June Fairchild

June Fairchild
Born June Edna Wilson
(1946-09-03)September 3, 1946
Manhattan Beach, California, U.S.
Died February 17, 2015(2015-02-17) (aged 68)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death liver cancer
Nationality American
Occupation Actress
Years active 1966-1978

June Edna Fairchild (September 3, 1946 – February 17, 2015) was an American actress and dancer. Fairchild starred or co-starred in more than a dozen major notable film roles before her addictions to drugs and alcohol effectively ended her professional acting career.

Life

Fairchild was born June Edna Wilson on September 3, 1946,[1] in Manhattan Beach, California.[2] Her father was a musician who specialized in writing gospel songs and music.[1] Fairchild was raised in Manhattan Beach and graduated from Aviation High School in Redondo Beach.[1] She was hired as a member of the Gazzarri Dancers on the 1960s syndicated variety show, Hollywood A Go-Go, after graduating from high school.[1]

Year of success

During the 1960s, Fairchild lived with her then-boyfriend, Danny Hutton, the lead singer of Three Dog Night for several years.[1] Fairchild was credited with conceiving the band's name, Three Dog Night.[1]

In the late 1960s and 1970s Fairchild had a successful acting career. She co-starred in Head, which was a vehicle for The Monkees, in 1968; Drive, He Said, which was directed by Jack Nicholson, in 1971; Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, which starred Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, in 1974; and the 1978 Cheech & Chong film, Up in Smoke, in which she appeared as a drug addict who snorts Ajax soap powder.[1]

Decline

In her later life Fairchild lived on the streets of Skid Row, Los Angeles due to her addictions.[1]

In 2001, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times ran a story about Fairchild's past career in Hollywood and her present life on the streets of Los Angeles.[3] Fairchild was selling newspapers outside a Los Angeles courthouse at the time in an attempt to earn enough money for a single-room occupancy hotel room.[1] On February 21, 2001, the same day that her story was published in the Los Angeles Times, police stopped her in Van Nuys for carrying an open container. A police officer recognized her picture from the newspaper and arrested her for failure to complete her community service from a past drunk driving conviction. Fairchild was sentenced to 90 days in prison.[1] In 2002, Fairchild told the Los Angeles Times that her prison sentence had triggered a pledge of sobriety.[1] Friends told reporters that Fairchild remained sober until her death in 2015.[1]

Fairchild spent the later years of her life living in single-room hotels in downtown Los Angeles using her Social Security disability payments.[1]

Death

Fairchild died from liver cancer at a convalescent home in Los Angeles on February 17, 2015, at the age of 68.[1] She was survived by her daughter, Megan Mull; a 2-month-old grandson; and her brother, Jerry Wilson. Fairchild had divorced twice.[1]

Partial filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Chawkins, Steve (2015-02-18). "June Fairchild dies at 68; former actress lived on skid row". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  2. ↑ Lentz III, Harris (April 2015). "Obituaries". Classic Images (478): 50–56.
  3. ↑ Schwartz, Noaki (2001-02-21). "A Fallen Star: Addiction: Former actress, now 54 and living on the streets, dreams of a movie comeback". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  4. ↑ "June's Easter Greeting (caption)". Independent Press-Telegram. April 14, 1968. p. 36. Retrieved April 21, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
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