How Filming 1962's Lolita Destroyed Actress Sue Lyon's Life

The decline of Sue Lyon's acting career and mental health has been tied by some to an affair she allegedly had with James Harris, the producer of "Lolita." Lyon's childhood friend, Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas, corroborated the rumor during an interview with Air Mail. She told the outlet that Lyon told her when she lost her virginity to Harris and that the actress appeared "completely changed" thereafter. "I saw a picture of him," Phillips recalled. "He looked like her grandfather."

According to Phillips' story, Lyon would have been 14 at the time, and Harris 32. Jim Maxwell, who was the best man at Lyon's first wedding, said that he believed Harris and Lyon got involved shortly after "Lolita" premiered when Lyon was 16 years old.

Four days after Lyon turned 16, a newspaper ran a column that read: "Sue Lyon, the pretty star of 'Lolita,' has bowled over her producer, James B. Harris ... Her age is 16, according to her studio, and he's an old man of 33. She prefers the company of mature men, and James may be her cup of tea when she's a little older and decides it's proper to court her." Two years later, when Harris was spotted with Lyon and subsequently asked about their relationship, he said, "We're not getting married, if that's what you mean. But we are very good friends." When asked about it more recently by Air Mail, he said: "I'm just not going to talk about it."

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCAl25obXFfnby4ecWio6ahnpx6coWVa6pmpJ%2BhtrWtjJ2crKyipMamsIyamq2qlajAbr%2FUnmSlsZ%2BjwG64yJ%2BcaA%3D%3D