Drue Leyton; Actress, Member of French Resistance

Drue Leyton, 93, actress and heroine in the French underground during World War II. Born Dorothy Elizabeth Blackman in Somers, Wis., she became an actress after her marriage to a Los Angeles architect failed. She appeared in “Green Grow the Lilacs” on Broadway and in several Charlie Chan movies during the 1930s. Acting in Europe, Leyton broadcast from Paris for the Voice of America, earning condemnation from the Nazis. After the United States entered the war, she escaped from a German prisoner of war camp and became active in the French Resistance. Over three years, Leyton helped 42 American, Canadian and British downed fliers escape occupied France and hid others in her home until the liberation. She wrote of her wartime experiences in the book “The House Near Paris,” which was published in 1946. Leyton was honored for her exploits by the French, American, British and Canadian governments. On Saturday in Corona del Mar.