Dancer, Organized Crime Figure. Born Galina Orloff, she was the mistress of Lucky Luciano, the principal organized crime figure in the United States from 1931 to 1936. After her father's death in 1927, she and her mother moved around Europe before arriving in the United States in 1929. She soon began working as a nightclub dancer, and by the early 1930s, she had landed a Broadway role in Earl Carroll's "Vanities," soon becoming a staple of New York's tabloid gossip. She met Luciano in late 1934 while performing in Miami, and soon moved into his New York apartment. After Luciano's conviction by prosecutor Thomas Dewey in 1936, Orlova hoped to remain in the United States, but the 19-year-old theater usher she had married in March 1934 to gain citizenship had their marriage annulled in 1937, and she was refused re-entry to the United States after a trip to Paris. She continued modeling and dancing and had a weeks-long marriage to a French count. Though Luciano was released and exiled to Italy in 1946, rumors of a possible reunion never materialized. An affair with a married Chilean official ended when the chances of his divorce evaporated. Orlova ended her life by turning on the gas in her Paris apartment. The character Gaye Dawn, a gangster's moll, in the 1948 film "Key Largo" was partially inspired by her.
Dancer, Organized Crime Figure. Born Galina Orloff, she was the mistress of Lucky Luciano, the principal organized crime figure in the United States from 1931 to 1936. After her father's death in 1927, she and her mother moved around Europe before arriving in the United States in 1929. She soon began working as a nightclub dancer, and by the early 1930s, she had landed a Broadway role in Earl Carroll's "Vanities," soon becoming a staple of New York's tabloid gossip. She met Luciano in late 1934 while performing in Miami, and soon moved into his New York apartment. After Luciano's conviction by prosecutor Thomas Dewey in 1936, Orlova hoped to remain in the United States, but the 19-year-old theater usher she had married in March 1934 to gain citizenship had their marriage annulled in 1937, and she was refused re-entry to the United States after a trip to Paris. She continued modeling and dancing and had a weeks-long marriage to a French count. Though Luciano was released and exiled to Italy in 1946, rumors of a possible reunion never materialized. An affair with a married Chilean official ended when the chances of his divorce evaporated. Orlova ended her life by turning on the gas in her Paris apartment. The character Gaye Dawn, a gangster's moll, in the 1948 film "Key Largo" was partially inspired by her.
Bio by: Gary Krause
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