Faith Domergue


Actor
Faith Domergue

About

Also Known As
Faith Dorn, Faith Domerque
Birth Place
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Born
June 16, 1924
Died
April 04, 1999
Cause of Death
Cancer

Biography

Despite an early boost from tycoon filmmaker Howard Hughes, alluring brunette actress Faith Domergue never managed to achieve Hollywood stardom. She landed a contract with Warner Brothers while still a high school student. Howard Hughes was struck by the beauty of the young woman and immediately bought out her contract. He then cast her for the lead in "Vendetta," a revenge drama that su...

Photos & Videos

This Island Earth - Lobby Card Set
It Came from Beneath the Sea - Lobby Card Set
Where Danger Lives - Lobby Cards

Family & Companions

Howard Hughes
Companion
Producer, businessman.
Hugo Fregonese
Husband
Director. Married in 1947; divorced in 1961.
Paolo Cossa
Husband
Married from c. 1996 until his death in 1996.

Bibliography

"My Life With Howard Hughes"
Faith Domergue (1972)

Biography

Despite an early boost from tycoon filmmaker Howard Hughes, alluring brunette actress Faith Domergue never managed to achieve Hollywood stardom. She landed a contract with Warner Brothers while still a high school student. Howard Hughes was struck by the beauty of the young woman and immediately bought out her contract. He then cast her for the lead in "Vendetta," a revenge drama that suffered innumerable delays due to Hughes's endless meddling and was released four years later, a critical and box office failure. Amidst the chaos of that production, Domergue married Argentine director Hugo Fregonese and the couple lived in South America for a couple of years, where they had a daughter. Upon returning to the United States, she took another shot at acting, paired with Robert Mitchum in the noir classic "Where Danger Lives." Afterward, she split from her contract with Hughes, moving on to minor Westerns and anthology drama series before acting in a number of science fiction B-pictures such as "This Island Earth" and "Cult of the Cobra." While not her favorite projects, these movies have gained modest cult followings over the years. In the late '50s, she moved into episodic TV, appearing in a variety of series, including the Westerns "Colt .45" and "Bonanza." In the early '70s, near the close of her career, she wrote a biography of her early years, "My Life with Howard Hughes."

Life Events

Photo Collections

This Island Earth - Lobby Card Set
Here are several Lobby Cards from This Island Earth (1955). Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.
It Came from Beneath the Sea - Lobby Card Set
Here is a set of Lobby Cards from It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), featuring special effects by Ray Harryhausen. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.
Where Danger Lives - Lobby Cards
Here are a few lobby cards from RKO's Where Danger Lives (1950), starring Robert Mitchum and Faith Domergue. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.

Videos

Movie Clip

Where Danger Lives (1950) -- (Movie Clip) Tell Yourself A Bedtime Story From the credits, looks like San Francisco, Dr. Cameron (Robert Mitchum) displaying compassion and good surgical mask hygiene for the kids in the ward, in Where Danger Lives, 1950, co-starring Faith Domergue in her debut for Howard Hughes' RKO.
Where Danger Lives -- (Movie Clip) Appealing, Isn't She? Inebriated Dr. Cameron (Robert Mitchum) was just leaving after discovering Margo (Faith Domergue) forgot to tell him she was married to Lannington (Claude Rains) in John Farrow's Where Danger Lives, 1950.
Where Danger Lives (1950) -- (Movie Clip) Before I Pass Out Presuming one could tell the difference, en route to the Mexican border, Dr. Cameron (Robert Mitchum) explains to fellow fugitive lover Margo (Faith Domergue) that he'll soon be unconscious, in Where Danger Lives, 1950.
Where Danger Lives (1950) -- (Movie Clip) Whiskers Week Absurdity from sometime-Hitchcock screenwriter Charles Bennett, as fugitive murder suspects Jeff (Robert Mitchum) and Margo (Faith Domergue), headed for the Mexican border, get busted in Arizona for insufficient facial hair, in Where Danger Lives, 1950.
It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955) -- (Movie Clip) What Makes Her So Unique? Narration resumes after a strange creature grabbed a Navy nuclear submarine in the Pacific, observing the large hunk of flesh left behind are Kenneth Tobey as Commander Matthews, Donald Curtis as Dr. Carter, and Faith Domergue, revealed as Dr Joyce, in It Came From Beneath The Sea, 1955.
It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955) -- (Movie Clip) It Was A Giant Octopus Military and scientific colleagues at a loss, Dr. Joyce (Faith Domergue) employs feminine wiles to get the truth from a reluctant sailor (Rudy Puteska), who's seen the creature but is afraid they'll think he's crazy, in It Came From Beneath The Sea, 1955.
It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955) -- (Movie Clip) Golden Gate Bridge Systems failing, Dr. Joyce (Faith Domergue), Dr. Carter (Donald Curtis) and Commander Matthews (Kenneth Tobey) scramble as animator Ray Harryhausen's octopus adheres to the bridge in It Came From Beneath The Sea, 1955.
It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955) -- (Movie Clip) Abandon Ship! Not among animator Ray Harryhausen's more famous works but still impressive, in its first proper appearance, the giant octopus takes down a supposedly French freighter in the Pacific, in It Came From Beneath The Sea, 1955.
House Of Seven Corpses, The (1974) -- (Movie Clip) My Double Wardrobe Shooting a cheap horror movie in the back yard of an old Salt Lake City mansion, Faith Domergue is fading leading lady Gayle, John Ireland her director, unhappy with proceedings, with Carole Wells and Jerry Strickler the worried younger cast members, in The House Of Seven Corpses, 1974.
House Of Seven Corpses, The (1974) -- (Movie Clip) I Conjure Thee A few minutes into a fairly weird opening incantation, featuring only Faith Domergue (in her final movie role), whom we soon learn is really only in a horror movie, John Ireland directing her, John Carradine barking at him, early in The House Of Seven Corpses, 1974.

Family

Diana Fregonese
Daughter
John Anthony Fregonese
Son

Companions

Howard Hughes
Companion
Producer, businessman.
Hugo Fregonese
Husband
Director. Married in 1947; divorced in 1961.
Paolo Cossa
Husband
Married from c. 1996 until his death in 1996.

Bibliography

"My Life With Howard Hughes"
Faith Domergue (1972)