Silencious Children
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- Actor
- Producer
- Production Manager
Although he appeared in approximately 100 movies or TV shows, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. never really intended to take up acting as a career. However, the environment he was born into and the circumstances naturally led him to be a thespian. Noblesse oblige.
He was born Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr. in New York City, New York, to Anna Beth (Sully), daughter of a very wealthy cotton mogul, and actor Douglas Fairbanks (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman), then not yet established as the swashbuckling idol he would become. Fairbanks, Jr. had German Jewish (from his paternal grandfather), English, and Scottish ancestry.
He proved a gifted boy early in life. To the end of his life he remained a multi-talented, hyperactive man, not content to appear in the 100 films mentioned above. Handsome, distinguished and extremely bright, he excelled at sports (much like his father), notably during his stay at the Military Academy in 1919 (his role in Claude Autant-Lara's "L'athlète incomplete" illustrated these abilities). He also excelled academically, and attended the Lycéee Janson de Sailly in Paris, where he had followed his divorced mother. Very early in his life he developed a taste for the arts as well and became a painter and sculptor. Not content to limiting himself to just one field, he became involved in business, in fields as varied as mining, hotel management, owning a chain of bowling alleys and a firm that manufactured popcorn. During World War II he headed London's Douglas Voluntary Hospital (an establishment taking care of war refugees), was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's special envoy for the Special Mission to South America in 1940 before becoming a lieutenant in the Navy (he was promoted to the rank of captain in 1954) and taking part in the Allies' landing in Sicily and Elba in 1943. A fervent Anglophile, was knighted in 1949 and often entertained Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in his London mansion, "The Boltons".
His film career began at the age of 13 when he was signed by Paramount Pictures. He debuted in Stephen Steps Out (1923) but the film flopped and his career stagnated despite a critically acclaimed role in Stella Dallas (1925). Things really picked up when he married Lucille Le Sueur, a young starlet who was soon to become better known as Joan Crawford. The young couple became the toast of the town (one "Screen Snapshots" episode echoes this sudden glory) and good parts and success followed, such as the hapless partner of Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar (1931) a favorably reviewed turn as the villain in The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) or more debonair characters in slapstick comedies or adventure yarns. The 1930s were a fruitful period for Fairbanks, his most memorable role probably being that of the British soldier in Gunga Din (1939); although it was somewhat of a "swashbuckling" role, Fairbanks made a point of never imitating his father. After the World War II, his star waned and, despite a moving part in Ghost Story (1981), he did not appear in a major movie. Now a legend himself, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. left this world with the satisfaction of having lived up to the Fairbanks name at the end of a life nobody could call "wasted".- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Jackie Coogan was born into a family of vaudevillians; his father was a dancer and his mother had been a child star. On the stage by age 4, Jackie was touring at age 5 with his family in Los Angeles, California.
While performing on the stage, he was spotted by Charles Chaplin, who then and there planned a film in which he and Jackie would star. To test Jackie, Chaplin first gave him a small part in A Day's Pleasure (1919), which proved that he had a screen presence. The movie that Chaplin planned that day was The Kid (1921), where the Tramp would raise Jackie and then lose him. The movie was very successful and Jackie would play a child in a number of movies and tour with his father on the stage.
By 1923, when he made Daddy (1923), he was one of the highest- paid stars in Hollywood. He would leave First National for MGM where they put him into Long Live the King (1923). By 1927, at age 13, Coogan had grown up on the screen and his career was going through a downturn. His popular film career would end with the classic tales of Tom Sawyer (1930) and Huckleberry Finn (1931).
In 1935, his father died and his mother married Arthur Bernstein, who was his business manager. When he wanted the money that he made as a child star in the 1920s, his mother and stepfather refused his request and Jackie filed suit for the approximately $4 million that he had made. Under California law at the time, he had no rights to the money he made as a child, and he was awarded only $126,000 in 1939. Because of the public uproar, the California Legislature passed the Child Actors Bill, also known as the Coogan Act, which would set up a trust fund for any child actor and protect his earnings.
In 1937, Jackie married Betty Grable; the marriage lasted 3 years. During World War II, he served in the Army; he returned to Hollywood after the war. Unable to restart his career, he worked in B-movies, mostly in bit parts and usually playing the heavy. In the 1950s he started to appear on television, and he acted in as many shows as he could. By the 1960s he would be in two completely different television comedy series.. The first one was McKeever and the Colonel (1962), where he played Sgt. Barnes in a military school from 1962 to 1963. The second series was the classic The Addams Family (1964), where he played Uncle Fester from 1964 to 1966. After that, he continued to make appearances on television shows and a handful of movies. He died of a heart attack in 1984.- Actor
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Born in France during a World War I air raid in which his mother was killed, Philippe was adopted by Mrs. Edith DeLacy, who was associated with the Women's Overseas Hospital. After the war ended, Mrs. Lacy brought Philippe to America where his stunning looks soon made him a sought after model for advertisements and eventually brought him to the screen.- Actress
- Writer
The daughter of an opera star turned actress, Gladys Hulette began her career as a three-year old on the stage. On Broadway from 1906, she played juvenile leads in "The Kreutzer Sonata" and "A Doll's House". She was also Tyltyl in "The Blue Bird". A genuine pioneer of the movies, Gladys first starred on screen in Carl Laemmle's one-reel IMP production of Hiawatha (1909). During the 1910's and 20's, she appeared variously in films with Edison, Biograph, Thanhouser, Vitagraph, Astra and First National. In 1917, she was voted most popular actress by students of New York University. In truth, Gladys was a true all-rounder, who took on just about anything from high drama to slapstick farce. She even starred as the titular heroine in the comedy Prudence, the Pirate (1916). In private life, Gladys was fond of flowers, a voracious reader of books, including classic literature and a painter in oils, whose works occasionally found their way into major exhibitions. Long after leaving the Hollywood scene, she found work as a ticket seller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lovely Madge Evans was the perennial nice girl in films of the 1930s. By then, she had been in front of the camera for many years, starting with Fairy Soap commercials at the age of two (she sat on a bar of soap holding a bunch of violets with the tag line reading "have you a little fairy in your home?"). 'Baby Madge' also lent her name to a children's hat company. In 1914, aged five, she was picked out by talent scouts to appear in the William Farnum movie The Sign of the Cross (1914), followed by The Seven Sisters (1915) with Marguerite Clark.
By the end of the following year, she had amassed some twenty film credits, appearing with such noted contemporary stars as Pauline Frederick or Alice Brady. All of her early films were made on the East Coast, at studios in Ft.Lee, New Jersey. In 1917 (aged eight), Madge made her Broadway debut in Peter Ibbetson with John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore. She resumed her stage career in 1926 as an ingenue with Daisy Mayme and the following year appeared with Billie Burke in Noël Coward's costume drama The Marquise (1927).
Her pleasing looks and personality soon attracted the attention of Hollywood and she was eventually signed by MGM in 1931. During the next decade, she appeared in several A-grade productions, notably as Lionel Barrymore's daughter in MGM's Dinner at Eight (1933) and as the dependable Agnes Wickfield in one of the best-ever filmed versions of David Copperfield (1935). She co-starred opposite James Cagney in the gangster movie The Mayor of Hell (1933), Spencer Tracy in The Show-Off (1934) and listened to Bing Crosby crooning the title song in Pennies from Heaven (1936). Madge received praise for her performance as the star of Beauty for Sale (1933) and The New York Times review of January 13 1934 described her acting in Fugitive Lovers (1934) (opposite Robert Montgomery ) as 'spontaneous and captivating'. Many of her 'typical American girl' roles did not allow her to express aspects of the greater acting range she undoubtedly possessed. Too often she was cast as the 'nice girl' - and those rarely make much of a dramatic impact. On the few occasions she was assigned the role of 'other woman', such as the Helen Hayes-starrer What Every Woman Knows (1934), audiences found her character difficult to believe and disassociate from her all-round wholesome image. When her contract with MGM expired in 1937, Madge wound down her film career and, following her 1939 marriage, concentrated on being the wife of celebrated playwright Sidney Kingsley. She last appeared on stage in one of his plays, "The Patriots", in 1943.- Little-known today but regarded in her time as one of the screen's great beauties, New Jersey-born Marguerite Courtot was sent in 1909, at age 12, to be educated in a European convent. By the time she returned to the US she had blossomed into such a beauty that she soon had a career as a top photographer's model; it didn't take long for offers from the film industry (much of which, at the time, was based in New Jersey) to come pouring in. Her mother, determined that Marguerite would finish her education, refused all offers until 1912, when she let her daughter take some small bit parts in movies filmed at a local New Jersey studio. Within a year Marguerite went from extra work to starring roles. Although excelling in comedy roles, she preferred to do action/drama pictures, and by 1915 was making serials for Kalem. She was off the screen for a year during World War I, when she decided to help in the war effort and toured the country selling war bonds and savings stamps. She returned to the screen in 1918 playing a World War I Belgian refugee in The Unbeliever. In 1919 she was in a succession of serials, all of which were extremely successful. In 1918 her co-star in The Unbeliever was actor 'Raymond McKee (I)' and she starred with him again in Down to the Sea in Ships in 1922. They were married soon after. She made only a few more films, then retired from the industry to raise a family. She died in Hawaii, her longtime home, in 1984.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
An actress from the age of 6, Anita appeared with Walter Hampden in the Broadway production of Peter Ibbetson. As a juvenile actor, Anita used the name Louise Fremault and made her film debut at 9 in the film The Sixth Commandment (1924). She continued to make films as a child actor, and in 1929, Anita dropped her "Fremault" surname, billing herself by her first and second names only. Unlike many child actors, her film career continued as a teenager, and as a blue-eyed blonde, Anita became a star in Warner Brothers costume dramas such as Madame Du Barry (1934), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), and Marie Antoinette (1938). Anita complained that her looks often interfered with her chances to obtain serious roles. With her ethereal beauty, she continued to appear in ingénue roles into the 1940s as she played girlfriends, sisters, and daughters. By 1940, Anita was only in her mid 20s, but her career had turned to 'B' movies, and her time on the big screen ended with the rehashed Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1947). In 1956, Anita was cast as Johnny Washbrook's mother, Nell McLaughin, on the Television series My Friend Flicka (1955), the story of a boy and his black horse. Anita was also the substitute host of The Loretta Young Show (1953) when Loretta Young was recuperating from surgery. Other shows Anita hosted included Theater of Time (1957) and Spotlight Playhouse (1958). Her television guest roles included Mannix (1967) and Mod Squad (1968). Anita devoted her final years to various philanthropic causes.as Anita Fremault- Actress
- Soundtrack
Although this lovely, light brown-haired leading lady would wind up better known as one of Loretta Young's two elder acting sisters, Sally Blane nevertheless enjoyed a lively albeit modest "B" film career during the late 1920s and 1930s. The resemblance to her "A"-level sister was very strong -- the same graceful, elongated face and fawn-like, wide-set eyes. Unlike her younger sister, however, Sally lacked strong determination and ambition. Although she remained on the second or third Hollywood tier throughout her career, her film output was considerable if mostly routine.
Sally was born Elizabeth Jane Young in Salida, Colorado in 1910 while her mother was en route by train to the family home in Salt Lake City, Utah (the train actually had to make an unscheduled stop so that her mother could give birth). Her parents, Gladys and John, separated when she was five years old and her mother moved her four children to Hollywood where one of Gladys's sisters lived, later running a boarding house. All the children pitched in financially by becoming movie extras. Sally and her younger brother John R. Young (better known as Jack) both appeared uncredited in the silent film Sirens of the Sea (1917) starring Jack Mulhall, in which Sally played a sea nymph. Sally also had an unbilled part in Rudolph Valentino's smoldering classic The Sheik (1921).
Her beauty only heightened as she grew up. Director Wesley Ruggles noticed the teen dancing at the Café Montmartre (now known as Montmartre Lounge) and tested her for his "Collegian" film series. She was cast and soon signed by Paramount, which insisted on the new marquee name of Sally Blane. Around the same time, younger (by three years) sister Loretta (born Gretchen Young) signed with First National Pictures. During their early build-up both Sally and Loretta were dubbed "Wampas Baby Stars of 1929". Throughout this time their mother maintained a firm hand in the girls' personal and professional lives.
One of Sally's first leading roles was in the western Shootin' Irons (1927) and she went on to play a number of prairie flowers opposite Hollywood's top cowboys. She starred opposite Tom Mix in three pictures: Horseman of the Plains (1928), King Cowboy (1928), and Outlawed (1929). Her career peaked early, however, and Sally seemed content to freelance for such Poverty Row studios as Monogram, Excelsior, Chesterfield and Artclass in a variety of genres--crime thrillers, light comedies, mysteries, action adventures. She eventually developed a "nice girl" image.
A two-year lull occurred following the filming of Fox's This Is the Life (1935), and Sally never tried very hard to regain her momentum. Much of this had to do with her meeting of (in 1935) and marriage to (in 1937) director and one-time actor Norman Foster, who had once dated Loretta. Although Sally returned to films in 1937, she was already focused on her marriage and having a family. She and sisters Polly Ann Young and Georgiana Young, however, did make it a family affair at Loretta's insistence when they were given featured roles in Loretta's The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939). They all played, of course, Loretta's sisters and this was to be the only time all four girls ever appeared together. One of Sally's last pictures was in the whodunit Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939), directed by her husband. During WWII, the family, which now included a son and daughter, lived in Mexico where Foster was directing Spanish-language pictures. She appeared in one of them (La fuga (1944), with Ricardo Montalban). Later the family relocated to Beverly Hills and Sally officially ended her cinematic career with a small part in A Bullet for Joey (1955).
Comfortably retired for many decades, Foster died of cancer in 1976. Sally herself succumbed to the disease more than two decades later, on August 27, 1997. Cancer had claimed sister Polly just months earlier that same year. John R. Young also died in 1997, of undisclosed causes. Loretta would die of ovarian cancer in 2000. Sally was survived by her two children, Robert and Gretchen.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dolores Costello was once known as the Goddess of the Silent Screen but is probably best remembered today as Drew Barrymore's grandmother. She was born in 1905 to actors Maurice Costello and Mae Costello. Her father began his film career in 1908 and soon became the most popular matinée idol of his day. He gave Dolores and her sister Helene Costello their screen debuts in 1911. Dolores appeared in numerous pictures throughout the 1910s and the early 1920s, mostly with her father and sister. She later appeared on the New York stage with her sister in "George White Scandals of 1924." They were then signed by Warner Bros. where Dolores met future husband John Barrymore.
Barrymore soon made Dolores his costar in The Sea Beast (1926). During their lengthy kissing scene Dolores fainted in John's arms. They married in 1928 despite the misgivings of her mother, who would die the following year at age 45. They had two children, DeDe in 1931 and John Drew Barrymore in 1932. Dolores took time off from her movie career in the early 1930s to raise her young children. Her sister Helene and her new husband, actor Lowell Sherman, successfully convinced Dolores to divorce Barrymore in 1935, mainly because of his excessive drinking.
After the divorce Dolores returned to acting, appearing in several big-budget pictures, and her career seemed to be back on track. Her physical appearance, however, was greatly damaged from the harsh studio makeup used in the early years. The skin on her cheeks was in the process of deteriorating, forcing her into early retirement. She lived in semi-seclusion on her Southern California avocado farm, Fallbrook Ranch, where much of the memorabilia and papers from both the Barrymore and Costello family were destroyed in a flood.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Some of Helene Costello's films available on video are Her Crowning Glory (1911), Lulu's Doctor (1912) and Lights of New York (1928), the first all-talking feature. She worked for a time as a reader for 20th Century Fox in the early 1940s. Miss Costello died on January 26, 1957, in California's Patton State Hospital. She left behind a daughter Deirdre by her fourth husband. Deirdre now resides in Winston Salem, NC- Mary McAllister was born on 27 May 1909 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for On Trial (1917), The Devil's Skipper (1928) and The Midnight Watch (1927). She died on 1 May 1991 in Del Mar, California, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
- Soundtrack
Born into a show-business family - his parents were circus aerialists - Frankie Darro appeared in his first film at age six. Due to his small size and youthful appearance, he played teenagers well into his 20s. Always a physical performer, Darro often did his own stunts, many times out of necessity - his small stature made it difficult to find stunt doubles his size. He was an accomplished horseman and, in addition to westerns, made several films where he played jockeys. In 1933 he played the lead as a troubled teen in a major film for Warner Brothers : Wild Boys of the Road (1933). It is a pre code film with a realistic look at "The Great Depression" , from the point of view of the youth of the time. This film seems to have been rediscovered only recently and has received critical acclaim.That same year, he played a troubled youth in the James Cagney classic, "The Mayor Of Hell". Later in 1935, he had a key role in the cult serial classic' "The Phantom Empire"(1935). As Darro got older, however, he found it increasingly difficult to secure employment, and by the late 1940s was doing uncredited stunt work and bit parts. He had a recurring role on The Red Skelton Hour (1951), unrecognized by his fans, he played "Robby The Robot" in the groundbreaking sci-fi film "The Forbidden Planet" (1956), though Marvin Miller, best remembered as Michael Anthony of TVs "Millionaire"(1955-60), was the robot's voice. After that Frankie appeared sporadically in films and on TV . .- Child star Bobby Connelly, the son of vaudeville actors, was born April 4, 1909 in Brooklyn, New York. He made his first screen appearance in 1912. In 1913, he joined the Vitagraph Company, whose studio was just a short distance from his home. While at Vitagraph, he starred in a series of shorts as the character "Sonny Jim." Bobby studied violin, which came in handy when he was cast as the young violinist Leon Kantor in the 1920 film version of "Humoresque." Reportedly he was one of the highest paid child actors in the world. At one point, he headed a vaudeville company. In 1922, Bobby became ill for three months, suffering from bronchitis, aggravated by an enlarged heart. Sadly, he passed away on July 6, 1922, at his home in Lynbrook, Long Island.
- Lucille Ricksen was born Ingeborg Erickson in Chicago, Illinois on August 22, 1910. She worked a child model and made her film debut at age 5. Her parents separated and her mother took her to Hollywood in 1920, and 10-year-old Lucille was offered a contract with Samuel Goldwyn and starred in a series of short films. She often had to work long hours but she always said she was having fun. In 1922 she starred opposite Marie Prevost in "The Married Flapper." The following year she was given a starring role in the drama "The Rendezvous"; although she was only 13, the studio lied that she was actually 16. The press called her "the youngest leading lady in movies". Lucille developed a close relationship with producer Sydney Chaplin (brother of Charlie Chaplin), who was 25 years her senior. She became one of Hollywood's busiest starlets and was chosen as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars.
In 1924 Ricksen made 10 films, including "Vanity's Price," "The Galloping Fish," and "The Valley Of The Wolf." Unfortunately, the 14-year-old started to suffer from exhaustion and malnutrition. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis and became bedfast. Her mother kept a bedside vigil, but the stress brought on a fatal heart attack. Following her mother's death, Lucille was looked after by family friends including actress Lois Wilson. During one of her conscious moments Lucille said "Mother wouldn't want me--die--Mother said--Wonderful future--Going to do big things--Won't die! I won't!" But on March 13, 1925, she passed away from complications of tuberculosis, still at only 14 years old. There were rumors that her death had actually been caused by a botched abortion. Lucille was cremated and she was buried with her mother at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California. Her final film, "The Denial," came out 10 days after her death. - Actress
- Additional Crew
Virginia Lee Corbin was born on 5 December 1910 in Prescott, Arizona, USA. She was an actress, known for Bare Knees (1928), Hands Up! (1926) and The Forbidden Room (1919). She was married to Theodore Elwood Krol and Charles Jacobson. She died on 5 June 1942 in Winfield, Illinois, USA.- Zoe Rae was born on 13 July 1910 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Danger Within (1918), The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (1918) and Gloriana (1916). She was married to Ronald Foster Barlow. She died on 20 May 2006 in Newberg, Oregon, USA.
- Adele DeGarde was born on 3 May 1899 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Lights of New York (1916), Within the Law (1917) and And a Little Child Shall Lead Them (1909). She was married to Harris N. Jespersen. She died on 7 January 1966 in Valley Stream, New York, USA.
- Clara Horton was born on 29 July 1904 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Girl from Outside (1919), Tom Sawyer (1917) and Huck and Tom (1918). She was married to Hyman Brand. She died on 4 December 1976 in Encino, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Nepotism certainly has had its advantages in Hollywood, none more so than in the cinematic career of Jack Pickford, whose famous older sis, "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford, saw to it that Jack had every advantage her star weight could muster. In Jack's case, it only added fuel to a self-starting tragic fire.
The youngest of three children, if Jack was christened with the extremely common name of John (aka Jack) Smith, his life would resemble anything but. Born in Toronto, Canada, on August 18, 1896, his middle sister was minor actress Lottie Pickford (née Charlotte Smith, (1893-1936)). Both younger children were prompted by their actress/mother, Charlotte Smith, to follow Mary (née Gladys Louise Smith) into show business after her husband (also John Charles Smith), an alcoholic, deserted the family.
A child actor on the theatre stage, it was Mary who got both her baby brother and baby sister into the Biograph film company as steady fixtures starting in 1909. They all appeared in scores of short films for D.W. Griffith -- Jack's list included Wanted, a Child (1909), To Save Her Soul (1909), The Smoker (1910), Muggsy Becomes a Hero (1910), Sweet Memories (1911), As a Boy Dreams (1911), The Speed Demon (1912), Heredity (1912), The Sneak (1913) and Home, Sweet Home (1914). Lottie had her own lead pictures, including The Pilgrimage (1912) and They Shall Pay (1921). Mary, Jack and Lottie all appeared together in the films Sweet Memories (1911) and Fanchon, the Cricket (1915), among others. Jack occasionally worked for other film companies, as he did when he played the title role in Giovanni's Gratitude (1913) for Reliance; and starred in The Making of Crooks (1915), The Hard Way (1916), The Conflict (1916) and Cupid's Touchdown (1917) for Selig Polyscope,
Jack followed along with sister Mary when she left Biograph and moved to the Famous Players Film Company (later Paramount Pictures) in 1914, and proved a personable light leading man. When Mary signed her famous million-dollar contract with First National in 1917, one of her stipulations was that Jack receive a lucrative contract as well. He appeared with Mary in such films as A Girl of Yesterday (1915) and Poor Little Peppina (1916), and starred on his own as lovelorn Bill Baxter in Seventeen (1916); as Pip in Great Expectations (1917); as Jack in The Dummy (1917); and as Tom Sawyer in both Tom Sawyer (1917) and Huck and Tom (1918); as well as the title roles in His Majesty, Bunker Bean (1918), Mile-a-Minute Kendall (1918) and Sandy (1918) (all co-starring lovely Louise Huff, and the films Freckles (1917), The Girl at Home (1917), What Money Can't Buy (1917) and Jack and Jill (1917).
The young man, however, just couldn't stay out of trouble. A 1918 stint in the Navy Reserve to straighten up proved disastrous when Jack, among others, was accused of accepting bribes from draftees who wanted light shore duty and stay out of front-line action. With the help of his family, he avoided a court martial, was exonerated and received a general discharge -- more than he deserved.
Earning a modicum of naïve "boy-next-door" success, Jack went on to produce a few of his own films (Burglar by Proxy (1919), Garrison's Finish (1923) and In Wrong (1919)), as well as co-direct (with Alfred E. Green) a couple of Mary's films (Through the Back Door (1921) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921)). Some of Jack's better silents during the "Roaring 20's" included The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1920), The Man Who Had Everything (1920), Waking Up the Town (1925), The Goose Woman (1925), Brown of Harvard (1926) and the classic Beatrice Lillie backstage comedy vehicle Exit Smiling (1926) as a young leading man of the troupe.
Tragically, Jack's obsessive taste for the high life quickly took over. A ne'er-do-well playboy and constant carouser, his scandalous private life aroused more public interest than his on-camera work in light romantic films. He picked up severe alcohol, drug and gambling addictions to accommodate his partying decadence with bouts of syphilis adding to the complications. Jack's wedded life was anything but blissful. All three wives were Ziegfeld girls at one time. His stormy marriage to despondent, drug-addicted first wife, actress Olive Thomas, ended after four years when the 25-year-old died by swallowing mercury bichloride. His next two marriages to legendary Broadway musical star Marilyn Miller and minor actress Mary Mulhern also ended quickly due to his acute alcoholism.
By the late 1920s Jack was completely undependable and, with the advent of sound, his career ground to a screeching halt, despite Mary's continued attempts to rescue it. Jack's health deteriorated considerably after this letdown. His last two films were the (lost) silent feature (with talking sequences) The Dancer Upstairs (2002) co-starring Olive Borden and a lead in the short film All Square (1930).
He died aged 36 on January 3, 1933, in Paris. The cause was listed as "progressive multiple neuritis", but it was almost certainly precipitated by his chronic alcoholism-- a tragic and seemingly unnecessary end for a young man who chose to tarnish the silver platter readily handed to him. Sister Lottie too fell into extreme excess and died in 1936 at age 43 of alcohol-related causes. Jack later earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.- Lewis Sargent was born in Los Angeles August 19, 1903. He had 8 brothers and sisters. His father Lewis was a carpenter, and his older bother, Don Sargent, was a Cinematographer in Hollywood for over 40 years. He was an early friend of James Wong Howe. Lewis' ancestor, William Sargent, came to America at Agawam, Massachusetts with Captain Smith in 1614. Lewis W. Sargent was the third child of Lewis and Elsa Plath Sargent. He was a child actor in the early days of motion pictures, beginning with Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1917) in 1917, until 1935 when he played Tarzan's side-kick in a series produced by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He played the title role in Huckleberry Finn (1920) in 1920, shared the lead with a dog in The Call of the Wilderness (1926) and played supporting roles in Oliver Twist (1922) and several other films though 1929.
After his acting years, Lewis worked as a California State Probabtion Officer for 20 years, and spent much of his retirement time fishing and creating fishing lures. Lewis died November 19, 1970 while a patient at the Hollywood West Hospital and was buried at Valhalla Memorial Park. - Matthew Roubert was born in New York in 1907 was a child star from about 1910-1921, and his father William L. Roubert was involved with "Little Matty Roubert" and his silent screen adventures. Matty's earliest film appearances were at Vitagraph and Biograph. He was one of the kids in "John Barleycorn" (Bosworth, 1914) which was produced by actor Hobart Bosworth's Los Angeles based film company (and Matty's father was the general manager). Matty was one of the "Powers Kids" for Pat Powers' Powers Picture Plays company. And then came his starring role as "The Universal Boy" for Carl Laemmle's IMP (Independent Motion Picture Company). By late 1915, his father was Vice President and general manager of the new Aurora Film Plays Corporation and his son starred in "The Waif" (Aurora, 1915) ... which was directed by the senior Roubert. Circa 1920, Matty was doing two-reel comedies for Reelcraft. And later that year, Matty Roubert Productions, Inc. was formed (with assist from Matty's dad), and they released "Heritage" (1920) ... which naturally, had young Matty in the lead. By the 1930s Matty discovered that significant film roles were no longer being offered. Reasons may have been his youngish face and a mop of curly hair ... and he was short. Matty was typecast as a newsboy, bellhop, messenger or elevator operator. In his mid twenties, he returned to his former Universal home for an uncredited role as a a Culver Military Academy cadet in "Tom Brown of Culver" (Universal, 1932). By the late 1930s, he learned how to ride a horse and do screen fisticuffs, and transformed himself into a B-western henchman as well as a stunt man who occasionally doubled several of the shorter cowboy heroes. He seemed to find a friend in Don 'Red' Barry, and Matty's first with Barry was "The Adventures of Red Ryder" (Republic, 1940) serial. This was followed by eleven of Barry's Republic films and three of his later Lippert and Screen Guild productions. A January, 1941 newspaper article had Barry and Roubert stopping in Abilene, Texas while touring and promoting the serial. Excerpt from that article: "... Barry and Matty Roubert, another western player, were en route east for personal appearances in Tennessee, Virginia and Pennsylvania." In addition to Barry, Matty was similar in height to Bob Steele and Lash LaRue ... and p doubled both. He worked in nine Metropolitan, Republic and PRC westerns with Battlin' Bob and five with Lash. There were other westerns: nine with Eddie Dean, ten Durango Kids with Charles Starrett, three with Autry, and three with Roy Rogers. He appeared in a few late 1930s Universal westerns and serials with Johnny Mack Brown. Roubert did military duty during World War II and continued working uncredited roles in films and on television. He married Mary L. Bowman in Los Angeles in 1955.He passed away on May 17, 1973 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
- Producer
A Hollywood native (born there in 1907), seven-year-old Wesley Barry was spotted by a director at Kalem who was taken with the boy's face full of freckles, and he went on to become one of the most popular child actors in the business. Barry had been making picture for several years when director Marshall Neilan scrubbed off the layers of greasepaint that covered his freckles (the standard "solution" at the time in Hollywood to cover up facial blemishes) and let the boy's naturally wild hair grow out instead of being slicked down. Audiences were charmed by the young actor's naturalness and "all-American" looks and flocked to his films. His biggest success was Dinty (1920), but he also scored with Penrod (1922), School Days (1920) and Rags to Riches (1922). Barry was not one of those former child stars whose life fell apart after growing into adulthood; he got involved in the production end of the business and enjoyed a long career as an assistant director, producer and director in both films and television. He died in Fresno, CA, in 1994.- Spec O'Donnell was born on 9 April 1911 in Fresno, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Accidents Will Happen (1938), Vamping Venus (1928) and Kentucky Blue Streak (1935). He was married to Inez Hixson. He died on 14 October 1986 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
The son of a railroad clerk/pro boxer, Frank Coghlan Jr. was born in Connecticut and soon moved with his parents to California, where all three did extra work in silent pictures. Freckle-faced Coghlan was soon one of the era's most popular child actors, but with the advent of sound (and the onslaught of adolescence) he was reduced to smaller parts. After starring in the milestone serial Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), Coghlan became a naval aviator in World War II. He later headed the Navy's motion picture cooperation program (and other similar programs), acting as liaison between the Navy and the Hollywood studios. When his 23-year active duty stint ended in 1965, he returned to acting in movies and on television (where he had a supporting part in the pilot of the "Captain Marvel"-like comedy series Mr. Terrific (1967)). He wrote his autobiography "because my kids just kept bugging me to do it", does the occasional TV commercial, and is a popular figure at movie conventions, where, to the amazement of the 80-ish "Junior", fans still line up to meet Captain Marvel's alter ego.- Mickey McBan was born on 27 February 1919 in Spokane, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Beau Geste (1926), Peter Pan (1924) and Sorrell and Son (1927). He died on 30 October 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Starting out as a child actor in 1915, Ben Alexander's first roles were in the films of such directors as Cecil B. DeMille and D.W. Griffith. He later graduated to juvenile leads and supporting parts in sound films, most notably in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). When his acting career slowed down in the mid-'30s, he found a new career as a successful radio announcer. Alexander was more or less retired when producer Jack Webb picked him for the part of his detective partner in the TV series Dragnet (1951). Alexander later played another detective on Howard Duff's TV series The Felony Squad (1966).- Francis Carpenter was born on 9 May 1910 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA. He was an actor, known for Treasure Island (1917), Jack and the Beanstalk (1917) and Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1917). He died on 18 May 1973 in Santa Maria, California, USA.
- Bobby Nelson was born on 17 January 1922 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Oliver Twist (1933), Custer's Last Stand (1936) and Perils of the Jungle (1927). He died on 5 December 1974 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Helen Badgley was born in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1908. She made her film debut in Brother Bob's Baby (1911) as "The Baby". She became popularly known as "The Thanhouser Kidlet" and appeared in many films as a child.
She "retired" from the film business when she turned six years old--she lost her front teeth and had to wait until her new teeth grew in. She stayed with Thanhouser almost until the company's demise, appearing in such releases as The Candy Girl (1917), Fires of Youth (1918) and The Heart of Ezra Greer (1917).
After she left the film business, she married the owner of a radio and recording studio and moved to Arizona. She died in Phoenix on October 25, 1977. - Mary Jane Irving was born on 20 October 1913 in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. She was an actress, known for The White Lie (1918), Scotty of the Scouts (1926) and The Godless Girl (1928). She was married to Robert Carson. She died on 17 July 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Helen Connelly was born on 7 October 1907 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Her Right to Live (1917), My Official Wife (1914) and Humoresque (1920). She was married to Anthony Merse. She died on 17 November 1993 in Newton, New Jersey, USA.
- 'Baby' Carmen De Rue was born on 6 February 1908 in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. She was an actress, known for The Squaw Man (1914), Cheerful Givers (1917) and Jack and the Beanstalk (1917). She was married to Fred Vincent Schrott. She died on 28 September 1986 in North Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Silent moppet star Jackie Coogan, immortalized as Charles Chaplin's The Kid (1921), had only one screen rival during the early 1920s, and that was none other than Baby Peggy. She was "discovered" while visiting the Century Studios lot on Sunset Boulevard with her mother when she was a mere 19 months old and went on to appear in nearly 150 shorts (between 1920 and 1923) and nine feature films during her silent heyday. Often considered a precursor to Shirley Temple, Baby Peggy's most popular film vehicle was the child classic Captain January (1924), which would be made a decade later as a vehicle for Temple.
She was born Peggy-Jean Montgomery in 1918 in San Diego, California, of acting stock. She was the daughter of Marian (Baxter), from Wisconsin, and Jack Montgomery, a Nebraska-born cowboy for years all over the western states. He ended up in the movies as a stuntman and extra, driving stagecoaches and buckboards. He supported himself as Tom Mix's double, but never achieved the rugged stardom he yearned for. In fact, his daughter was the one who became the celebrity and chief breadwinner for the family.
Many of Baby Peggy's popular comedies were parodies of movies that grown-up stars had made, and she delightfully imitated such legends as Rudolph Valentino, Pola Negri, Mary Pickford and Mae Murray. Her first feature-length film was Penrod (1922); her first film with Universal, The Darling of New York (1923), shot when she was 3-1/2 years old, was a solid hit. A few more, including Helen's Babies (1924), were also certifiable winners. However, by the age of 8, she was finished.
Her fortune reportedly was depleted by her father Jack's stepfather, a banker to whom she had entrusted all her money. Within a short time, she was forced to turn to the vaudeville circuit for survival. A comeback in early talkies with the new moniker Peggy Montgomery was very short-lived. Her credits, as a result, are often mixed up with another actress named Peggy Montgomery, who was a western ingénue for many years.
The former child star lived in dire straits and suffered from nervous breakdowns and near poverty for many years until she found a new and unexpectedly successful career as a book publisher and writer, using the pseudonym "Diana Serra Cary". As the author of "Hollywood Posse" (1975) and (later) "Hollywood's Children", she wrote about her youthful career, post-stardom years, child stars in general, and Hollywood history in all its fascinating glory. Her own autobiography, "Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy?", was released in 1996.
In 2016, Diana was inducted into the Classic Film Hall of Fame at the Rheem Theater in Moraga, CA. Diana was present, at age 98, to receive the honor and answer questions. She is considered to have been the last living star of the silent film era. Per Robert Garfinkle, a board member of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, CA, Diana now has the longest acting career of all time, from 1920 to 2015. Her last film was a silent film she made at the above-referenced museum. The film was actually made using one of their antique hand-cranked cameras!
Baby Peggy died on February 24, 2020 in Gustine, California. She was 101.- Baby Lillian Wade was born on 7 July 1907 in Denver, Colorado, USA. She was an actress, known for Little Orphant Annie (1918), When Lillian Was Little Red Riding Hood (1913) and The Lipton Cup: Introducing Sir Thomas Lipton (1913). She died on 5 May 1990 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Early Gorman better known as 'Baby Early' was born in New Jersey in 1906. Pretty blonde child star who made her film debut at the age of 5 appearing in nearly 50 short silent comedy and drama films, first under the direction of Harry C. Mathews in 'When First We Met' at the Powers Picture Plays studios in 1911, she also had her own 'Baby Early' comedy series including 'Early Awakening' with Matty Roubert in 1912, she was last seen on screen in 'The Gift of the Fairies' at the Rex Motion Picture studios in 1918 retiring at the age of 11. Died in New Jersey in 1982 age 76. Married name is Earle E. Gehrig.
- Josephine Adair was born on 27 June 1916 in Lamar, Prowers County, Colorado, USA. She was an actress, known for More to Be Pitied Than Scorned (1922), Only a Shop Girl (1922) and Children of Dust (1923). She died in 1966 in Miami, Florida, USA.
- Loni Nest was born on 4 August 1915 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Ein Erpressertrick (1921), Schwarze Erde (1923) and Die Heilige und ihr Narr (1928). She died on 2 October 1990 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.
- Actress
- Writer
Brown-haired, blue-eyed, round-faced British actress of great charm who started as a child in the early silents, and continued the child-like roles into her late teens. Best remembered for her roles in the long-running 'Tilly the Tomboy' series. Her output and popularity began to fall away in the twenties (she first lost star billing in 1928), but she keep working, often, in latter times, on TV.- Simone Genevois was born on 13 February 1912 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France. She was an actress, known for La merveilleuse vie de Jeanne d'Arc (1929), Simone (1918) and Napoleon (1927). She was married to Jacques Pathé and André Conti. She died on 16 December 1995 in Ascona, Switzerland.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Gertrude Messinger was born on 28 April 1911 in Spokane, Washington, USA. She was an actress, known for A Bit o' Heaven (1917), Rip Van Winkle (1921) and Penrod and Sam (1923). She was married to Schuyler A. Sanford, Henry Walsh Knight and David Sharpe. She died on 8 November 1995 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Married to director/writer Scott Pembroke, daughter of actor Lew Short and sister of actress Florence Short. Gertrude Short was in vaudeville for five years then moved to the legit stage and onto Hollywood in 1922. From 1924 to 1925, Short played in a series of "Telephone Girl" comedies, directed by her husband. She continued playing telephone operators in several of her sound films. In fact, her last screen appearance was as an operator in the film Week-End at the Waldorf (1945). During WWII Short left the screen to work at Lockheed and stayed there until she retired in 1967.
- Violet La Plante was born on 17 January 1908 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Battling Buddy (1924), The Clean Heart (1924) and My Home Town (1928). She was married to Charles Sorrell Benson. She died on 1 June 1984 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Jack Morgan was born on 7 July 1916 in Aberdeen, South Dakota, USA. He was an actor, known for Uncle Bim's Gifts (1923), Aggravatin' Mama (1923) and Andy's Hat in the Ring (1924). He died on 25 July 1981 in Brea, California, USA.
- Georgie Stone was born on 3 September 1909 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Just Pals (1920), Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1918) and Gretchen the Greenhorn (1916). He died on 25 April 2010 in Denver, Colorado, USA.
- Actor
- Sound Department
Pat Moore was born on 20 October 1912 in Bristol, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Lover of Camille (1924), The Squaw Man (1918) and The Ten Commandments (1923). He was married to Irmgard Bachler. He died on 25 April 2004 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jane Lee was born in 1912 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. She was an actress, known for Swat the Spy (1918), We Should Worry (1918) and American Buds (1918). She was married to ? St. John. She died on 17 March 1957 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Katherine Lee was born on 6 February 1909 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. She was an actress, known for The Bludgeon (1915), A Daughter of the Gods (1916) and The Ragged Princess (1916). She was married to Ray Miller. She died on 22 October 1968 in Flushing, New York, USA.- Nancy Caswell was born in Hollywood, California to English-born parents, Edward Caswell and Minnie Olive Hopkins. She began her stage career at age two performing as a child in numerous stage plays around the country. Minnie took her beautiful and talented daughter Nancy at age three to audition for her first silent motion picture for a small role in 'The End of the Rainbow' at Universal Film Manufacturing Company in 1916. She was signed with the Fox Film Corporation and then co-starred with Jewel Carmen in 'The Kingdom of Love' directed by the legendary Frank Lloyd.
Nancy went on to make many silent films at Fox in California and New Jersey, Universal, Screen Classics Films, and worked with directors, Frank Lloyd and Raoul Walsh (Fox Film Corp.), including Zane Grey's 'Riders of the Purple Sage' starring William Farnum. Due to her early career she was taught by private tutors at Fox, where she also learned to dance and sing. She married a prosperous Los Angeles attorney, Max Gilford, at age 17.
When 'Talkies' arrived, Nancy worked at Richard Talmadge Productions, Paramount, Columbia and finally Weiss Productions in 1936. Divorced from her first husband, she married Lionel R. Brooks, French/American oil and gold tycoon, in Trinidad in 1937, gave up her acting career and moved to Paris before eventually retiring to Beverly Hills, California. Nancy lived in her beloved California until towards the end of her life. She died of heart failure in Miami, Florida in 1987. - Marie Eline was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on February 27, 1902. She got her start in the film business at age 7 with the Thanhouser Co. in New York with A 29-Cent Robbery (1910), which came out the year after she signed the contract. She was one of the few actresses who played the lead role in her very first film (her sister, Grace Eline, also had a part in the film). Marie proved to be an incredibly versatile player for such a young child, easily shifting between playing female and male children and, in one film-- The Judge's Story (1911)--she even played a Black boy. She was so popular with critics and audiences alike that, unlike most actors at Thanhouser, she was mentioned by name by the company and even given a nickname: "The Thanhouser Kid". Critics praised her "naturalness" and audiences flocked to her pictures, which played no small part in Thanhouser's success as a major film production studio.
In 1913, at the ripe old age of 11, she decided to broaden her horizons by conquering Broadway, appearing in at least one play. That same year Thanhouser took her out of "kid" roles and put her in its prestigious "Princess Films" division. Unfortunately, her popularity waned and she made fewer and fewer pictures. She finally left Thanhouser in 1914 and went back to the stage. She later signed with World Films, for whom she made Uncle Tom's Cabin (1914). She remained in the theater for several years, then in 1919 she signed with the low-budget National Film Corp. in Los Angeles.
She and her sister toured extensively in stock and vaudeville into the 1920s. She married in 1922 and had one child, a girl. She died in Longview, Washington on January 3, 1981, while visiting her daughter. - Miriam Battista was born in New York City on July 14, 1912, the youngest of three children, to immigrant parents from Italy. Her father was Raphael Battista from Oliveto Citra, Italy, and her mother was Cleonice (Clara) Rufolo. Clara was related to many old Neapolitan families of noble blood, and Raphael's grandfather was an archbishop. Miriam captivated audiences at age 4 when she made her stage debut in 1916 with legendary stage star Maude Adams (1872-1953) in "A Kiss for Cinderella." She was first seen on film in Blazing Love (1916) starring Virginia Pearson. Her eyes lit up the screen, though she received no credit for being in the film. Several years of stage work followed, including roles in "Daddy Long Legs" with Ruth Chatterton (1917), the Henrik Ibsen classic "A Doll's House" with Alla Nazimova (1918), "Freedom" with her eldest brother William (1918), "Red Dawn" (1919), and "Daddies" with Jeanne Eagles (1919).
In 1919, she returned to film in Nazimova's Eye for Eye (1918), playing Hassouna's little sister. The following year, she played Minnie Ginsberg as a child in Humoresque (1920), the first film to receive the Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor (the first significant annual film award); in Miriam's most memorable scene, she sobs over her dead kitten and tries to bring it back to life by warming it against her body. Roles in many more films followed, including At the Stage Door (1921) with Billie Dove, Smilin' Through (1922) with Norma Talmadge, Boomerang Bill (1922) with Lionel Barrymore in which she played a Chinese girl, and The Man Who Played God (1922) with George Arliss. Her mother, who had managed her career, died in 1924, and Miriam didn't return to the stage until 1930, at the age of 18. She played the ingénue lead in "The Honor Code" (1931) and after joining Florenz Ziegfield Jr.'s "Follies" as a dancer, she landed a singing role in "Hot Cha!" (1932) with Bert Lahr. She continued performing on the stage, including starring with Humphrey Bogart in "Our Wife" (1933), and making films, mostly in Italian. In 1934, she married dancer Paul Pierce; the marriage lasted only one year. In 1938, she married Russell Maloney, an author who worked as a staff writer on the New Yorker. Their only child, Amelia, was born in 1945. In 1948, they collaborated on an ill-fated musical titled "Sleepy Hollow" that lasted only 12 performances. Russell died a few months later, and in 1949 Miriam married Lloyd Rosamond, a radio and TV producer who had been a friend since childhood. Lloyd died in 1964. Miriam died on December 22, 1980, of complications from emphysema. - Gladys Egan was born on 24 May 1900 in Manhattan, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Adventures of Dollie (1908), Romance of a Jewess (1908) and After Many Years (1908). She was married to John Edward Jacoby. She died on 8 March 1985 in Lemon Grove, California, USA.
- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Additional Crew
Marie Osborne was born on 5 November 1911 in Denver, Colorado, USA. She was an actress, known for Milady o' the Beanstalk (1918), Twin Kiddies (1917) and The Godfather Part II (1974). She was married to Murray F. Yeats and Frank J. Dempsey. She died on 11 November 2010 in San Clemente, California, USA.- Actress
Born in Los Angeles, California in 1910 of Italian parents Santo Giraci and Anna De Nubila. Discovered by Cecil B. DeMille. Worked as child actor in silent films. Original film name was Tina Rossi. Birth name was May Giraci. Attended Hollywood High School. After graduation changed name to May Giraci. Married Herman C. Platz in May 1931. Three children: Ralph, Howard, Carole.- Actress
- Soundtrack
At just a few month old, Carmencita Johnson started appearing in the "Our Gang" shorts. As a child she appeared in some of the better-known silent features such as The Way of All Flesh (1927), The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926), and The Wind (1928).
In the 1930s and 1940s, she did some modeling, acted, and was an occasional stand-in for Lana Turner. She also swam in Esther Williams aquatic movies.
Her best-known scene was probably in the last movie she worked on, A Place in the Sun (1951). Besides being one of Elizabeth Taylor's friends, Carmencita doubled for Shelley Winters when the Montgomery Clift character murders Alice Tripp by pushing her into the lake (or does he?) in A Place in the Sun (1951).
Carmencita married Jack Robertson in 1949 and soon after retired from film work. They had four sons--Nicolas, Drew, Winslow, and Cullen--and a daughter, Sydney. In 1961, Carmencita and Jack moved to Ojai, California, where she became a tireless supporter of the arts and helped to establish the Ojai Studio Artists Tour and the Ojai Art Center.
She was selected Ojai Valley Woman of the Year in 1985, and was the longtime publicist for artist George Stuart.
A number of the films Carmencita appeared in have been "lost," including the Academy Award-winning movie The Way of All Flesh (1927).
On September 26, 2000, the Robertsons were traveling on Harbor Boulevard and turning onto Peninsula Street in Ventura when their 1990 Honda Civic was broadsided by a 1991 Chevrolet Blazer. The passenger side of their car, where she was sitting, received the brunt of the impact. She was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where she died about five hours later.- Journalist Adela Rogers St. Johns once dubbed Lina Basquette "The Screen Tragedy Girl." In retrospect, Lina's private life bore a similar description. While six of her eight marriages ended up "I Don'ts" (she was widowed twice), she would also have to contend with a flurry of legal confrontations, stormy affairs and suicide attempts. Once she gave a fond farewell to her entertainment career in the late 1930s, her life literally went to the dogs.
The full-faced, raven-haired California-born actress was christened Lena Baskette, the daughter of Frank Baskette, a drug store owner. Lina trained in dance while very young and at the San Francisco World's Fair of 1915, the eight-year-old was featured as a baby ballerina for the Victor Talking Machine Company's exhibition. Movie maker Carl Laemmle saw her perform and signed her to a long-term contract with his Universal Pictures company at $50 a week. Lina headlined her very own short programs, the "Lena Baskette Featurettes," between 1916-1917, and also garnered young leads in a number of full-length features including What Love Can Do (1916), Shoes (1916), A Prince for a Day (1917), The Weaker Vessel (1919) and, more notably, Penrod (1922).
In 1916, Lena's father died and mother Gladys remarried. Gladys and her new husband, dance director Ernest Belcher, had a daughter together who became Lena's half-sister and future dancing star Marge Champion. Lena's mother was an avid stage mother and eventually, with Belcher's help, managed to prod Lena into the Ziegfeld Follies of 1923. She stayed with the Follies for a couple of years. Billed third as "America's Prima Ballerina," Lena's marquee name was changed to the more exotic spelling of "Lina Basquette." Her act was caught by the legendary Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who offered to take on Lina as her protégée. Lina's mother nixed the offer, wishing to make bigger bucks for her daughter with the Follies and other shows, Texas Guinan's notorious speakeasies notwithstanding.
At age 18, Lina married 38-year-old Warner Bros. mogul Sam Warner. Lina greatly influenced Warner to pursue sound pictures and even encouraged him to star Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer (1927). Sam died unexpectedly at age 40 of a brain hemorrhage the night before the film's premiere. This heartbreak jump-started an avalanche of problems for Lina. She not only became embroiled in a series of legal battles with her in-laws over her husband's estate, she lost custody of her daughter Lita in the process. She would not see her daughter for another 30 years. This crisis led to Lina's first attempt at suicide.
Lina valiantly returned to films and made such silents as Ranger of the North (1927), The Noose (1928) and Wheel of Chance (1928), while scoring two noteworthy roles in Frank Capra's The Younger Generation (1929) and Cecil B. DeMille's The Godless Girl (1928). In the latter she played an avowed atheist. This powerful film should have made Lina a sultry star had it not been released as a silent film right at the advent of talkies.
Within a very short time Lina married twice more -- a quickie union to cameraman J. Peverell Marley, and in 1931 the widow (once again) of third husband, actor Ray Hallam, who suddenly died at the age of 26 after only a few months of wedded bliss. Lina subsequently started up a highly publicized affair with famed boxer Jack Dempsey. Their stormy breakup led to her second suicide try and a rebound marriage to his personal trainer Theodore Hayes in December of 1931. This fourth marriage was not valid as it was discovered that Hayes was already married. The couple remarried in 1933 and had a son, Edward Alvin, in 1934 before divorcing the following year.
At this juncture Lina's private life received more interest from the public than her films. Her career had down-sized to "B" westerns opposite such stars as Buck Jones and Hoot Gibson and a few mellers here and there. After touring the stages of Australia, New Zealand and various South African cities in the plays "Private Lives," "Black Limelight" and "Idiot's Delight" in 1938 and 1939, and after appearing in the films Rose of the Rio Grande (1938), Four Men and a Prayer (1938) and A Night for Crime (1943), she called it quits.
Misfortune, however, continued to follow her. In August of 1943 she brought up assault and rape charges against a 22-year-old Army GI. The soldier was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in the brig. Completely retired, she found emotional solace with her new post-war profession -- the breeding and handling of Great Danes. In 1949, she became the owner of Honey Hollow Kennels, a 25 acre estate in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There she bred and raised champion dogs for best-in-shows and also became a respected judge. More marriages came and fell by the wasteside and at least one of her later unions lost out to an either/or ultimatum with her Great Danes. Lina also wrote the non-fiction book "Your Great Dane" in 1972. She moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1975 and lived there until her death of lymphoma at age 87 on September 30, 1994.
Out of nowhere, the octogenarian grandmother had one last chance to bask in the limelight when she was touchingly cast as Nada in Daniel Boyd's independent feature Paradise Park (1992) playing an Appalachian trailer park granny who dreams that God is coming and granting a wish on all its residents. The film also featured country music stars Porter Wagoner and Johnny PayCheck. Boyd had met the actress at a West Virginia film festival. - Mildred Harris was born on 29 November 1901 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA. She was an actress, known for The Doctor and the Woman (1918), For Husbands Only (1918) and The Price of a Good Time (1917). She was married to William Peter Fleckenstein, Everett Terrence McGovern and Charles Chaplin. She died on 20 July 1944 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Jeanne Carpenter was born on 1 February 1916 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Through the Back Door (1921), Fighting Fate (1921) and A Man from Nowhere (1920). She was married to Robert Alvin Grimes and Robert Drysdale. She died on 5 January 1994 in Oxnard, California, USA.
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Who was the first screen Tarzan? The standard answer is Elmo Lincoln star of the first Tarzan movie (1918). But the first third of that movie shows Tarzan as a boy, frolicking in the nude with real chimps (unlike the grown-up Lincoln who cavorted clothed with athletes wearing monkey suits). The earliest movie Tarzan was actually Gordon Griffith, a child star who began his career four years earlier in five Charles Chaplin one-reelers. After the initial Tarzan role he played the son of Tarzan (anticipating John Sheffield's "boy" roles), Tom Sawyer, and a few more child parts. As an adult he joined Monogram as an assistant director and was affiliated with both Robert Sherwood Productions and Gregory Ratoff Productions as a director and associate producer. In 1941 he became production manager of Columbia Pictures. He also served as associate producer on RKO's "Never Wave at a Wac" and UA's "Monsoon". He was survived by his sister.- Yale Boss was born on 18 October 1899 in Utica, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Ransom of Red Chief (1911), A Youthful Knight (1913) and A Question of Hats and Gowns (1914). He died on 16 November 1977 in Augusta, Georgia, USA.
- Born in the film capital of the world near the end of World War I, he made his film debut under the name John Henry Jr. in a Valentine's Day film short. During the 1920s he was considered to be one of the most popular film stars of the decade, alongside Mickey Rooney, Peggy Montgomery, and the many "Our Gang" cast members. When the Depression came, however, Marion found himself getting fewer parts, and when he resumed his film career at the start of his adulthood he was often subjected to less-than-desirable roles, in some of which he would only have one sentence to speak. Despite his film setbacks in adulthood, he made a name for himself by performing in a handful of radio shows, even though he was almost always uncredited. He left acting in 1953 to focus on family and his church.
- Young "Sunny Jim" McKeen was featured in 39 "Newlyweds and Their Baby" shorts in the late 1920s, then went on to make a series of six sound shorts on his own. A very blond little boy, he was a contemporary of the child actors such as Allen 'Farina' Hoskins and Jackie Cooper, Davey Lee and Shirley Temple. He died of blood poisoning in 1933, at the age of 8.
- Actor
- Art Department
- Cinematographer
Today screen actor Robert (Bobby) Harron is one of Hollywood's forgotten souls, although he was a huge celebrity in his time and graced some of the silent screen's most enduring masterpieces. A talented, charismatic star in his heyday, Bobby had everything going for him but died far too young to make the longstanding impression he certainly deserved.
Bobby was born one of nine children in New York City to an impoverished Irish-American family. In order to put food on the table, Bobby started out quite young looking for work. At age 13 he found a job working for the American Biograph Studio on East 14th Street as a messenger boy and was given a couple of film bits for added measure. Within the next year director D.W. Griffith had joined the company and the sensitive, highly photogenic Bobby caught the legendary director's eye almost immediately.
Bobby subsequently had leading roles in many of Griffith's classic silents, usually playing characters that were much younger and much more naive than in real life. He appeared opposite other legendary female stars who also played "young-ish" roles, notably Mae Marsh and Lillian Gish. Bobby made indelible impressions in The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), An Old Fashioned Young Man (1917), Hearts of the World (1918), A Romance of Happy Valley (1919) and True Heart Susie (1919).
Bobby had become such a sensation that in 1920 he entertained thoughts about leaving the Griffith fold and forming his own company. A fatal, self-inflicted bullet wound to the left lung in September of 1920 ended those dreams before they ever got off the ground. Although it was listed as an "accidental" death, Hollywood rumor has it that a despondent Bobby killed himself in a New York hotel room on the eve of the premiere of Griffith's new film Way Down East (1920). It seems Bobby was devastated after being passed over by Griffith for the lead role in favor of the director's new protégé, Richard Barthelmess. Whatever the truth may be, Bobby's death remains a tragic mystery. Ironically, Bobby had two lesser known sibling actors who also died quite young. Tessie Harron (1896-1918) died at age 22 of Spanish influenza, and John Harron (1904-1939), nicknamed Johnnie, collapsed and died of spinal meningitis at age 35. Both appeared unbilled in Hearts of the World (1918) with Bobby.- Zena Keefe was born in San Francisco, California, on June 26, 1896. The actress who was to make a total of 28 films started her career at the age of 16 when she played a bit part in The Hieroglyphic (1912). After The Gamblers (1912) later that year, four years elapsed before she would appear onscreen again, in The Rail Rider (1916). Her first real meaty role, however, came later that year when she played "Mary Winslow" in Her Maternal Right (1916). For the rest of her career she was not as busy as she would have liked--in the film industry's early years it was not unusual for performers to make 20 films a year, but Zena was turning out only three or four. She stayed with her craft throughout the 1920s, making her final film in 1924, Trouping with Ellen (1924).
On November 16, 1977, Zena Keefe died at the age of 81 in Danvers, Massachusetts. - Lassie Lou Ahern, who enjoyed a substantial career in 1920s Hollywood working with the likes of Will Rogers, Charley Chase, Helen Holmes, and the team of Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky, has passed away in Prescott, Arizona, USA, due to complications of the flu. After decades of relative obscurity, interest in her life and filmography won her a new audience of fans during her final years owing to a renewed cultural appreciation of silent cinema and to efforts made toward restoring her final silent film. Along with surviving star "Baby Peggy" (Diana Serra Cary), 99, Ahern was the last Hollywood performer with deep roots in motion pictures before the coming of sound. Brimming with stories, details, and information, her loss finds our relationship to silent cinema moving from living history to simply that of history.
She was born four blocks away from the Ambassador Hotel in Hollywood. Her father, Fred Ahern, was a real estate agent who had Will Rogers as a leading client as Culver City was being formed. After meeting Lassie and her older sister Peggy, Rogers encouraged Ahern to take his daughters to Hal Roach studios to be cast in parts calling for children, and soon they earned ancillary roles in the Our Gang. Rogers took an active interest in Lassie, ensuring she had parts in his films. Throughout her life, with great fondness, she considered him her "real" father. She made her debut in Roach's first full-length movie, an adaptation of The Call of the Wild (1923), and soon was regularly cast in Charley Chase comedies and as the object of rescue in the popular serials of Helen Holmes. In pictures such as Webs of Steel (1925), Lassie, like Holmes, supplied her own dangerous stunt work. Meanwhile she appeared in productions by independent producers (The Dark Angel for Samuel Goldwyn, Hell's Highroad for Cecil B. DeMille, Robes of Sin for William Russell [all 1925]), as well as features at major studies (John Ford's now lost film Thank You and Excuse Me starring Norma Shearer [both 1925]), before landing a contract with Universal in the mid-1920s.
She found her biggest success in the epic Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927), in which she landed the part of Little Harry over hundreds of boys who auditioned for the role. Shot largely on location on the Mississippi River, she appeared in the legendary sequence featuring the escape across the ice floes. While the movie would be the object of a spate of bad fortune that led to its taking more than a year and a half to make, it was the highlight of her career and won her excellent notices. Of her acting, biographer Jeffrey Crouse, in an extended interview conducted with her in 2013 for Film International, has written that, "though by today's standards she fails to convince as a boy, she commits fully to the movie in such an animated, engaging way that she provides it with a color splash which sweetly enlivens the picture." It ended up becoming the third most expensive 1920s Hollywood production after Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) and Old Ironsides (1926), and like those other films it lost money at the box office.
At Universal she had her own dressing room (it had once been Conrad Nagel's) and star on the door. An entire clothing line was named after her ("Lassie Lou Classics"), and her name and image were used to endorse such brands as Sunkist oranges, Buster Brown shoes, and Jean Carol frocks. At the same time, she was cast in the rare Jewish-themed drama Surrender (1927) opposite Mary Philbin and, in his only American film, Ivan Mozhukhin. She also appeared as an Arab girl in The Forbidden Woman (1927) starring Jetta Goudal and Joseph Schildkraut. Schildkraut, who would later win an Oscar for playing Captain Alfred Dreyfus in The Life of Emile Zola (1937), announced at the wrap party that he was so impressed by her acting skills that he considered her his "favourite co-star." That year also saw her cast as the co-lead opposite rising child star Frankie Darro in the FBO production Little Mickey Grogan. It was her swan song to silent pictures, and alongside her part as Little Harry, her role as the street urchin Susan Dale was the one of which she was most proud.
The late 1920s saw a spate of proto-gangster films (Underworld [1927], Ladies of the Mob [1928], and Thunderbolt [1929]), and alarmed by the rising depiction of screen violence, Fred Ahern took his daughters out of pictures. Instead, he opened a dance studio, only blocks from MGM, called "Ahern's Allied Arts." There--besides dance styles such as ballet and tap--acrobatics, rope tricks, and music were taught. Ernest Belcher, Marge Champion's father, had been Lassie's dance instructor, and indeed she had been a trained dancer before the studio opened, amply showing off her skills in Uncle Tom's Cabin and Little Mickey Grogan. From 1932 to 1939, the sisters successfully toured the world together in a variety of venues, even appearing on screen (marvelous in 1937's Hollywood Party). Their act broke up when each sister decided to marry.
While Peggy permanently retired from performing, Lassie returned to Hollywood in 1941 with husband Johnny Brent, a former Dixieland drummer who was employed for years as a musician for studio orchestras. She danced in City of Lost Girls (1941) and in the early musicals Donald O'Connor made at Universal (1943's Top Man and Mister Big and 1945's Patrick the Great). She was effusive in her praise for O'Connor, openly regarding him as the finest performer she ever worked with. She was also nearly cast opposite Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (1943), and had a bit part with Joseph Cotten in George Cukor's Gaslight (1944). When she returned to the screen decades later, it was not on the big one but on television, in small parts in episodes of The Odd Couple; Love, American Style; and other popular series.
In middle age, she not only was a travel agent but for more than thirty years taught dance to generations of students at the Ashram Spa near San Diego, with Renee Zellweger and Cindy Crawford among her pupils. In the 1970s, while researching an upcoming role in which she was to be cast as a madam, Faye Dunaway approached Lassie for walking lessons because of her commanding posture.
Besides her late husband and sister, Lassie's half-brother Fred had also worked in the industry, notably as a production designer for Alfred Hitchcock in five pictures he made for the Master of Suspense from the period of Spellbound (1945) to Stage Fright (1950). Lassie leaves behind three children, Cary, Debra, and John. She told Crouse in 2013, "It's gratifying to experience such interest in my work from you and so many others from around the world. Fan letters, especially from Germany and Spain, still arrive at my mailbox at a rate that amazes me."
An original 35-mm nitrate copy of Little Mickey Grogan has been found in the Lobster Films Archive in Paris. Crouse and co-producer Eric Grayson are working to restore it. - Doris Baker was born on 8 August 1907 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Ella Cinders (1926), Kilmeny (1915) and Glory (1917). She died on 5 December 1998 in Carmichael, California, USA.
- Kittens Reichert was born on 3 March 1910 in Yonkers, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for House of Cards (1917), Les Misérables (1917) and Heart and Soul (1917). She was married to Richard Plummer Lundy Sr.. She died on 11 January 1990 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
- Ivy Ward (born 1914) is a retired American actress. Ward is a Belgian orphan. Her father was killed during World War I and her mother died shortly after her birth. She was sent to a French orphan asylum. She was adopted by Agnes Allen who brought her to United States and educated her. In the movie The Great Victory, Wilson or the Kaiser? The Fall of the Hohenzollerns in which she appeared, she was put her in a role that was close to her real childhood.
- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Having toured the world with husband, Kajar the Magician's Show 'Magicadabr', Jean Darling settled in Dublin and became an author of dozens of short mysteries for Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Shayne Mystery Magazines and Horror Fantasy for Whispers Magazine, etc. In 1980 she became Aunty Poppy (named for her home State flower) writing and telling over 450 children's story on both RTE radio and TV. Jean has also written several radio plays broadcast on RTE.- Peggy Cartwright was born on 14 November 1912 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was an actress, known for A Lady of Quality (1924), Magic Night (1932) and The Third Generation (1920). She was married to Bill Walker and Phil Baker. She died on 13 June 2001 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
- Joe Cobb was born on 7 November 1916 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor, known for Uncle Tom's Uncle (1926), Good Cheer (1926) and The Buccaneers (1924). He died on 21 May 2002 in Santa Ana, California, USA.
- John Michael Condon, known professionally as Jackie Condon, was born in Los Angeles, California. His acting career began in the silent film Jinx (1919) when he was a few months shy of two years old. He is most well-known for being one of the original cast members of the "Our Gang" short film series, as well as being the only member to appear in all sixty-six of the shorts during the Pathé silent era. After his final "Our Gang" appearance in the short Election Day (1929) at the age of eleven, he attempted to make a transition from silent pictures to talkies; however, he was unsuccessful. He continued trying to get back into acting well into his adult years, and in a 1953 interview on the program You Asked for It (1950), he stated that he was studying dramatics under the actress Florence Enright. Still, he never made it back onto the big screen, save for a few "Our Gang" reunions. As an adult he worked as either a file clerk or an accountant at Rockwell International, working alongside former "Our Gang" co-star Joe Cobb. He died of colon cancer on October 13, 1977 in Inglewood, California. He was 59 years old.
- Mickey Daniels was born on 11 October 1914 in Rock Springs, Wyoming, USA. He was an actor, known for The Little Minister (1922), Roaring Roads (1935) and Uncle Tom's Uncle (1926). He died on 20 August 1970 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Allen 'Farina' Hoskins was born on 9 August 1920 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Love Business (1931), Moan & Groan, Inc. (1929) and A Tough Winter (1930). He was married to Frances. He died on 26 July 1980 in Oakland, California, USA.
- Robert E. Hutchins was born March 29th, 1925, in Tacoma, Washington. He was born to James Hutchins and Olga Hutchins (nee Roe). Robert was a very outgoing boy with a charming personality, because friends persuaded James and Olga to go to a Hollywood photographer and get his picture taken. The photographer was impressed by Robert's intelligence, and asked to take a few feet of film of him. The results were so good that the film ended up in the projection room at Hal Roach Studios. Hal Roach decided the boy would be a good addition to his "Our Gang" short films, and signed him to a five year contract.
On his first day at the studio, Robert didn't have an identity for his part in the movies, and he was running around so much that he began to wheeze. Such led to the coining of the "Wheezer" name, one he carried for the rest of his time in Our Gang. Robert played the perky, tag-along little brother that was always anxious to be part of the mischief that the gang was getting into. He played such a part in both the silent films and the talkies.
Jackie Cooper recalls, "You'd go to play with Wheezer, and his father would pull him away, very competitive. I didn't get a satisfactory answer from my mother or grandmother as to why, but he was to be left alone. I guess his father was trying to make him a star or something. Obviously it never happened as it did for Spanky or some of the other kids."
In trying to make Robert a star, his father malnourished him, and isolated him from the other kids when not filming. James had a plan to keep him small and employable by underfeeding him, and wanted to ensure that Bobby and his siblings never learned that normal kids got a lot more to eat than they did. Nobody ever intervened upon the children's behalf. It's made worse by the fact that his plan backfired. While Robert was incredibly photogenic, and had some fine moments on screen, he looked and acted more like the slow-witted, malnourished child he was, as he aged. Sharper boys were given the leading parts, while Robert spent the last portion of his contract as a background player.
After he left Our Gang with 1933's "Mush and Milk", his film career was essentially over -- with an appearance in Pie for Two, Yoo-Hoo, and Strange Roads outside of his Our Gang shorts -- and he did no more acting after that. His mother and father divorced, and he, his brother James, and his mother moved back to Washington. They lived in a household with their grandmother, and Olga's new husband.
Robert got a job as a gas station attendant in 1942, and enrolled as an air cadet sometime in 1943, with speculation being that he enrolled sometime in August. He was very close to completing his advanced flight training, until a very unfortunate event occurred May 17th, 1945, and he perished. He was killed in a mid-air collision while trying to land a North American AT-6D Texan, at Merced Army Air Field Base in California. The other pilot involved received only minor damage, and landed safely. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in Idaho in 1915, perky blonde Mary Kornman's acting career began at age five. She made her "name" as the cute, spunky little girl in the 1920s' "Our Gang" shorts, and was often paired with Mickey Daniels. The two returned to the screen as a pair again several years after leaving the "Rascals" series with a new series of comedy shorts for Hal Roach called "The Boy Friends" (in 1932 she made a cameo appearance, along with Daniels, in a Little Rascals short, Fish Hooky (1933), as the gang's teacher!). The "Boy Friends" series lasted three years, and after that Mary struck out on her own, but couldn't manage much beyond "B" pictures. She left the business in 1940, and died in 1973.- Actress
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Mary Ann Jackson was born on January 14, 1923. She was one of the earliest child stars of the twenties and thirties. Although she was better known as one of the child performers from the famed "Our Gang" comedies that are still popular today, Mary Ann began her film career at the age of four in 1927's "Smith's Pony." Although she didn't make any full length motion pictures during 1928, Mary Ann more than made up for it the following year when she appeared in six major pictures such as "Bouncing Babies" and "Lazy Days." After eight films in 1930 and six in 1931, Mary Ann left the film world after "Little Daddy" at the age of eight.- Frankie Lee was born on 31 December 1911 in Gunnison, Colorado, USA. He was an actor, known for Jinx (1919), The Bronze Bride (1917) and The Right to Be Happy (1916). He died on 29 July 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- A tow-headed, delicate-looking child actor of the 1920s, Billy Butts (born William Charles Allen Butts) enjoyed some popularity as a young sidekick of western stars Fred Thomson and Rex Bell. He later took over from Jack Morgan in the popular "Gumps" two-reel comedies, but his waif-like qualities didn't survive puberty and he retired at the ripe old age of 17.
- Writer
- Actor
- Director
True Boardman was born on 25 October 1909 in Seattle, Washington, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Michael O'Halloran (1923), Arabian Nights (1942) and Between Us Girls (1942). He was married to Kathleen Gilmour and Thelma Boardman. He died on 28 July 2003 in Pebble Beach, California, USA.- Actor
- Stunts
- Soundtrack
Maurice Murphy was born on 3 October 1913 in Seattle, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Tailspin Tommy (1934), Beau Geste (1926) and Peter Pan (1924). He died on 23 November 1978 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Malcolm Sebastian was born on 4 November 1923 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for My Kid (1926), Baby Be Good (1925) and Raisin' Cain (1926). He died on 18 July 2006 in Oceanside, California, USA.
- Little Mary Miles Minter was a child star who was dominated by her mother. At the age of 5 she first appeared on the stage in the play "Cameo Kirby". From that time on she worked steadily without a single vacation. Her greatest stage success was in "The Littlest Rebel", with William Farnum and Dustin Farnum. In 1911, at the age of 9, a New York paper described her as " . . . a ragged, straight-haired, woman-faced little one". She continued on the stage until 1915, when she started her film career. She was being groomed as a Mary Pickford star - a child of innocence. Her early pictures carried this theme with such titles as Lovely Mary (1916), Faith (1916) and Dimples (1916). Mary was described by the press as "of the screen as a sweet, pretty little girl with an abundance of blonde curls, a picture actress slightly bigger than a faint recollection, a little queen with delicate features and endearing young charms". She later worked for Adolph Zukor at Realart Pictures and one of her favorite directors was William Desmond Taylor. While at Realart Mary made a number of films including Anne of Green Gables (1919), Judy of Rogues' Harbor (1920), Jenny Be Good (1920) and The Little Clown (1921). Her salary, which started at $150 per week in 1915, increased to $2250 per week. At that time she also became involved with Taylor, but it is not known whether Taylor was looking out for his biggest star or if there was any real romance.
Then everything crumbled. On February 1, 1922, Taylor was shot to death in his Hollywood bungalow. His unsolved murder was one of Hollywood's major scandals, coming at the same time as the Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle incident. Though she was never considered a suspect in the murder, when the public learned of Mary's involvement with a man who had questionable dealings with women and was more than twice her age, they boycotted her films. The discovery of her belongings in Taylor's bungalow effectually killed her career in pictures. Mary was so weak from grief that she was barricaded in her home for a month. By the next year she had moved out of the home she shared with her mother and was out of pictures forever. - Lorna Volare was born on 10 October 1911 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She was an actress, known for The Spell of the Yukon (1916), Motherhood (1917) and The Girl with the Green Eyes (1916). She was married to William Kenneth Ostrander. She died on 19 April 1998 in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
- Muriel Frances Dana was born on 14 October 1916 in Clinton, Iowa, USA. She was an actress, known for Hail the Woman (1921), White Hands (1922) and Can a Woman Love Twice? (1923). She died on 25 August 1997 in Thousand Oaks, California, USA.
- Peggy Ahern was born on 9 March 1917 in Douglas, Arizona, USA. She was an actress, known for Not So Long Ago (1925), The Vanishing American (1925) and The Sun Down Limited (1924). She died on 24 October 2012 in Culver City, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
A brassy, blue-eyed platinum blonde of the 1930s in the Jean Harlow tradition. Joan was the daughter of Hollywood cinematographer Charles Rosher and appeared as a child in Mary Pickford movies (on which her father worked as cameraman) billed as Dorothy Rosher. She acted in some amateur dramatics as well but seems to have had little professional training. However, The Times in 1929 referred to her "extraordinary speaking and singing voice" at this crucial period when sound pictures began to replace silent cinema. When she was signed by Universal for King of Jazz (1930), she adopted the stage name Joan Marsh. A fairly busy actress alternating leads and second leads throughout the decade and into the mid-40s, she is perhaps best remembered opposite Warner Oland in Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) and as Dimples in Road to Zanzibar (1941). Long under contract to MGM, she was also featured in two Greta Garbo films, Inspiration (1931) and Anna Karenina (1935). In lighter fare her characters tended to have names like Beanie, Toots or Cuddles. It seems, Joan Marsh was also an accomplished dancer, especially adept at the two most popular dances of the era, the Charleston and the Black Bottom. On screen she performed a ballroom routine with Edward J. Nugent in Dancing Feet (1936). On radio, Joan replaced Beatrice Lillie as hostess of the musical variety show Flying Red Horse Tavern in 1936, as well providing the vocals for Lennie Hayton's Orchestra.
Joan's first husband was the screenwriter Charles Belden, her second, Captain John Morrill of Army Air Transport Command.
Her hobbies included horse riding, tennis and golf.
Joan retired from acting after her final picture for Poverty Row outfit Monogram in 1944 and in later years owned a Los Angeles stationary business, Paper Unlimited.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Bebe Daniels already had toured as an actor by the age of four in a stage production of "Richard III". She had her first leading role at the age of seven and started her film career shortly after this in movies for Imperial, Pathe and others. At 14 she was already a film veteran, and was enlisted by Hal Roach to star as Harold Lloyd's leading lady in his "Lonesome Luke" shorts, distributed by Pathe. Lloyd fell hard for Bebe and seriously considered marrying her, but her drive to pursue a film career along with her sense of independence clashed with Lloyd's Victorian definition of a wife. The two eventually broke up but would remain lifelong friends. Bebe was sought out for stardom by Cecil B. DeMille, who literally pestered her into signing with Paramount. Unlike many actors, the arrival of sound posed no problem for her; she had a beautiful singing voice and became a major musical star, with such hits as Rio Rita (1929) and 42nd Street (1933). In 1930 she married Ben Lyon, with whom she went to England in the mid-'30s, where she became a successful West End stage star. She and her husband also had their own radio show in London, and became the most popular radio team in the country--especially during World War II, when they refused to return to the US and stayed in London, broadcasting even during the worst of the "blitz".
They later appeared in several British films together as their radio characters. Her final film was one in that series, The Lyons Abroad (1955).- Helen Rowland was born on 23 October 1918 in New York, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Empty Cradle (1923), Silas Marner (1922) and What's Wrong with the Women? (1922). She died on 13 May 1978 in Darien, Connecticut, USA.
- Thelma Salter was born on 15 January 1908 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Wasted Years (1916), Huckleberry Finn (1920) and The Crab (1917). She was married to Edward Kaufman. She died on 17 November 1953 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Marion and her twin sister Madeline Fairbanks were born on November 15, 1900 in New York City. Their mother, 'Jennie (known professionally as Jane) Fairbanks' was also an actress and their father was the son of a Civil War veteran. The twins began their career on the stage in such productions as "Alias Jimmy Valentine", "Mother", "Salomy Jane", "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch" and coutless others before they entered films with Biograph circa 1910. They joined the Thanhouser Film Corporation in 1912 where they were known as "The Thanhouser Twins", and remained there until 1916. Their time was divided between stage and screen and in 1917 they began a run of several years with the Ziegfeld Follies. In 1923, Madeline decided to pursue dramatic roles, while Marion continued in musical revues, touring in the title role with the "Little Nellie Kelly" company in 1924. By this time however, the girls were anxious to reunite and they were rejoined on the stage in George White's "Scandals". In 1927 Marion married former Yale football star 'McCormick Steele', but within a few years the marriage had turned sour, and was a favorite topic for the gossip columns. They divorced and she married Ray Smith. This union also ended in divorce, and she married for a third and final time, to William Delph. She succeeded 'Eleanor King' as the leading lady in "Whistling in the Dark" at the Waldorf Theatre in New York City in 1932. But by the mid-thirties she was slowing down considerably in her acting career, turning instead to the beauty industry, opening a beauty parlor and directing a branch of a cosmetics company. In her later years she suffered from many problems, including addiction to alcohol. Marion Fairbanks died on September 20, 1973 at the age of 72. Having no children, her sister Madeline was her only survivor.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Madeleine (known professionally as Madeline) Fairbanks was born on November 15, 1900, in New York City. Along with her twin sister Marion Fairbanks, she began her acting career on the stage, starring in such productions as "Claudia", "The Prince Chap", "Mary Jane's Pa", "The Piper", "Snow White", "The Blue Bird" and countless others at the New Theatre and the Little Theatre in New York City. The twins first entered films with Biograph around 1910, but due to Biograph's policy of not revealing the names of their players, they received little publicity. In 1912 they joined the Thanhouser Film Corporation (which was conveniently located in New Rochelle, allowing them to commute each day from their home in New York City), where they were billed as "The Thanhouser Twins". Their first film at Thanhouser was (naturally) The Twins (1912). They continued to divide their time between stage and screen and in 1917 joined the cast of the Ziegfeld Follies, where they remained for several years. In 1921, while the twins were appearing at the George M. Cohan Theatre in "Two Little Girls in Blue", they signed with Cosmopolitan Productions for parts in the upcoming film The Beauty Shop (1922), to be released by Paramount. In 1923 Madeline announced she would devote her time to the pursuit of serious dramatic roles, while her sister Marion would remain in musical revues. Madeline appeared in "Mercenary Mary", "The Grab Bag" and "The Ritz Revue", but by 1924 the twins were eager to work together again and they reunited for the stage production of George White's "Scandals". In 1937 Madeline married Leonard Sherman and they had one daughter, Kate. The couple were divorced in 1947. Madeline Fairbanks died on January 15, 1989, of respiratory failure at the age of 88.- Martin Herzberg was born on 15 January 1911 in Berlin, Germany. He is an actor and writer, known for Store forventninger (1922), David Copperfield (1922) and Paganini (1923).
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
- Writer
Michael D. Moore was born on 14 October 1914 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was an assistant director and actor, known for The War of the Worlds (1953), Willow (1988) and Never Say Never Again (1983). He was married to Laurie Abdo and Esther McNeill. He died on 4 March 2013 in Malibu, Los Angeles County, California, USA.- Actor
- Editor
- Editorial Department
Elmo Billings was born on 24 June 1912 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was an actor and editor, known for Terry and the Pirates (1952), Fire Fighters (1922) and Locked Doors (1925). He died on 6 February 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Jean Forest was born on 25 September 1912 in Paris, France. He was an actor, known for Mother (1925), Tovaritch (1935) and Mother of Mine (1926). He died on 27 March 1980.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Lean, red/auburn-haired, athletically-inclined Paul Michael Kelly grew up on the tough streets of Brooklyn, New York. Born August 9, 1899, the ninth of ten children in a Roman Catholic family of Irish descent. The siblings' father, Michael, owned a bar called Kelly's Cafe. He died while Paul was still quite young and the entire clan was required to pitch in financially. Young Paul, who wound up making his Broadway debut at age 8 in "The Grand Army Man", did quite well for his family. His father's establishment was located close to Vitagraph Studios and the studio used to borrow furniture from the saloon for their sets. As partial repayment (at the request of his mother), the studio would use Paul for some of their one-reel silent films.
From 1911 on, he was the resident moppet at the studio,known as 'Chick Kelly, the Vitagraph Boy'. He appeared with such top matinée heavyweights as Maurice Costello and Constance Talmadge. The good-looking Kelly played the son in "The Jarr Family" series of one-reel adventures starring Harry Davenport as the patriarch. He transitioned into teen and young adult roles alternating between theater and movie assignments. Hit Broadway shows included "Little Women" (1916), Booth Tarkington's "Seventeen" (1918), and the highly popular "Penrod" starring Helen Hayes (also 1918). On celluloid he was romantically paired with Mary Miles Minter in the silent classic Anne of Green Gables (1919) and the success of that film moved him into even higher contention. The early 20s continued to be fruitful for Paul especially behind the theater footlights where he joined such esteemed leading ladies as Doris Kenyon in "Up the Ladder" (1922) and Blanche Yurka in "The Sea Woman" (1925). Films beckoned with The Great Adventure (1921), The New Klondike (1926), Slide, Kelly, Slide (1927) and Special Delivery (1927).
It was the love of a woman in the form of actress Dorothy Mackaye, however, that temporarily proved his undoing. Kelly met Dorothy Mackaye and her husband, Ziegfeld Follies song-and-dance man Ray Raymond (1888-1927), in New York and the three became fast friends and party-hearty cronies. They reconnected again years later when all had moved to Hollywood to pursue film. Her shaky marriage led her and Paul into a torrid love affair. By April 16, 1927, the couple's cover had been blown wide open. That same day, the two men, both drunk, duked it out. Ray came out the definite loser in the fight. Ethel Lee, the Raymonds' maid, opened the door and Kelly stormed into the house and confronted the much smaller man. Kelly shouted: "I understand that you have been saying things about me." Ray denied the accusation and attempted to defuse the situation by offering Kelly a seat, but Kelly, 6 feet tall and weighed about 200 lbs, was drunk and spoiling for a fight. According to the maid, Ray told Kelly: "I can't fight. I'm fifty pounds underweight, and I've been drinking." "I'll beat you", Kelly reportedly replied and punched Ray three or four times. The maid told police that Raymond got up but that Kelly grabbed him and put one hand behind his neck and beat him with the other, then threw him to the couch. The maid stated that Raymond was just a punching bag for Kelly and had put up minimal resistance. Four year old Valerie Raymond had witnessed the beating. Dr. Sullivan, who attended Raymond, consulted with other doctors who determined the cause of death was "nephritic coma" - the result of an inflammation of the kidneys. Mackaye paid Sullivan $500 (approximately $6500 in current U.S. dollars) for his "services".
The circumstances of Raymond's death might have been permanently successfully covered up if not for local newshounds who got wind of the fight and his subsequent death. They called on Coroner Nance and began asking for details, but he couldn't tell them a thing -- Raymond's death had never been reported to his office. Nance called the hospital where Raymond had died, and was informed that not only was Ray deceased his body had been removed by an undertaker! Nance followed up and located the corpse at a Hollywood mortuary and claimed the body to perform an autopsy. Unsurprisingly, the coroner's findings didn't agree with those of Sullivan - and Nance had harsh words for both Kelly and Mackaye, as well as Sullivan. The coroner reported that "Fortifying himself with four or five drinks - probably to brace up his bully courage - Kelly deliberately went into Raymond's home for the purpose of beating him. I am also informed that Mrs. Raymond was in Kelly's apartment when he left his home for the purpose of going to her home to beat up Raymond and it is my belief that it was due to her influence that Kelly went to Raymond's for the sole purpose of attacking him."
In Kelly's statement to the cops he said he had purposely called on Raymond to demand an apology for comments the cuckolded man had allegedly made. Kelly also told cops was that he went to Raymond's home "to give him the threshing [sic] that was coming to him" and made no other statements except to profess his love for Mackaye. Witnesses stated that Dorothy was still at Kelly's apartment when he returned after beating Ray, and apparently the couple retired to a rear room and conferred in secret for nearly thirty minutes, apparently in order to get their stories straight.
Dorothy Mackaye collapsed three times at the grand jury inquiry into Ray's death. At one point she fell to the marble floor with enough force to render her unconscious for ten minutes. She must have become light-headed after finally being compelled to tell the truth about the day of the beating. Her original story had been that she'd gone out to get Easter eggs for her daughter and to go to a dressmaker. Mackaye summed up her day of testimony before the grand jury by saying: "It has been a terrible ordeal. Why, oh, why, do they have to do all this to me? I would be all right but my nerves are shot to pieces. I hope I won't have to go through all this again very soon. ... Mr. Kelly I have known for years. I knew him as a youngster in New York when he was first starting out. My feeling for him has always been, and is, I suppose, a sort of sisterly love." Like Kelly, she had no words of sadness or remorse for her husband's death. The tabloids had a field day. Kelly was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to one to ten years in prison. Mackaye was sentenced as an accessory after the fact and for concealment of facts involving her husband's death. She was released on bond after serving ten months; Kelly was paroled in August 1929 for "good behavior" after serving only 25 months despite a decided lack of remorse over the incident. In 1931, despite Mackaye's "sisterly love" for Kelly, the couple wed after Kelly's parole board permitted it.
Kelly took his first post-prison Broadway curtain call in a 1930 musical revue and went on to appear in the short-lived drama "Bad Girl" (1930), opposite future film star Sylvia Sidney. Within the next two years he appeared in "Hobo", "Just to Remind You", "Adam Had Two Sons", and "The Great Magoo". Although none were hits, he was firmly establishing himself once again. Hollywood didn't desert him either although he was now relegated to "B" supporting roles with an occasional starring part thrown in for good measure. The virile, thin-lipped actor with trademark jut jaw and iron resolve received consistently good notices for his hard-boiled parts, including Broadway Thru a Keyhole (1933), The President Vanishes (1934), and Song and Dance Man (1936).
Dorothy Mackaye was killed in a car accident in January 1940. Kelly adopted Dorothy's child, Valerie Raymond, who had witnessed the beating death of her father. Her name was changed to Mimi Kelly, removing the last link to the world that Ray Raymond had left behind. Kelly appeared in such films as The Flying Irishman (1939), The Roaring Twenties (1939), Invisible Stripes (1939), Queen of the Mob (1940), The Howards of Virginia (1940), Wyoming (1940), Mystery Ship (1941), Mr. and Mrs. North (1942), Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944), San Antonio (1945), The Cat Creeps (1946), and Crossfire (1947), freelancing often as either an unyielding police official or sadistic bad guy. He found love again on the film set of Flight Command (1940) and married one of the film's bit part players, Claire Owen (née Zona Mardelle Zwicker), in January 1941, one year after the death of his first wife. Owen subsequently retired from acting and went on to survive him.
During the 1947-48 season, he was nominated and won a Tony Award (tying with Henry Fonda and Basil Rathbone) for his performance in "Command Decision", and also won the Donaldson and Variety Critics awards. In 1950, he went on to earn further acclaim for originating the part of Frank Elgin, the alcoholic actor in Clifford Odets's classic drama "The Country Girl", starring Uta Hagen. Not a big enough movie draw, he lost both parts in the film versions to Clark Gable and Bing Crosby, respectively, but found plentiful work on standard TV drama in the 1950s.
After suffering a heart attack in 1953, the actor was stricken again on Election Day, November 6, 1956, this time fatally, just after returning home from voting for Adlai Stevenson, who lost the election.- Audrey Berry was born on 23 October 1906 in Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for The Jarr Family Discovers Harlem (1915), Mr. Jarr's Big Vacation (1915) and Mr. Jarr and Gertrude's Beaux (1915). She died on 20 March 1996 in Vero Beach, Florida, USA.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Inge Landgut was born on 23 November 1922 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for M (1931), Emil and the Detectives (1931) and Hilfe, ich bin unsichtbar (1951). She was married to Werner Oelschlaeger. She died on 29 May 1986 in West Berlin, West Germany.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Buzz Barton was born on 3 September 1913 in Gallatin, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Rough Ridin' Red (1928), The Bantam Cowboy (1928) and Pals of the Prairie (1929). He was married to Thelma Doyle. He died on 20 November 1980 in Reseda, California, USA.- Actor
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- Director
Mickey Rooney was born Joe Yule Jr. on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. He first took the stage as a toddler in his parents vaudeville act at 17 months old. He made his first film appearance in 1926. The following year, he played the lead character in the first Mickey McGuire short film. It was in this popular film series that he took the stage name Mickey Rooney. Rooney reached new heights in 1937 with A Family Affair, the film that introduced the country to Andy Hardy, the popular all-American teenager. This beloved character appeared in nearly 20 films and helped make Rooney the top star at the box office in 1939, 1940 and 1941. Rooney also proved himself an excellent dramatic actor as a delinquent in Boys Town (1938) starring Spencer Tracy. In 1938, he was awarded a Juvenile Academy Award.
Teaming up with Judy Garland, Rooney also appeared in a string of musicals, including Babes in Arms (1939) the first teenager to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a leading role, Strike Up the Band (1940), Babes on Broadway (1941), and Girl Crazy (1943). He and Garland immediately became best of friends. "We weren't just a team, we were magic," Rooney once said. During that time he also appeared with Elizabeth Taylor in the now classic National Velvet (1944). Rooney joined the service that same year, where he helped to entertain the troops and worked on the American Armed Forces Network. He returned to Hollywood after 21 months in Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946), did a remake of a Robert Taylor film, The Crowd Roars (1932) called Killer McCoy (1947) and portrayed composer Lorenz Hart in Words and Music (1948). He also appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. Rooney played Hepburn's Japanese neighbor, Mr. Yunioshi. A sign of the times, Rooney played the part for comic relief which he later regretted feeling the role was offensive. He once again showed his incredible range in the dramatic role of a boxing trainer with Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962). In the late 1960s and 1970s Rooney showed audiences and critics alike why he was one of Hollywood's most enduring stars. He gave an impressive performance in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film The Black Stallion (1979), which brought him an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He also turned to the stage in 1979 in Sugar Babies with Ann Miller, and was nominated for a Tony Award. During that time he also portrayed the Wizard in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with Eartha Kitt at New York's Madison Square Garden, which also had a successful run nationally.
Rooney appeared in four television series': The Mickey Rooney Show (1954) (1954-1955), a comedy sit-com in 1964 with Sammee Tong called Mickey, One of the Boys in 1982 with Dana Carvey and Nathan Lane, and The New Adventures of the Black Stallion (1990) from 1990-1993. In 1981, Rooney won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a mentally challenged man in Bill (1981). The critical acclaim continued to flow for the veteran performer, with Rooney receiving an honorary Academy Award "in recognition of his 60 years of versatility in a variety of memorable film performances". More recently he has appeared in such films as Night at the Museum (2006) with Ben Stiller and The Muppets (2011) with Amy Adams and Jason Segel.
Rooney's personal life, including his frequent trips to the altar, has proved to be just as epic as his on-screen performances. His first wife was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, actress Ava Gardner. Mickey permanently separated from his eighth wife Jan in June of 2012. In 2011 Rooney filed elder abuse and fraud charges against stepson Christopher Aber and Aber's wife. At Rooney's request, the Superior Court issued a restraining order against the Aber's demanding they stay 100 yards from Rooney, as well as Mickey's other son Mark Rooney and Mark's wife Charlene. Just prior, Rooney mustered the strength to break his silence and appeared before the Senate in Washington D.C. telling of his own heartbreaking story of abuse in an effort to live a peaceful, full life and help others who may be similarly suffering in silence.
Rooney requested through the Superior Court to permanently reside with his son Mark Rooney, who is a musician and Marks wife Charlene, an artist, in the Hollywood Hills. He legally separated from his eighth wife in June of 2012. Ironically, after eight failed marriages he never looked or felt better and finally found happiness and peace in the single life. Mickey, Mark and Charlene focused on health, happiness and creative endeavors and it showed. Mickey Rooney had once again landed on his feet reminding us that he was a survivor. Rooney died on April 6th 2014. He was taking his afternoon nap and never woke. One week before his death Mark and Charlene surprised him by reunited him with a long lost love, the racetrack. He was ecstatic to be back after decades and ran into his old friends Mel Brooks and Dick Van Patten.Orchids and Emine