1930

Warsaw’s own Lyda Roberti was one of the brightest vamps on the Paramount lot in the early 1930s, and she’s today’s Friday Face.

Her father and grandfather were famous clowns, and she was literally born in the circus. Her dad, “Roberti,” traveled the world as a performing clown. Lyda inherited his comic timing.

Comedian Lou Holz discovered Lyda in Vaudeville and took her to Broadway, where she became a hit in “You Said It.” Paramount signed her in 1932.

When Thelma Todd woke up dead in a garage in Malibu, Lyda replaced her in several films, teamed with Todd’s comic partner, Patsy Kelly.

She married aviator and radio announcer Bud Ernst, and he nearly crashed their plane on the way back from a quickie marriage in Yuma, Arizona. (They met in a hospital where she was recovering from an appendectomy and heart problems, and he from a car accident.)

According to Patsy Kelly, on Sunday, March 13, 1938, Roberti bent over to tie her shoes and died of a heart attack. She was only 31.

A thousand gardenias graced her coffin.

Lyda Roberti, Polish clown and fleeting superstar, is today’s Friday Face.

Here’s Lyda in 1934′s “College Rhythm.” (Watch for previous Friday Face Franklin Pangborn.)

Fun Fact: Bud Ernst went on to marry Mary Pickford’s niece, then TV spokeswoman Betty Furness, twice. On April 11, 1950, he shot himself to death in a New York hotel room at age 39.

Here’s Lyda with another hot song. Nice blouse.

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