and other friends all the juicy details. Lina Baskette was born in San Mateo, Calif. By age 9 she was under contract to Universal Studios for a series of silent films called "Lena Baskette Featurettes." Her name was changed to reflect her glamour image as a prima ballerina and a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Although she made many films, her most famous was the lead in "The Godless Girl," Cecil B. DeMille's last silent movie, made in 1929. Lina loved dogs almost as much as she loved men. For nearly thirty years, she bred top winning Great Danes under the Honey Hollow prefix, living in Bucks County, PA until the late seventies. She authored several books but alas, they are not in my library. When I was writing for Kennel Review and Canine Chronicle, we talked about doing an interview. Lina always said "Oh honey, let's not hurry through it at shows, 'why don't you come up and see me sometime' batting her eyelashes and affecting the burlesque Queen Mae West's famous line. When she vamped and flirted outrageously with my husband Bill, we laughed together, knowing she was reliving and sharing precious memories with us. We always planned that trip but but we never seemed to coordinate that trip. Lina was away judging or we were showing. We thought there was plenty of time. She insisted Bill and I come to meet her half-sister, actress and dancer Marge Champion who was spending a week with her. It was a rare weekend when neither of us were at shows. We didn't make that trip either because Bill was very sick by then. Thank goodness Lina made time to share her life in the book entitled Lina - DeMille's Godless Girl. The autobiography was published in 1990 and my autographed copy is a treasure. Lina rarely flew to assignments. She and "Special K" drove to shows and she continued to do so as a judge. Lina's driving worried my husband who said he'd rather fly with a blind pilot. She just laughed but always insisted on driving. On the way to dinner one night, she went the wrong way on an exit ramp, swearing profusely as she backed precariously back down the ramp. We worried about her in later years but the road wasn't what took her. She was never at a loss for words and when irked, she spared none at all. Sitting on a bale of hay at a tiny show in a NC tobacco barn, she blew a puff of smoke from her long brown cigarette and gestured at Jack Funk as he walked by with the OES King Boots. (Before the groups were split, and Boots was Top Working Dog) "Here I am in this arm pit of a show and he shows up! Look around you BJ, there's Houston and Toddie, and Jeff. Humph! Well, they wasted their client's money. " She won the group that day and went on to Best In Show. At Indianapolis one year, she said of Tommy Glassford "He may have fast horses but he couldn't run from a fire. My legs are better and so is my dog!" Best was right after Working Group. She and "K" ran circles around Tommy in Group, went straight in to win BIS. She never missing a pirouette and despite heavy smoking (cigarettes were more than a prop for Lina), Lina wasn't even breathing hard as she came out of the ring. Lina Basquette was always on stage, always the star. She had won the Group at a big show in Indianapolis and ringside was still crowded when she regally entered the BIS ring with Big Kim. There at the front of the Best In Show lineup was a very famous, very tough lady handler whose name I'll leave out as she is now judging. Head high, Lina walked diagonally across the ring and with a flourish, took the lead position. The other handler looked up, frowned, took her glorious Irish Setter by the ear and marched by Lina to the front of the line. Hand on hip, Lina watched her go by. A hush fell over ringside. It was the battle of the Titans. Lina waltzed her Dane back to the front of the line, never glancing at the other handler. The BIS judge sensed the drama. Checking his table, he tactfully kept his back to the ring to let it play out. The other handler watched Lina stack her dog and then she stomped to the front of the line again but by now, she was in the corner! Lina smiled, moved her big boy forward and center and he struck an imperial pose that clearly said GREAT Dane. The judge turned and pretending not to notice the two handlers separated from the rest of the lineup by fifteen feet of empty space, signaled for the go-around. Who won? To tell you the truth, I don't remember. It doesn't matter. The "show" was over and two of the greatest female handlers of all time had played to an audience of their peers. Memories, never to be forgotten. As a friend and as a judge, Lina told me Widow-Maker was "sprinkled with stardust" and when a very famous backer wanted to lease him, she and All Breed Judge E.W. Tipton said almost the same thing within a week of each other. Bill talked to Tip who said, "there's still enough of us old guys out there who can find a great dog when he's owner handled." Ironically, the very last thing Tip did was give Widow Maker a huge Working Group win. I had no idea how ill he was until I learned that he had left the show before photos. Carroll James helped him to the car and drove him back to TN. At what I believe was Lina's last show, judging from a wheelchair, she awarded a big east coast Working Group to a mis-marked owner-handled Widow Maker son I bred. The dog went on to become #1 Akita. Is she gone? I think not. As I write this, Lina Basquette is still pirouetting, still critiquing, still watching the dogs and the people she loved so much. I feel her presence, don't you? The Ring Steward says "You can now go back to a View From Ringside !" We invite the judges to learn how their Judging is viewed from ringside . Dog Show Exhibitors, Handler Interviews, Opinions, and Observations shared by those outside the ring. (Travalanche) The observations of actor, author, comedian, critic, director, humorist, journalist, m.c., performance artist, playwright, producer, publicist, public speaker, songwriter, and variety booker Trav S.D. Godless Girl: The Ups and Downs of Lina Basquette. Lina Basquette (Lena Copeland Baskette) was born on April 19, 1907. Basquette was a star of stage and screen through several different phases, but is perhaps best remembered today for her eight marriages, most notably the first one, to Sam Warner of Warner Brothers, with much ensuing personal drama. Basquette was the child of an ambitious stage mother. Her life took a sharp turn at the tender age of eight when she was spotted dancing in her father’s drug store by a rep from RCA Victor, who hired her to dance in the company’s exhibit at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1915. This led to a film contract with Universal Pictures, and she began starring (at age nine) in a series of films called Lena Baskette Featurettes. Her mother embraced the new life; the father did not. He committed suicide and her mother married choreographer and dance director Ernest Belcher. (Dancer/choreographer Marge Champion is the daughter of Belcher and Gladys Baskette and the half-sister of Lina Basquette). Film work seemed to dry up an the end of the decade, so her dance skills were put to use on Broadway in a succession of shows. She appeared in John Murray Anderson’s Jack and Jill (1923), Charles Dillingham’s Nifties of 1923 , The Ziegfeld Follies of 1924 and 1925 , and Rufus LeMaire’s Affairs (1927). Meanwhile in 1925, she had married movie mogul Sam Warner, who famously died on the eve of the opening of his seminal project The Jazz Singer (1927). There followed a bizarre custody battle between Basquette and the Warner family over her daughter (whom the Warners wanted to raise as one of their own in the Jewish faith, and probably by someone who wasn’t a famous Siren) which lasted many years. The Godless Girl, 1929. In 1927, Basquette returned to films. In 1928 she was voted one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. The biggest hit of this period (and her career) was Cecil B. DeMille’s semi-talkie The Godless Girl (1929). Her film career lasted until 1943, but her battles with the Warners resulted in a loss of star billing in the talkie era. Her parts got much smaller, sometimes even bit roles, and often in B movies. At the same time, she was making live appearances in night clubs. In 1943, she was raped and robbed by an off-duty soldier whom she had picked up while hitchhiking. This traumatic event seems to have prompted a major life change for her. She took her savings, bought a farm in Buck’s County, Pennsylvania, and reinvented herself as one of the nation’s top breeders of Great Danes! In addition to raising and breeding purebred dogs, she wrote books on the subject and judged shows with the American Kennel Club, an involvement that lasted until the end of her life. In 1991, she released her memoir Lina: DeMille’s Godless Girl , and emerged from retirement after 48 years to appear in the film Paradise Park. She passed away in 1994. Lina Basquette. Lina Basquette, born Lena Copeland Baskette (April 19, 1907 – September 30, 1994), was an American actress noted for her 75-year career in entertainment, which began during the silent film era. Talented as a dancer, she was paid as a girl for performing and gained her first film contract at age nine. In her acting career, Basquette may have been best known for her role as Judith in The Godless Girl (1929) The film was based on the life of Queen Silver, known as a 20th-century child prodigy, and feminist and Socialist activist. Spouses. Sam Warner (m. 1925; d. 1927) Peverell Marley (m. 1929;div. 1930) Ray Hallam (m. 1931; d. 1931) Theodore Hayes (m. 1931;div. 1932) Theodore Hayes (m. 1934;div. 1935) Henry Mollison (m. 1937;div. 1944) Warner Gilmore (m. 1947;div. 1950) Frank Mancuso (m. 1959) Marge Champion (half-sister) Basquette also was noted for her several marriages, including her first, to the much older noted producer, Sam Warner, founder of Warner Bros. film studio. She had several marriages and a tumultuous personal life. When her film career declined, she returned for a period to dancing and stage performances. After she retired from the entertainment world, in 1947 Basquette moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where she became a noted breeder of Great Danes; her dogs won numerous professional show prizes. She wrote several books on dog breeding as well. Later living in West Virginia, she also served as a judge for the American Kennel Club, and wrote a column. Early years. She was born Lena Copeland Baskette to Frank Baskette, a drugstore owner, and his wife Gladys Baskette (née Rosenberg) in San Mateo, California. She began dancing as a child. An RCA Victor representative saw her dancing to a record in her father's store. He hired her at the age of eight (through her parents) to advertise Victrolas at the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition, held in San Francisco. Basquette later began studying ballet. Baskette secured her first film contract at the age of nine in 1916 with Universal Studios in Los Angeles for the silent film series, Lena Baskette Featurettes . Shortly after she was signed with Universal, her father Frank Baskette committed suicide. Baskette later blamed her father's death on her mother's ambition for fame and fortune. Within a year, Gladys Baskette married dance director Ernest Belcher. Their daughter Marjorie Belcher, half-sister to Lina, was born in 1919 in Los Angeles, where the family was then living. Marjorie became a dancer and choreographer known as Marge Champion. Career. In 1923, Baskette and her mother traveled across the country by train to New York City, so that the girl could audition for John Murray Anderson. Anderson urged her to change the spelling of her surname from "Baskette" to "Basquette". Producer Charles Dillingham changed the spelling of her first name from "Lena" to "Lina" saying, "Lena is a cook, Lina is an artiste." Before she could sign with Anderson, Florenz Ziegfeld cast the 16-year-old Basquette in his Ziegfeld Follies and cast her as a featured dancer. The Follies producers officially dubbed her "America's Prima Ballerina." The girl gained notice from Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova, who wanted to mentor her in classical ballet. Her mother Gladys Baskette decided that a career as a ballerina would not yield enough money and turned down Pavolva's offer. Basquette later said, "I dreamed of being in a ballet company and it broke my heart." Marriage and family. By 1925, at age 18 Basquette was appearing in two concurrent Ziegfeld productions. She was spotted in Louie the 14th by Sam Warner, film producer and co-founder of Warner Bros. studio. Warner instantly fell in love with her and proposed marriage. Basquette did not want to marry him, as he was considerably older than she. Her mother insisted that Basquette accept Warner's proposal, believing that the producer was wealthy (at the time, Warner Bros. was losing money). Basquette and Warner were married in July 1925. After the marriage, Basquette grew to love and respect Warner; the couple had a daughter, Lita, in 1926. Warner died suddenly on October 5, 1927, the day before the opening of the highly anticipated Warner Bros. film, The Jazz Singer , which he had been working on tirelessly. Basquette was devastated by his death. She spent years battling Warner's family over money and custody of the couple's daughter. Return to films. Basquette returned to work in 1928, appearing in four films. That year, she was named one of thirteen WAMPAS Baby Stars. The following year, she appeared in The Younger Generation , directed by Frank Capra. In 1929, she starred in the partially sound film, The Godless Girl , directed by Cecil B. DeMille. This is the role for which she is best known. Basquette plays the title character Judith, who is based on Queen Silver, a child prodigy who early made speeches as a Socialist activist. Judith is the leader of a high school atheist society; she forces members to renounce The Bible while placing a hand on the head of a live monkey. In the film's climactic scene, DeMille insisted on realism while filming the reformatory going up in flames. During the filming, Basquette's eyelashes and eyebrows were burned. The Godless Girl was not a box office success in the United States, but it did well in Austria and Germany. Basquette later recalled that she received a fan letter from Adolf Hitler (before he achieved his political power) saying that she was his favorite movie star. After appearing in The Godless Girl , Basquette found her popularity declining and she was offered fewer film roles. She was unofficially blacklisted in Hollywood due to her legal battles with the Warner family, which was trying to take custody of her daughter with Sam Warner in order to rear her as Jewish, and challenged settlement of his estate. She made a successful transition to sound films and appeared in some Western films in the 1930s. In January 1937, Basquette was offered a contract with the Universum Film AG studio in Germany, after the Nazi Party had taken power. After arriving in Germany, she was driven to Berchtesgaden, where she met Führer Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess, and Joseph Goebbels. She later claimed that Hitler made a pass at her, and she kicked him in the groin. When he persisted, Basquette told him that her maternal grandfather was Jewish. She left Germany the following day. As her career in films continued to decline, Basquette returned to dancing. She performed in nightclubs and on the vaudeville circuit. In 1939, Basquette and her fifth husband, English actor Henry Mollison, appeared on stage together in Idiot's Delight , which toured in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. After appearing in 1943's A Night for Crime , Basquette retired from films. Later years. On August 9, 1943, Basquette was raped and robbed in Burbank, California, after she gave a ride to 22-year old Army Private George Paul Rimke. Basquette later testified that after she picked up the soldier, he forced her into the backseat and raped her. Rimke denied the charges but was found guilty on August 26, 1943 and sentenced to life in prison. In 1947, Basquette used money from a trust fund left to her by her first husband, Sam Warner, and purchased a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 1950, she and her sixth husband Warner Gilmore opened Honey Hollow Kennels; they began breeding and showing Great Danes. Basquette went on to become the single biggest winner of Great Dane breed shows and was known as a noted dog breeder. She also wrote several books on the subject of dog breeding. She retired from dog handling in 1983. Basquette moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, after her retirement. She continued to judge dog shows for the American Kennel Club and also wrote a monthly column for Kennel Review . Renewed interest in Basquette's films was sparked after a profile of her was published in 1989 in The New Yorker. Her films were screened in Washington, DC at the National Gallery of Art and at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles. Basquette published her autobiography, Lina: DeMille's Godless Girl , in 1991. That same year she was cast in her first film in 48 years, an independent production titled Paradise Park . She played a grandmother who dreamed God was coming to grant a wish to residents of an Appalachian trailer park. The film also stars Porter Wagoner and Johnny Paycheck. It was her final film role. Personal life. Marriages and children. Basquette's first marriage was to Sam Warner, film producer and co-founder of Warner Bros. studio. The two were married on July 4, 1925, despite Warner's family's disapproval because Basquette was not Jewish. They had a daughter, Lita (named after Charlie Chaplin's wife Lita Grey) in October 1926. After suffering severe headaches and a sinus infection aggravated by several abscessed teeth, Warner was admitted to California Lutheran Hospital in September 1927. Doctors discovered that he had developed a mastoid infection that was spreading to his brain. After four surgeries to remove the infection, Warner slipped into a coma. He died of pneumonia caused by sinusitis and epidural and subdural abscesses on October 5, 1927. In January 1929, Basquette married cinematographer Peverell Marley. Shortly after the marriage, Harry Warner, Sam Warner's older brother, asked Basquette give up custody of her daughter Lita. He was concerned that she would raise Lita as a Roman Catholic like her, rather than in the Jewish faith. Basquette said that she and Sam Warner had agreed to raise any female children they had as Catholic and any male children as Jewish. Harry Warner and his wife offered Basquette large amounts of money to relinquish custody but she refused. She finally relented after Harry Warner promised her that Lita would receive a $300,000 trust fund. On March 30, 1930, Harry Warner and his wife were awarded legal custody of Lita. Basquette quickly regretted her decision and tried to regain custody of her daughter. In August 1930, Basquette left Marley as she tried to regain custody of Lita. When custody was denied, she attempted suicide by drinking poison at a party. She was saved when a guest heard her screams. Marley and Basquette were divorced in September 1930. Basquette was never financially stable enough to regain custody of her daughter. The Warner family filed several legal suits against her to win back Sam Warner's share of Warner Bros. studio. Over the next 20 years, Basquette saw Lita on only two occasions: in 1935, when Harry Warner and his family moved to Los Angeles, and in 1947, when Lita married Dr. Nathan Hiatt. Basquette and her daughter reconnected in 1977 when Basquette backed a lawsuit that Lita brought against her uncle Jack Warner's estate. Basquette's third marriage was to actor Ray Hallam in 1931. He died of leukemia three weeks after they were married. On October 31, 1931, she married Theodore Hayes, the former trainer of world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey. After discovering that Hayes was still married to another woman, Basquette was granted a Mexican divorce on September 10, 1932. In her autobiography, Basquette said that, while she and Hayes were separated, she had an affair with Jack Dempsey. Dempsey ended the affair in July 1932, after which Basquette attempted suicide a second time. She and Hayes eventually reconciled and remarried in 1934. They had a son, Edward Alvin Hayes, in April 1934. The following year, they divorced in December 1935. In April 1937, Basquette married British actor Henry Mollison in London. They separated in 1940, and divorced in October 1944. In 1947, she married Warner Gilmore, the general manager of the St. Moritz Hotel. They divorced in 1951. Basquette's final marriage was to artist Frank Mancuso. They married in 1959 and separated that same year, but they never bothered to get legally divorced. Death. On September 30, 1994, Basquette died of lymphoma at her home in Wheeling, West Virginia, at the age of 87. She was survived by her half- sister Marge Champion, two children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.