Helen Jesmer was a beautiful showgirl whose career was ruined after a car accident
She was born Helene Louise Jesmer on March 9, 1899 in Princeton, Minnesota. When she was a teenager she moved to New York City and started dancing professionally. In 1918 she landed a small role in the film Bound For Morocco starring Douglas Fairbanks. The following year she appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies. The beautiful brunette also posed nude for Alfred Cheney Johnston. Helen joined the Greenwich Village Follies in 1920. On November 1, 1920 she was seriously injured in a car accident. She was thrown thru the windshield, fractured her skull, and broke her jar. The car she was in was being driven by her boyfriend Philip Morgan Plant, the son of a millionaire. Soon after the accident he dumped her for Constance Bennett.
Helen sued Philip for $250,000 claiming the accident has permanently disfigured her and destroyed her career. Eventually she agreed to settle the suit for $75,000. She married Don Newmeyer, a football player, and settled in Los Angeles. The couple had three children - Julie, John, and Peter. Helen started a new career as a fashion designer. During the 1950s her daughter, now using the name Julie Newmar, became a successful actress. Tragically in 1962 her son Peter died in a skiing accident. She spent her later years living in Honolulu, Hawaii. In April of 1984 Helen died at the age of eighty-five. She was cremated and her ashes were given to her family.
