Priscilla Jones Lawson ( Shortridge; March 8, 1914 – August 27, 1958), was an American actress best known for her role as Princess Aura in the original Flash Gordon serial (1936).
Early years Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lawson was the daughter of Elmer Shortridge, a railroad yard foreman and machinist, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Hess) Shortridge.
Career Lawson was a professional model by her early twenties and was named Miss Miami Beach in 1935, after which she was employed as an Earl Carroll chorus girl at the Miami Casino. This gained her a contract with Universal Studios, which used her in a variety of small roles. However, in 1936 she was cast in the serial Flash Gordon as the voluptuous daughter of the villain, Ming the Merciless. Princess Aura's rivalry with Dale Arden for Flash Gordon's affection was one of the centerpieces of the serial and gained Lawson cult figure status.
Roy Kinnard wrote in Science Fiction Serials that "Lawson's notable physical assets were responsible for incurring the wrath of censors" in the filming of Flash Gordon. Co-star Jean Rogers told him that censors ordered retakes of Chapter 1 of the serial with Lawson "wearing slightly less revealing garb." Her screen career ended in 1941."Priscilla Lawson" at the AFI Film Catalog
Personal life Lawson was married to: Gerald A. Lawson (1906–1933), a furniture salesman, on March 8, 1932; he died the following year of croupous pneumonia. Alan Curtis (1909–1953), American actor, in November 1937. They divorced in 1940.
Later life
After her second marriage ended, Lawson enlisted in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. An unverified rumor claims she lost a leg in an accident while serving in the Army. Another version is that she lost a leg in a 1937 car crash. However, her Flash Gordon co-star Jean Rogers denied that Lawson had lost a leg, and it was also rejected in a biographical review in an Indianapolis journal. In later life, she managed a stationery shop in Los Angeles, California, and worked for two pottery companies as a finisher.
Death On August 27, 1958, Lawson died at 44 in Monrovia, California, due to cirrhosis and upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by a duodenal ulcer. She was interred at Live Oak Memorial Park in Monrovia.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1935 His Night Out Hatcheck Girl Uncredited1935 The Great Impersonation Maid Uncredited1936 Dangerous Waters Valparaiso Bar Girl - Back to Wall Uncredited1936 Don't Get Personal Bridesmaid Uncredited1936 Sutter's Gold Native Girl Uncredited1936 Flash Gordon Princess Aura Serial1936 The Phantom Rider Dance-Hall Girl Serial, Uncredited1936 Yours for the Asking Minor Role Uncredited1936 Straight from the Shoulder Minor Role Uncredited1936 Wives Never Know Laboratory Assistant Uncredited1936 The Big Broadcast of 1937 Minor Role Uncredited1936 Rose Bowl Florence Taylor 1936 The Accusing Finger Hat Check Girl Uncredited1936 College Holiday Student / Phone Operator Uncredited1937 Internes Can't Take Money Nurse Uncredited1937 King of Gamblers Grace Uncredited1937 Double Wedding Felice 1937 The Last Gangster Girl in Dive Uncredited1938 Arsène Lupin Returns Switchboard Operator Uncredited1938 The First Hundred Years Mary Brown - Lynn's Secretary Uncredited1938 The Girl of the Golden West Nina Martinez 1938 Test Pilot Mabel 1938 Three Comrades Frau Brunner - Sanatorium Clerk Uncredited1938 The Toy Wife Dark Woman Uncredited1938 Heroes of the Hills Madeline Reynolds 1938 Three Loves Has Nancy Gertie - at the Party Uncredited1939 The Women Hairdresser #1 Uncredited1941 Billy the Kid Bessie - Barmaid Uncredited, (final film role)
References
External links
Priscilla Lawson in a clip from the Flash Gordon serial from YouTube