Palm Springs Swimming Pool Number 2

Bill Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. Alan Ladd at Home, 1950’s, gelatin silver print, Collection Palm Springs Art Museum, gift of Dorothy Anderson © Palm Springs Art Museum
Thanks to the Palm Springs Museum for this swimming pool. Does Alan Ladd sound familiar?
He died in Palm Springs at 50.

At his peak, Ladd was known as Shane, the leading man in the Western, Shane. The 1953 film was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture but garnered only one Oscar for Best Cinematography.

Ladd had some rough patches in his life from watching his father die quickly of a heart attack to shooting himself in the chest.

Odds are, even though he was famous, he was depressed, taking an overdose of prescription drugs with alcohol.