Priscilla Lawson born Priscilla Shortridge, was an American actress known for her role as Princess Aura

Princess Aura

Princess Aura is a fictional character in the Flash Gordon comic strips and serials. She is the daughter of the series' villain, Ming the Merciless, and the lover of Prince Barin, the rightful heir to the throne of Mongo, and is banished with him to the forest world of Arboria.In 1936, Princess...

 in the original Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon (serial)

Flash Gordon is a 1936 science fiction film serial. Told in 13 installments, it was the first screen adventure for the comic-strip character Flash Gordon, and tells the story of his first visit to the planet Mongo and his encounter with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean...

serial (1936

1936 in film

The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...

).

She was a professional model by her early twenties and was crowned Miss Miami Beach in 1935. She then received a contract with Universal Studios

Universal Studios

Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

, which led to her role in Flash Gordon as the daughter of Ming the Merciless

Ming the Merciless

Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the Flash Gordon comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serials, TV shows and film adaptation.- First appearance :...

. Princess Aura's rivalry with Dale Arden

Dale Arden

Dale Arden is a fictional character, the fellow-adventurer and love interest of Flash Gordon and a prototypic heroine for later female characters, including Princess Leia Organa and Padme Amidala in Star Wars. Flash, Dale and Dr...

 for Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...

's affections was one of the centerpieces of the serial. The role brought her cult figure status.

Following Flash Gordon, Priscilla Lawson married actor Alan Curtis and joined the armed forces in World War II under her married name. It is undocumented, but some people believe that she lost a leg in an accident while serving in the Women's Army Corps

Women's Army Corps

The Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...

. Another report claims that she lost her right leg in a 1937 automobile accident. Lawson and Curtis eventually divorced, and she later managed a stationery shop in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

The story that she had lost a leg was denied in an interview with her Flash Gordon co-star Jean Rogers and the story again refuted in a biographical review in an 'Indianapolis' magazine.

Her untimely death at the young age of 44 resulted from upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by a duodenal ulcer

Peptic ulcer

A peptic ulcer, also known as PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is the most common ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. It is defined as mucosal erosions equal to or greater than 0.5 cm...

. She is interred at Live Oak Memorial Park in Los Angeles County, California.

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