Biography
The dark, fiery, and uniquely beautiful Lita Milan was a captivating presence in "B" movie crime dramas, westerns, and action adventures, leaving a brief but memorable impact during the 1950s. Born Iris Maria Lia Menshell in Brooklyn, New York, in 1933, she was the younger of two daughters to a Hungarian salesman and a Polish homemaker. Raised in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood, she trained in dance as a child and entered show business as a Las Vegas chorus girl. Quickly noticed, she began earning extra income as a cover girl model for magazines like Photo and Night & Day.
Defying her parents' wishes, Iris pursued a career in Hollywood, debuting modestly as a nurse in the "B" crime drama The Big Chase (1954). She then took a small role in the western Duel on the Mississippi (1955) and a featured part in the western The Violent Men (1955), where she adopted the stage name "Lita Milan." Around this period, she appeared as fiery and exotic characters on TV shows such as The Lone Wolf, Public Defender, It's a Great Life, and Damon Runyon Theatre.
Named a "Wampas Baby Star" in 1956 alongside close friend Fay Spain, the striking actress quickly became typecast as senoritas, Indian maidens, and other exotic figures in outdoor films. Her first substantial role came as a fiery South American revolutionary disguised as a lounge singer opposite Dane Clark in the crime drama The Toughest Man Alive (1955). She portrayed "Alita" in the French Foreign Legion adventure Desert Sands (1955) with Ralph Meeker and added a sultry touch as the Indian "Meteetsee" in the western Gun Brothers (1956), starring Buster Crabbe. She starred alongside Anthony Quinn as his passionate fiancée in the western The Ride Back (1957), then appeared as Peter Graves' Cajun love interest in the backwoods drama Bayou (1957) and as James Craig’s captured Indian chief’s wife in the western Naked in the Sun (1957).
During this era, Lita took on memorable TV roles in adventure series including Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, The Count of Monte Cristo, Whirlybirds, and The Adventures of Jim Bowie, as well as parts in lighthearted sitcoms like The Bob Cummings Show and Burns & Allen.
Her most enduring film role was as the seductive Mexican Celsa opposite a rising Paul Newman in the classic western The Left Handed Gun (1958). Newman's dynamic portrayal of the vengeful Billy the Kid earned critical acclaim. Lita followed with a role as the French member of an all-female crime ring in the exploitation film Girls on the Loose (1958), alongside Mara Corday, Joyce Barker, and Abby Dalton, and also played the girlfriend of John Drew Barrymore's character in the crime drama Never Love a Stranger (1958).
Lita’s final film appearance was opposite Steve Cochran in Roger Corman’s low-budget feature I Mobster (1959). After a recurring TV role as Marlene in The Adventures of Hiram Holliday (1956), starring Wally Cox, Lita stunned the nation in 1958 by abruptly leaving her acting career and vanishing with Ramfis Trujillo, the playboy son of Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo. The couple married in 1960. When Ramfis seized power following his father’s assassination in 1961, they were soon forced to flee the country. Together, they had sons Ramses and Ricardo.
Living in exile in Madrid, Spain, Lita remained there after her husband died in a tragic Ferrari crash in 1969, inheriting a substantial fortune. She enjoyed a lively social life for a time but gradually withdrew from public view. Tragically, in the late 1970s, her father, who lived in the New York area, was attacked and murdered by a thief.
