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Draft:Iris Flores (actress and inventor)

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Iris Flores
Born(1921-08-08)August 8, 1921
San Jose, Costa Rica
Died2016
Years active1943-1948
Known for
Spouses
ChildrenLiane Schirmer

Iris Maria de la Trinidad Flores (1921-2016) was an inventor and actress born on 8 August 1921 in San Jose, Costa Rica. She was a film actress, known for Ride the Pink Horse (1947),[1] Women in the Night (1948),[2] and South of Monterey (1946).[3] In 1952, she held a U.S. patent for a brassiere she had co-invented with Juliet Kellard.[4] She later developed other patents in the textile industry in the 1950s.

She is the great-granddaughter of the former president of Costa Rica, the late Rafael Yglesias Castro and the great-great granddaughter of José María Castro Madriz, the first president of Costa Rica.[5][6]

Acting career

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Flores had acted in both films from Mexico and the United States. In 1943, she was in the Mexican film Tres Hermanos, which starred Abel Salazar, was directed by José Benavides, and with music composed by Max Urban. The screenplay was co-written by Salazar and Benavides.[7]

Also in the 1943, she was in the U.S. musical comedy film Thank Your Lucky Stars by David Butler. The film was an all-star musical that also functioned as a fundraiser for the Hollywood Canteen, which was a former entertainment venue based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California for military personnel during World War II.[8]

Flores was in the Good Night, Good Neighbor scene. The title of the scene was a play on the official U.S. Good Neighbor Policy (Política de Buena Vecindad) of cooperation with Latin America, which was encouraged by President Hoover and President Roosevelt at that time.[9][10] For the musical number scene, Flores was joined with the following cast members:[11]


Flores had worked with Johnny Weismuller in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946), and Gilbert Roland in both South of Monterey and The Gay Cavalier.[12]

Inventions

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Flores held the following patents and/or patent assignments:

Inventions
Device Year Patented Inventor(s) Assignor
Boetschi scarf[13] 1951

(Filed 1949)

Rene Boetschi 50% to Iris Flores Tillinghast

(Her name from her first marriage)

Brassierie[14] 1952 Iris Flores, Juliet Kellard Individual
Flores combination skirt, cape, and blouse[15] 1954 Iris Flores Michael P. Grace
Brassiere shaper[16] 1956 Iris Flores Sorong Inc.

Personal life

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On October 4, 1946, she married merchandising broker Frederick Tillinghast III. However, they were later divorced on October 15, 1948.[12] The majority of her films were from the time she had been married to Tillinghast III, as shown in the Filmography of this article.

On February 8, 1958, she was married to Rudolph Edward Schirmer in New York City.[6] Schirmer was a composer, poet, and music publishing executive who had worked in the U.S. Military Intelligence Service during the war in a unit called the Ritchie Boys, which was a unit that consisted of German-speaking personnel for roles in counterintelligence in Europe, translating key information from German prisoners of war (POW), and related services.[17] While they were married, Schirmer wrote Hymn to the Americas (Himno a las Americas in Spanish), which was for a four-part chorus of mixed voices with a soprano solo and piano accompaniment. The Spanish text was written by his brother-in-law and the former Vice Consul to the Government of Costa Rica, Fernando Flores. It was performed by the Washington National Symphony at the Fourth Inter-American Music Festival in 1968.[18] Their daughter is Liane Schirmer. They were later divorced in March of 1970.[19]

Philanthropic activities

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In 1942, Flores participated in the United Nation Victory Banquet with assisting the American Women's Voluntary Services Victory Bond Booth by leading a family heirloom sword to lead the salute the United Nations. With her was her brother, Fernando Flores, who was Vice Consul of Costa Rica at the time, Mrs. Eastman Markell, Roscoe Moss, Joan Marsh, and Mrs. Frank Willard. The event took place at the Town and Country Shopping Center, which is now the Farmers Market in Los Angeles.[20]

Iris Schirmer v. Elton John

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After her completed divorce from Schirmer in 1970, Flores went by the name of Iris Schirmer after the divorce. She had national attention when in 1975, as a landlady, she has British musician Elton John for damages to her Beverly Hills, California home after he had completed his rental of the home. The case was tried in Los Angeles Superior Court.[21][22]

Filmography

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Title Year Role
Tres Hermanos 1943
Thank Your Lucky Stars 1943 Cast member for Good Night, Good Neighbor number
South of Monterey 1946 Carmelita
The Gay Cavalier 1946 Fisherman's wife
Tarzan and the Leopard Woman 1946 Zambesi Maiden
Ride the Pink Horse 1947 Maria
Women in the Night 1948 Maria Gonzalez

Soundtracks

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Title Year Lyrics Music Vocals
"Tacos de Amor" 1946 Gladys Flores Edwin J. Kay Iris Flores
"Tu Chulita" 1946 Iris Flores

References

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  1. ^ "Ride the Pink Horse". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  2. ^ "Women in the Night". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  3. ^ "South of Monterey". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  4. ^ US2594549A, Iris, Flores & Juliet, Kellard, "Brassiere", issued 1952-04-29 
  5. ^ Aug 26, 1942, page 11 - Los Angeles Evening Citizen News at Newspapers.com
  6. ^ a b "MRS.'IRIS FLOS. REMARRIED 'HERE; Wed to Rudolph Schirmer Music Publisher, in Home of Bridegroom's Mother". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  7. ^ "FilmAffinity". FilmAffinity (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-25.
  8. ^ Eve, The Lady. "Old Hollywood Haunts, Pt. 3: The Hollywood Canteen, 1942 - 1945". Retrieved 2024-07-25.
  9. ^ "Good Neighbor Policy | Hemisphere relations, Latin America, FDR | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  10. ^ Mcpherson, Alan (2014). "Herbert Hoover, Occupation Withdrawal, and the Good Neighbor Policy". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 44 (4): 623–639. ISSN 0360-4918.
  11. ^ "Nov 20, 1942, page 18 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
  12. ^ a b "Film Actress and Husband on Honeymoon Here". Palm Springs Desert Sun.
  13. ^ USD163741S, Boetschi, Renee, "Boetschi scarf", issued 1951-06-26 
  14. ^ "US-2594549-A - Patent Public Search | USPTO". ppubs.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
  15. ^ USD173481S, Flores, Iris, "Flores combination skirt, cape, and blouse", issued 1954-11-16 
  16. ^ US2730275A, Flores, Iris M., "Brassiere shaper", issued 1956-01-10 
  17. ^ Service and Citizenship: Examining the Historical Relationship between Immigration and Military Service in the United States...Page 68 (kennesaw.edu)
  18. ^ "A SCHIRMER WORK GIVEN AT FESTIVAL; First U.S. Piece Is Offered at Inter-American Series" The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331
  19. ^ Ancestry.com - California, U.S., Divorce Index, 1966-1984
  20. ^ Los Angeles Evening Citizen News (Hollywood, California) · Wed, Aug 26, 1942 · Page 11
  21. ^ Access Newspaper Archive Institutional Version | Search (oclc.org)
  22. ^ RPM-1975-10-18.pdf (worldradiohistory.com) Page 6
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Good Night, Good Neighbor film clip from Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)

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