During the filming of
Spanish Eyes (1930) in 1930, Donald Calthrop invited a chorus girl, named Nita Foy, to his dressing room for drinks during a break. Nita stepped too near the stove and her costume caught on fire, and she burned to death. Donald, who was married, faced the additional horror of explaining to his wife why Nita was in his dressing room to start with. Supposedly the situation led to the end of Donald's marriage and the beginning of his drinking problem. (Nita, whose real name was Anita Fay Tipper had been born in Middlesborough where her parents ran the Canterbury Hotel and she'd started working in the theatre at 16 before before moving to America ).
