Lydia Lane; Beauty Column Featured Stars

Lydia Lane, a syndicated beauty columnist also known for her aid to war veterans, has died at the age of 90.

Miss Lane, the widow of Austin W. Young, died Sunday night in her sleep in her Bel-Air home.

A columnist for the Los Angeles Times and its now-defunct sister paper, the Los Angeles Mirror, from 1938 to 1980, Miss Lane characteristically interviewed Hollywood film stars and other beautiful women and wrote about their secrets for controlling weight or enhancing their hair, skin or makeup.

In her column, titled simply “Beauty,” Miss Lane relayed such bits of wisdom as actress Faye Dunaway’s advice to use a sauna to purify one’s complexion, actress Alexis Smith’s suggestion that positive thinking is the best approach to dieting, and actress Tina Louise’s adage that a daily headstand and other exercise assured youthful beauty.

Miss Lane’s column was syndicated by The Times to 387 newspapers, said her friend and former syndicate editor, Patrick McHugh, and was the leading feature in 1951 when Mirror Enterprises Syndicate (now Los Angeles Times Syndicate) was in its infancy.

In addition to writing about celebrities, Miss Lane often persuaded them to join her in visiting hospitalized armed forces veterans.

The Veterans Administration honored Miss Lane for her work with armed services patients, which began during World War II.

Miss Lane, whose real name was Audrey Young, was widowed two years ago, and had no children. At her request, there will be no services.