Kubrick’s Doomed Lolita
Sue Lyon shot to fame as the suggestive character Dolores “Lolita” Haze in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Lolita. But the controversial nature of the role was closer to reality than anyone knew.
1. Her First Role Defined Her Life
At the tender age of 14, Sue Lyon became a provocative symbol of lust and temptation as Vladimir Nabokov’s “perfect nymphet," Lolita, in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film of the same name. The career-defining role catapulted the young actress to fame.
Tragically, it also ruined her life. Five horrific marriages and a few scandalous accusations later, she disappeared into obscurity.
Stanley Kubrick, Wikimedia Commons
2. She Had A Wholesome Upbringing
Suellyn Lyon was born far from the fame and licentiousness that would define most of her life. Born on July 10, 1946, in Davenport, Iowa, she was the youngest of five children.
Her mother, also named Sue, worked in a hospital. But a tragic event before her first birthday changed the course of her life forever.
3. She Suffered An Early Loss
Lyon’s quiet and quaint infancy took an unexpected turn. When she was just 10 months old, her family endured a devastating blow when the patriarch of the family passed. Given her precocious puberty and later problematic relationships with older men, the loss of her father may have had a profound impact on her.
But, as a child, she had more immediate concerns.
4. She Was A “Model” Child
Without a father in the household, Lyon’s family struggled to put food on the table. So, at the age of 11, Lyon began working as a model to help support her family. Her rapidly maturing body gave her an edge over other child models and her mother uprooted the family and moved to Los Angeles to pursue better opportunities.
But stardom didn’t come easily.
20th Century Fox, Wikimedia Commons
5. She Got A Lucky Break
Despite her obvious appeal, Lyon struggled to pick up roles in Hollywood. In her first two or three years, the young preteen only managed to land two roles; one on The Loretta Young Show and the second on Dennis the Menace. She didn’t even get credit for the second appearance. Then, as fate would have it, she landed the role of a lifetime.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
6. She Landed “Lolita”
Sheer dumb luck gave Lyon a role that countless other Hollywood aspirants would have done anything for. The legendary Hollywood director, Stanley Kubrick, cast Lyon in the role of Dolores “Lolita” Haze for his 1964 adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s highly controversial novel, Lolita. Suffice it to say, the competition had been stiff.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
7. She Was 1 in 800
Despite the controversial subject matter—Lolita is about a relationship between a teenage girl and an adult male—hundreds of girls auditioned for the role. In order to secure the role, Lyon had beaten out a staggering 800 other Hollywood hopefuls. The truth, however, was all of the other girls never stood a chance.
Something about Lyon transfixed the men in charge.
8. She Was An Enigma
In an interview with Look magazine, Kubrick spoke about the moment he knew that he had found his “Lolita” in Lyon: “From the first, she was interesting to watch. Even in the way she walked in for her interview, casually sat down, walked out.
.. She was enigmatic without being dull. She could keep people guessing about how much Lolita knew about life”.
The truth is that Kubrick might have made up his mind even before then.
9. She Was Mature For Her Age
Before Lyon had ever waltzed into the audition room for Lolita, Kubrick had already had his eyes on her.
The famed director had spotted her in her first-ever credit on The Loretta Young Show. He believed that her mature features coupled with her obvious youth was exactly the right look for the screen adaptation of Lolita.
It ended a long and problematic search for the right actress.
10. She Did What Others Would Not
Originally, Kubrick had offered the role to child star Hayley Mills. However, Mills’ father, John, wouldn't let her act in the project. Walt Disney, who had Mills under contract, went a step further. Disney informed the press that he did not want Mills to even watch the finished product, highlighting the controversial nature of the subject matter.
Kubrick hoped, however, that audiences would love Lyon enough to overlook everything else.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
10. She Helped Skirt The Censors
Lyon might have been young when she landed the role of Lolita, but she was still older than the novel version of the character. Kubrick hoped that, by casting a teenager with a more, shall we say, developed body, he might be able to skirt the censors because the Production Code was still in effect.
Other members of the production team, however, weren’t trying to hide a thing.
11. She Was Just An "Object”
Lolita producer and frequent Kubrick collaborator, James B Harris, explained the decision to cast Lyon. After acknowledging that the 14-year-old looked older than she was, he explained that they intentionally made her into an object of desire "where everyone in the audience could understand why everyone would want to jump on her”. But that wasn't the creepiest part.
12. She Made The Problematic Palatable
Harris later confessed that he and Kubrick had pinned their hopes for the success of the potentially problematic film on Lyon. They believed that, by casting her, they could fundamentally change Nabokov’s book. “We wanted it to come off as a love story,” Harris said. But there was no denying one thing:
Lyon was still a child.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
13. She Liked To Ride
During the filming of Lolita, Lyon liked to end every day by going horseback riding. Possibly feeling a paternal instinct to protect her (or to protect the continuing production of his film), Kubrick ensured that Lyon was never in any danger. Before she would go riding, he would remind her, “If you get thrown, roll over. Don't hurt your face”.
But he couldn’t protect her from everything.
14. She Fell Terribly Ill
Surprisingly, horseback riding wasn’t the thing that landed Lyon in bed. While filming, the young actress became terribly ill with a bout of tonsillitis.
The illness forced her to miss four days of filming as she recovered in the hospital. However, that wasn't the only thing she missed out on.
15. She Couldn’t Watch Her Own Movie
Thanks in large part to Lyon’s unique appeal, Lolita was a box-office success. Unfortunately, she didn’t get to share in her castmates’ celebrations. Because she was just 16 years old when the film premiered in New York in June 1962, she was too young to see the movie herself.
But she could read the reviews—and those were even better.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
16. She Had A “Devilishly Haughty Air”
The American journalist and critic Bosley Crowther wrote a largely positive review of the film. But he focused most of his praise on none other than Lyon. Writing in The New York Times, Crowther said, “She looks to be a good 17 years old, possessed of a striking figure and a devilishly haughty teenage air”. As if that wasn’t enough praise, Lyon’s fanbase only grew bigger.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
17. She Was A “Child-Woman”s
Variety magazine wrote their own review of Kubrick’s Lolita. Again, they singled out Lyon for praise.
“Sue Lyon makes an auspicious film debut,” they wrote, “as the deceitful child-woman who'd just as soon go to a movie as romp in the hay”. With just her third acting credit under her belt, Lyon found herself swept up in a strange kind of fame.
And it just got stranger and more controversial from there.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
18. She Won A Golden Globe
Following the rave reviews and curious—if still inappropriate—interest in the appealing teenager, Lyon landed yet another rare honor. For her outstanding performance as “Lolita” in her feature film debut, Lyon won the “Most Promising Female Newcomer” award at the 1963 Golden Globes. There was one person, however, who didn’t think she deserved it.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Getarchive
19. She Wasn’t The Best “Lolita”
At first, Vladimir Nabokov, the author of Lolita, had thought that Lyon was the perfect casting choice for his “nymphet”. Years later, however, he revised his opinion.
Nabokov dealt a blow to Lyon’s allure as an object of desire when he said that the ideal “Lolita” would have been the younger, tomboyish Catherine Demongeot.
Kinema Junpo, Wikimedia Commons
20. She Was Stuck With Lolita
Despite all of the success that it brought her, Lyon would have been happy to leave Lolita behind. However, even after Lolita wrapped, the young actress found herself stuck in a seven-year contract with Kubrick, producer James B Harris, and the production company Seven Arts Productions. The relationship was even more toxic than anyone suspected—but as you'll see, the truth wouldn't come out until after her death.
Warner Bros., Wikimedia Commons
21. She Had Five (Disastrous) Marriages
The early loss of her father left Lyon on a lifelong search for a strong, male figure to fill the void.
Tragically, she never would find that Mr Right. But it wasn’t for lack of trying. Over the course of her life, Lyon was married five times, each marriage seemingly even more disastrous than the last one. Her first marriage set a dangerous precedent.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
22. Her First Husband Set His Sights On Her
Even before meeting him, Lyon’s first husband had his sights set on her. Actor and filmmaker Hampton Fancher confessed that, when Lolita had come out in theaters, he had been living with another actress. But, seeing Lyon in a promotional spread was enough to seal the deal.
“Here's your next wife,” his then-girlfriend quipped. “She was kidding,” Fancher explained, “but I thought, ‘You’re right, babe’”.
Hollywood Press Syndicate, Wikimedia Commons
23. She Married An Older Man
It’s unclear how, exactly, Lyon met Fancher, but by 1963, the couple were engaged to be wed. At the time, Lyon was just 17 and Fancher would have been approaching 30.
The age gap was undoubtedly significant, and there was a power imbalance in the relationship that manifested itself in horrible and embarrassing ways for Lyon.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
24. Her Husband Didn’t Know How To Behave
While working on the set The Night of the Iguana—Lyon’s next screen appearance after Lolita—Lyon’s then-fiancé, Fancher, caused a scene. The possessive Fancher kept interfering with the film’s production, forcing the film’s director, John Huston, to ban him from the set. Huston, as it turns out, wasn’t the only one giving Fancher the boot.
25. She Was Just A Confused Little Girl
Fancher explained that Lyon’s post-Lolita years had been challenging for her as she grappled with fame as an object of male desire. “It was a very confusing time for her,” Fancher said. But, from the sounds of it, he did little to nothing to improve her situation and ended up spending more time his “bohemian” friends than with Lyon.
Not that he was any fun to be around anyway.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
26. Her Husband Was “Hostile”
At just 18, after a little more than a year of marriage, Lyon filed for divorce from Fancher. In the divorce proceedings, she accused Fancher of being “hostile, belligerent, antagonistic, rude and unpleasant”. What was even more shocking, however, was that Fancher admitted, “I probably was”. But Lyon didn’t spend much time mending her heart.
Nick Youngson, CC BY-SA 3.0, Pix4free
27. She Found A Guy Her Own Age
Shortly after kicking Fancher to the curb, Lyon entered an age-appropriate relationship for the first time.
She began dating the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Their puppy-love affair didn’t last very long and little information about it leaked out to the media. But it probably ended because of a personal tragedy in Lyon’s life.
Antero Tenhunen, Wikimedia Commons
28. Her Brother Left A Cryptic Message
As the youngest of five, Lyon was the baby of the family—but her siblings had struggles of their own. Authorities in Mexico found her older brother James's lifeless body after he overdosed in a vehicle.
Before he passed, he appeared to have scrawled “Sue, I love you,” in the dust on the dashboard.
Then she suffered a tragedy of her own.
29. She Was In A Terrible Accident
Even though she was still under contract to Kubrick, Lyon managed to sign a two-picture deal with the Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni.
Unfortunately, while driving with Mastroianni, she was in a car accident that damaged her knee and prevented her from appearing in the films. But there was another, more controversial, theory.
30. She Was No Longer An A-List Star
After Lyon canceled her two-picture deal with Mastroianni, rumors began swirling that it had, in fact, been Kubrick who nixed the projects.
She was, after all, still under contract to him. After appearing in films like 7 Women, The Flim Flam Man, and Tony Rome, however, she was finally free of Kubrick. However, without his backing, she never appeared in another A-list, major motion picture again.
She also sabotaged her own career with what she did next.
Twentieth Century, Wikimedia Commons
31. She Found Love Again
Lyon had been unlucky in love and, after divorcing Fancher and breaking things off with Donovan, her heart took a much-needed break. However, in 1971, she stunned the world when she tied the knot with photographer and football coach Roland Harrison. Less than a year into their marriage, she was already pregnant with their daughter.
But it was a scandalous relationship for one reason.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
32. She Had An Interracial Marriage
Since her youth, Lyon had bleached blonde hair and presented the image of the All-American girl. Harrison, on the other hand, was a Black man. In the prejudicial early 1970s, Lyon’s and Harrion’s interracial marriage caused backward-thinking Hollywood producers to raise their eyebrows—and overlook Lyon for roles.
Then she fell on hard times.
33. She Bussed Tables
Unsurprisingly, Lyon’s marriage to Harrison didn’t last. By 1972, the couple had called it quits. But Lyon was still pregnant and, because of her condition and besmirched reputation, she couldn’t find work in Hollywood. In a tragic twist to her story, Lyon found herself working as a waitress as no one in Hollywood wanted anything to do with her.
That wasn’t even her lowest point.
34. She Had Another Controversial Marriage
Out of love—or, more likely, out of desperation—Lyon married once again in 1973. This time, she tied the knot to one Gary D “Cotton” Adamson. However, the couple’s nuptials were anything but conventional. In fact, if her previous marriage had raised eyebrows, then this one had everyone raising their hackles and the alarm.
Hisu lee, CC0,Wikimedia Commons
35. She Said, “I Do,” Behind Bars
Lyon’s second husband's only offense was that he was Black. However, her third husband, Adamson, was something truly diabolical.
At the time of their marriage, Adamson was behind bars, serving a 40-year sentence for second-degree slaughter and theft. Lyon still said, “I do,” but it was a prison ceremony.
It was a step too far for her Hollywood handlers.
36. She Left Like A Jailbird
In a move that shouldn’t have surprised anyone, Lyon divorced Adamson just one year after they wed. Lyon left no mystery as to the reason for her decision.
“I’ve been told by people in the movie business,” she explained, “specifically producers and film distributors, that I can’t get a job because I’m married to Cotton. Therefore, right now we can’t be married”.
Unfortunately, the damage was done.
37. She Was Officially A Z-List Star
Even though Lyon divorced Harrison and distanced herself from Adamson, the damage to her reputation was already done.
There was nothing she, or anyone else, could do to elevate her to the levels of fame she had following Lolita. By the end of the 1970s, her career had taken a total nosedive and she appeared almost exclusively in Z-list sci-fi movies.
38. She Moved On To Husband Number Four
Lyon had all but given up on love when, in 1983, she married Edward Weathers.
By that time, she was out of the public eye so nothing about their marriage leaked out to the tabloids. However, true to form, the marriage lasted about as long as the runtime of one of her Z-list movies. By 1974, Lyon had divorced husband number four.
And she didn’t waste much time getting on to number five.
39. She Finally Had A Marriage That Lasted
Months after divorcing Weathers (for reasons that we may never know), Lyon moved on to her next romantic conquest.
This time, however, she actually seemed to have found something resembling love. In 1985, she tied the knot to engineer Richard Rudman. The marriage lasted 17 years—a lifetime for Lyon. Nevertheless, the marriage ended in divorce.
A.A. Productions Ltd., Lolita (1962)
40. She Blamed Lolita For Her Destruction
In a 1996 interview, Lyon explained why she was fundamentally incapable of finding the kind of love she needed to make a marriage last.
“My destruction as a person dates from that movie,” she lamented. “Lolita exposed me to temptations no girl of that age should undergo”. She even dropped a hint about who to blame in that tell-all interview.
41. She Claimed Fame Ruined Her
Despite the potential exploitation she might have faced at the hands of Harris back in her early teens, Lyon blamed fame for her ultimate destruction.
“I defy any pretty girl who is rocketed to stardom at 14 in a [sensual] nymphet role to stay on a level path thereafter”. Years later, Lyon’s daughter revealed just how damaged her mother really was.
42. She Suffered From A Mental Illness
Nona Harrison, Lyon’s daughter with her second husband Roland Harrison and her only child, made a devastating revelation to the media after her mother’s passing: Sue Lyon had bipolar disorder.
Her health only deteriorated from there.
Man Bartlett, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
43. She Made Her Final Appearance
By 1980, Lyon had made her final screen performance in the low-budget, independent horror film Alligator. After announcing her official retirement from acting, she largely disappeared from the public eye. She spent the rest of her life trying to pick up the pieces of her broken self that fame had smashed.
But it was too late.
44. Her Heart Finally Gave Out
On Boxing Day in 2019, at the ripe old age of 73, Sue Lyon breathed her final breath. Her friends and family declined to provide a specific cause for her demise but stated that she had been quite ill "for some time”. But this wasn't the end of Lyon's story.
Enter: Michelle Gilliam.
Kinema Junpo, Wikimedia Commons
45. Her Bestie Spilled The Tea
Shortly after moving to California, Lyon had become friends with Michelle Gilliam, herself a precocious young lady who was just two years older than Lyon. Gilliam would go on to fame as Michelle Phillips—a member of the pop music quartet the Mamas & Papas. The two young and beautiful teenagers confided everything in each other.
However, years later, Phillips made shocking revelations about some of Lyon’s darkest secrets.
Bobby Roberts Enterprises, Wikimedia Commons
46. She Lied About Her Introduction To Lolita
In a 1962 interview on German television, Lyon stated that she had read Lolita with her mother after landing the role of the titular character. According to Phillips, however, that was a lie meant to whitewash the questionable truth.
Phillips claimed that she had been the one who introduced Lyon to the mature subject matter of Lolita a year prior to her audition for the role.
More shocking revelations had everyone questioning what really happened on the set of that film.
47. She Had An Affair With Her Producer
Shortly after Lyon passed, Phillips made another jaw-dropping confession. She claimed that her dearly departed friend had lost her virginity to none other than Lolita producer James B Harris. The truly shocking part of the revelation was not so much that Lyon had slept with Harris, but rather when she had slept with him.
48. She Lost Her Virginity Before She Gained Her License
In a 2020 interview with the journalist Sarah Weinman, Michelle Phillips spilled the tea.
She stated that Lyon had become extremely close to Harris while filming Lolita in England, and had slept with him when she was just 14 years old. The revelation erupted into a full-blown media scandal after Harris’s response to the allegations.
Borsari, Peter, Wikimedia Commons
49. Her First Lover Was Twice Her Age
Following up on the staggering accusations, Weinman contacted the 92-year-old Harris in 2020 for comment.
In an eerie turn of events, however, Harris refused to respond to the allegations, declining to affirm or deny. Harris was nearly 18 years older than Lyon, meaning that he would have been more than twice her age when she was 14. To make matters worse, he was also married.
Sam Caplat, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
50. She Was More Than Just A Pretty Face
In a 1967 interview, when she was still just 21, Lyon wisely summarized the trajectory of her own life: “To be pretty and to stay pretty are two different things. You can't take anything for granted, and it's foolish to think you can. You have to think ahead of how to build health and happiness.
You have to learn to avoid what is going to hurt you or someone else”.
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