Carla Laemmle Dies At 104

Above, Carla Laemmle at Monsterpalooza. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the last few remaining links to the silent movie era and the last surviving actress in the 1931 Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, has died at 104.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Carla Laemmle, a dancer and actress whose uncle, Carl Laemmle, co-founded Universal Studios, died Thursday night at her home in Los Angeles. She was 104. 

Her caretaker, Josephine Delavega, confirmed the news of her death to The Hollywood Reporter.

Laemmle was active in recent years at monster conventions. She has attended the past several Monsterpalooza conventions in Burbank.

Above, Carla Laemmle in her actress/dancer days.

She uttered the first lines of dialogue in Dracula as a passenger in a coach: "Among the rugged peaks that frown down upon the Borgo Pass are found crumbling castles of a bygone age…" She also served as hostess of the documentary, "The Road To Dracula" (1999), that was included in several DVD editions of Dracula. She also appeared in the Lon Chaney Phantom of the Opera (1925) as the prima ballerina.

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