'Lolita' Star Sue Lyon Passes Away at 73
Former actress Sue Lyon passed away ]Thursday December 26th in Los Angeles as reported by Rolling Stone. A friend of Lyon's, Phil Syracopoulos, confirmed the death to the New York Times. While he did not note the official cause of death, he did mention that Lyon was suffering from a significant decline in health.
The actress was born in Iowa and found success at a very young age. She started acting as a child playing small roles on several TV shows.
She was cast as the lead role in 'Lolita' at only 14 years old. She was chosen out of 800 candidates to play the young girl to win over the heart of a middle-aged college professor who also happens to be her step-father. Stanley Kubrick, the film's director, described Lyon as “a one-in-a-million find” and “the perfect nymphet.” However, Lyon didn't remember the filming experience as fondly. The film was quite controversial as Lyon wasn't even old enough to attend the film's premiere.
When the film was revived and remade in 1997, Lyon made her disappointment clearly known stating, “I am appalled they should revive the film that caused my destruction as a person.”
The young actress found success after starring in 'Lolita.' She was cast in John Huston’s 1964 Tennessee Williams adaptation 'The Night of the Iguana' and John Ford’s 1966 drama '7 Women.' However, her acting career came to a halt after marrying Cotton Adamson who was accused of second-degree murder.
Fans took to twitter to mourn the actress' death.
"So sorry to hear the sad news that Sue Lyon has died. She was 73. R.I.P, Sue. All sympathies to her family and friends.She's great in Lolita and The Night Of The Iguana. Such a shame she never became a bigger star," one fan mourned.
"We are deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Ava's THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA co-star Sue Lyon. Our thoughts are with her family and friends," the Ava Gardner museum tweeted.
"Actress Sue Lyon, who lit up the film industry in Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, based on the Vladimir Nabokov novel, has passed away at the age of 73. That role was nothing less than iconic and she was briefly a genuine #Hollywood “It” girl in 1962," another fan tweeted.
"RIP Sue Lyon. her performance in Lolita means so much to me. i've spent a lot of time going down rabbit holes researching the many turns her sad & complicated life took. thinking of her today, & many days," one fan added.
