Edwina Booth; White Goddess of Classic Film ‘Trader Horn’

Edwina Booth, the fair-skinned white goddess of “Trader Horn” frequently rumored to have died from the jungle fever she caught while filming the classic in Africa, has died of complications of old age.

She was 86.

Miss Booth, whose real name was Constance Woodruff, died Saturday in the Medallion Convalescent Hospital in Long Beach, her brother, Booth Woodruff, said Tuesday.

“Her death has been wrongly reported so many times, including recently in the book “The Making of the African Queen” by Katharine Hepburn,” Woodruff said. “But this time she really did die.”

A native of Provo, Utah, Miss Booth appeared in only a handful of films--”Manhattan Cocktail” in 1928, “Our Modern Maidens” in 1929, and serials like “The Vanishing Legion” and “The Last of the Mohicans” in the early 1930s.

But it was “Trader Horn” that established her as an actress to remember--both for her leading role in the film and for the mysterious malady she contracted during the protracted filming that ended her career.

The film began as a silent picture but was overtaken by development of the “talkies.” The cast and film crew had to wait long weeks in the jungle while the new sound equipment was shipped to Africa.

Miss Booth, who was confined to bed for more than five years after the film was released in 1931, sued Metro Goldwyn Mayer for more than $1 million. She said the studio ordered her to sunbathe nude on the ship’s deck during the 10-day trip from Naples to Mombassa, and never provided her with protective clothing for the long stay in the African jungle. She claimed her disease was caused by the tropical sun and bites from unidentified insects.

The suit was settled out of court.

Even though Miss Booth never appeared in front of cameras again, her brother said she was still receiving fan mail at the time of her death.

Miss Booth spent most of her life working for a Mormon temple in Hollywood. She married Rienold Fehlberg, who died seven years ago.

In addition to her brother, Miss Booth is survived by a sister, Betty Benson, and two stepdaughters, Judy Larson and Dixie Nelson.

The family planned a private funeral service today.