Honor Veronica Lake with a Memorial Plaque

Kristen Lopez is organizing this fundraiser.

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Actress Veronica Lake defined the noir era with her cool elegance and famous peekaboo hairstyle that has been emulated by various celebrities and was one of the inspirations behind Jessica Rabbit. But outside of her noir work she also showed herself to be a strong comedienne, playing memorable roles in Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels and the witchy romantic comedy I Married a Witch.

Lake led a hard life, filled with struggles both personal and professional. She died in 1973 and her biographer, Don Bain, paid for her funeral and ashes. As he told me, the ashes were given to friends of hers and he eventually lost track of them. But in 2004, a horrific story hit the news about some of Lake's ashes being found in a New York pawn shop. The ashes were never definitively proven to be Lake's (or human, for that matter), and her biographer Donald Bain maintained that he didn't believe they were hers. Regardless, this rumor has marred her legacy and aided in perpetuating a rumor that she met a tragically sad end.

The hope is to put the above story to rest, permanently, by giving Lake a proper cenotaph to commemorate her life and allow fans a place to honor her. As there are no remains to bury, this would be a straight plaque to honor her memory. With the support of Lake's grandchildren, Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park and Mortuary in Los Angeles, where Old Hollywood stars like Mae Clarke and Oliver Hardy are, has kindly offered a location for Lake's cenotaph and thus the nature of this campaign. Lake's plaque will receive a place in the niches of Valhalla. The funds will go to pay for the niche and engraving of the cenotaph, as well as a celebration/service to unveil the plaque.

Because of the expense, work cannot start until we hit the goal.

Please consider donating or helping spread the word so we can ensure that Veronica Lake won't be forgotten and that her fans can come and celebrate her life and legacy. A sample of the mockup for the plaque is below (though subject to change)