What did Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd have in common?

One of the great romantic pairings of the classic era, Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd appeared in four films over the span of six years. Three were classic film noirs where Lake and Ladd sizzled on screen together. But while Ladd quickly rose to stardom and stayed there, Lake suffered from alcoholism and mental illness, and her career fizzled out by the time they made their fourth and final picture.

His death, due to cerebral edema caused by an acute overdose of "alcohol and three other drugs", was ruled accidental. Ladd suffered from chronic insomnia and regularly used sleeping pills and alcohol to induce sleep. While he had not taken a lethal amount of any one drug, the combination apparently caused a synergistic reaction that proved fatal. Suicide was ruled out.

In June 1973, Lake while traveling in Vermont, visited a local doctor, complaining of stomach pains. She was discovered to have cirrhosis of the liver as a result of her years of drinking, and on June 26, she checked into the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. She died there on July 7, 1973, of acute hepatitis and acute kidney injury.