Renee Torres

About

Renee Torres was a Mexican actress and the sister of Hollywood star Raquel Torres. She was not as successful as her sister but appeared in a number of 1930s films. She wore her dark hair in a blondined fashion. Among her screen credits include "The Devil On Horseback" (1936), "Captain Blood" (1937), and "God's Country and the Woman" (1937).

Negligent Driver

On July 11, 1930 Renee had a traffic accident in which she was charged with hit and run driving and named with four others in a $1,752 damage suit. The plaintiffs charged that she was driving in a reckless manner. She explained to the presiding judge that she left the scene because she had been driving while wearing a pair of beach pajamas. She demonstrated this to him by removing her long coat and walking forward, clad in the pajamas. Torres did not go to jail.

ociety Girl

Renee was a very social woman who was frequently spotted by Hollywood reporters at gatherings and clubs. A 1932 column mentioned her "dark blond locks" at the Cocoanut Grove where she was "one of the most striking looking young women on the floor." In 1938 she made starlet Lana Turner jealous when she occupied the actress' beau, Wayne Morris, for much of the evening during a Jim Crofton party. It was speculated that Miss Torres and the oft-married actor John Gilbertwere nearing marriage in 1935. At the time they were frequently seen together at Hollywood functions.

Multiple Marriages

Torres was married at least four times. She wed for the second time on January 16, 1937, to studio publicity man Erman Pessis. She listed her age then as twenty-five and mentioned a previous union. They were married in Beverly Hills, California. She was attired in an afternoon frock of orchid blue crepe with a corsage of orchids. She wore a spangled veil over her golden hair and over one ear was a spray of lillies of the valley. Renee left Pessis in April 1938 and sued him for divorce in Reno, Nevada the same month. She claimed that the Hollywood press agent was familiar with other women and at one time had bound her hands behind her back and thrown her on the floor in the presence of other people. The argument over the settlement amount continued until 1945. Originally Miss Torres asked for an amount of $2,000. Pessis contended her owed her a mere $75.

Renee married film actor Edward Ashley in 1943 in Acapulco, Mexico.The couple returned to Acapulco in 1947 when Ashley was filming "Tarzan And The Mermaids".

References

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* Fresno, California Bee, Tuesday, July 19, 1938, Page 4A.
* Los Angeles Times, "Renee Torres Made Bride Of Studio Publicity Man", January 17, 1937, Page 5.
* Los Angeles Times, "Mate's Kissing Proclivities Win Renee Torres Divorce", May 19, 1938, Page 3.
* Los Angeles Times, "Actress and Ex-Mate Disagree-$1200 Worth", October 19, 1945, Page 2.
* The News Herald, "Women's Daily Feature Page", February 21, 1932, Page 5.
* Oakland, California Tribune, "Was She Going Too Fast?", Saturday Evening, August 2, 1930, Page B 3.
* Oakland, California Tribune, "Film Actress Glides Off After Auto Crash to Hide Her Beach Attire", Thursday Evening, August 14, 1930, Page D 13.
* Woodland, California Daily Democrat, "Another for John?", Thursday, July 18, 1935, Page 2.