Christine Maple

Christine Maple (born Christine Raphael; November 16, 1912 – January 13, 1947) was an American actress in the 1930s who appeared in Western films and serials. Maple was born in Belle Plaine, Kansas. Her parents divorced and she lived with her mother who remarried and moved to Los Angeles. Maple competed in beauty pageants which led to her being offered a role in the short Fifty Million Husbands (1930). She became a controversial figure and was at one time committed to a sanatorium after an alleged nervous breakdown. She signed a contract with Republic Pictures in 1936 and appeared in four films including the Westerns The Big Show and Roarin' Lead. In the latter, she was the female lead alongside The Three Mesquiteers.Her career collapsed and she had health issues for many years. Eventually, she moved to Langhorne, Pennsylvania and worked in a department store. On January 12, 1947, she committed suicide by hanging. Her body was cremated.