Chapel of the Pines Crematory
The men and women who were cremated and interred at Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles, California.
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- Actor
- Additional Crew
Lionel Atwill was born into a wealthy family and was educated at London's prestigious Mercer School to become an architect, but his interest turned to the stage. He worked his way progressively into the craft and debuted at age 20 at the Garrick Theatre in London. He acted and improved regularly thereafter, especially in the plays of Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw. Atwill came to the US in 1915 and would appear in some 25 plays on Broadway between 1917 and 1931, but he was already trying his hand in silent films by 1918. He had a sonorous voice and dictatorial British accent that served him well for the stage and just as well for sound movies. He did some Vitaphone short subjects in 1928 and then his first real film role in The Silent Witness (1932) (also titled "The Verdict").
That voice and his bullish demeanor made Atwill a natural for a spectrum of tough-customer roles. As shady noblemen and mad doctors, but also gruff military men and police inspectors (usually with a signature mustache), he worked steadily through the 1930s. He had the chance to show a broader character as the tyrannical but unforgettable Col. Bishop in Captain Blood (1935). It's hard to forget his Inspector Krogh in Son of Frankenstein (1939), wherein he agrees to a game of darts with Basil Rathbone and proceeds to impale the darts through the right sleeve of his uniform (the character sported a wooden right arm). And he sends himself up with rolling and blustering dialogue as the glory-hog ham stage actor Rawitch in the classic To Be or Not to Be (1942) with Jack Benny. However, Atwill effectively ruined his burgeoning film career in 1943 after he was implicated in what was described as an "orgy" at his home, naked guests and pornographic films included--and a rape perpetrated during the proceedings. Atwill "lied like a gentleman," it was said, in the court proceedings to protect the identities of his guests and was convicted of perjury and sentenced to five years' probation.
He was thereafter kept employed on Poverty Row with only brief periods of employment by Universal Pictures, while the rest of Hollywood turned its collective back on him. He is more remembered for the horror films generally than for better efforts, but they have fueled his continued popularity and a bid by the Southern California Lionel Atwill Fan Club to petition for a Hollywood Blvd. star (he never received one).Plot: Ashes were interred here but the family has since moved them to an unknown location.- Director
- Actor
- Producer
American actor-director-writer-producer Gilbert M. Anderson, father of the movie cowboy and the first Western star, was born Maxwell Henry Aronson in Little Rock, Arkansas. His parents, Esther (Ash) and Henry Aronson, were from New York. His father was from a German Jewish family, and his mother was the daughter of Russian Jewish parents. He had worked as a photographer's model and newspaper vendor before drifting into acting. He performed in vaudeville before joining forces with Edwin S. Porter as an actor and occasional script collaborator. In Porter's startling early film The Great Train Robbery (1903), Anderson played several roles (among them, the train passenger shot by bandits as he tries to escape). The success of that film prompted Anderson to begin writing, directing and starring in his own series of Westerns. In 1907 he and George K. Spoor founded Essanay Film Manufacturing Co., destined to be one of the predominant early film studios. Anderson gained enormous popularity in hundreds of Western shorts, playing the first real cowboy hero, "Broncho Billy." Writing and directing most of the films, Anderson also found time to direct a series of "Alkali Ike" comedy Westerns starring Augustus Carney. In 1916 Anderson sold his ownership in Essanay and retired from acting. He returned to New York and bought the Longacre Theatre and produced plays there, though not achieving the same kind of success he enjoyed in films. He made a brief comeback as a producer with a series of shorts starring Stan Laurel for Metro Pictures. However, a series of conflicts with the studio led him retire again after 1920. He continued to produce films as owner of Progressive Pictures into the 1950s. In his 70s, he came out of retirement for a cameo role in The Bounty Killer (1965). He had been presented with an honorary Oscar in 1957 as a "motion picture pioneer, for his contributions to the development of motion pictures as entertainment." Anderson died in 1971 at the age of 90.Plot: Vaultage- The son of vaudeville performers, Richard Theodore "Ted" Adams was part of his parents' troupe before attending Cornell University at the age of 18. After college he did stock work for three years before going on to New York City and stage work there. For more than half his life he performed on the stage before coming to films around 1926. He and his good friend Leo Carrillo performed together in Porter Emerson Browne's play "The Bad Man" in 1920, and Adams was also in the Broadway production of "Kongo", which starred Walter Huston, in 1926.
His earliest documented film role was as the doctor in Rayart's The Road Agent (1926), starring Al Hoxie, and he made his sound-film debut in 1930's Under Texas Skies (1930), starring Bob Custer. Adams quickly established himself in westerns, in which he worked almost exclusively for 25 years in over 200 films. He was a mainstay performer (mostly lead villains) for the low-budget films cranked out by independents such as Supreme, Metropolitan, Puritan, Colony and Victory in the 1930s and PRC and Monogram in the 1940s, in addition to appearing in films from Republic, Columbia, Paramount and Universal.
Following a role in Bill Elliott's Kansas Territory (1952) for Monogram Pictures, and some TV work on Russell Hayden's Cowboy G-Men (1952) TV series, Ted Adams hung up his spurs at the age of 62, then lived quietly in retirement until his death from heart disease at the age of 83. A widower at the time of his death, September 24, 1973, he was at Braewood Convalescence Hospital in South Pasadena, his place of residence prior to his death. His cremated remains were placed at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. - Arthur Aylesworth was born on 12 August 1881 in Apponaugh, Rhode Island, USA. He was an actor, known for Brigham Young (1940), King of the Underworld (1939) and The Plot Thickens (1936). He was married to Sadie Harris and Elizabeth. He died on 26 June 1946 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Writer
- Actor
- Music Department
Composer, prolific songwriter ("Come On-a My House", "Witch Doctor", "Chipmunk Song"), author, actor, producer, impressionist, educated at Coll. Writer, and has made many records. He joined ASCAP in 1951, and specialized in catchy, hummable melodies. Some of his other popular-song compositions include "Armen's Theme"; "Safari"; "Freddy, Freddy"; "Copyright 1960"; "Medicore"; "Sack Time"; "A Little Beauty"; "The Prom"; "Bagdad Express"; "Little Brass Band"; "Maria from Madrid"; "Gotta Get to Your House"; "The Donkey and the School Boy", and many more.His remains have been moved.- Alma Bennett was born on 9 April 1904 in Seattle, Washington, USA. She was an actress, known for The Lost World (1925), Orchids and Ermine (1927) and The Dawn of a Tomorrow (1924). She was married to Blackie Whiteford, Harry Spingler and Fred Bennett. She died on 16 September 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Dorothy Bernard was born on 25 June 1890 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. She was an actress, known for The Rainbow (1917), The Little Gypsy (1915) and The Wild Goose (1921). She was married to A.H. Van Buren. She died on 15 December 1955 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Nigel was, from the beginning, typecast as bumbling English aristocrats, military types or drawing room society snobs and, within the narrow parameters of his range, he was very, very good at playing these parts. Nigel Bruce was born in Mexico, where his father, Sir William W. Bruce, worked as an engineer. His family was part of English aristocracy, ever since Charles I. bestowed a baronetcy upon them in 1629 (William's older brother Michael held the hereditary title). Nigel was educated in England at Grange, Stevenage and Abingdon. His first job was at a stockbroker's firm. During World War I, he served in the British Army (like his future co-star, Basil Rathbone) where he received a serious leg wound and was for some time confined to a wheelchair.
Following his discharge, he turned to acting in 1919, but it wasn't until ten years later that he achieved a breakthrough in Noël Coward's 'This was a Man' on Broadway. Then followed the performance which was to set the standard for all his later work in Hollywood: the 1931 comedy "Springtime for Henry". On the strength of his performance as Johnny Jelliwell, Fox offered Nigel the opportunity to reprise his role in the 1934 movie. Soon after that, Nigel was cast to star as British detective Bertram Lynch in a minor thriller, Murder in Trinidad (1934). The contemporary New York Times Review (May 16,1934) was skeptical about the film's merit, but found Nigel's performance 'compelling'. After that followed a gallery of endearingly stereotypical 'Britishers': Squire Trelawny in Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island (1934), the Prince of Wales in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), Professor Holly in She (1935) and Sir Benjamin Warrenton in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936). All, without exception, were roles in which Nigel felt perfectly at home.
In 1939, he teamed up with Basil Rathbone for the first two Holmes/Watson movies, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), filmed at 20th Century Fox. Both films had an authentic period feel for Victorian England and the chemistry between the two stars was just right. Three years later, Rathbone was contractually obliged to make a further series of twelve Holmes pictures at Universal, again co-starring Nigel as Dr. Watson. Nigel portrayed his lovable self in two Hitchcock classics Rebecca (1940) (as Major Giles Lacy) and Suspicion (1941) (as 'Beaky').
A prominent member of the resident English colony in Hollywood, Nigel Bruce at one time captained the cricket club established by fellow actor and compatriot C. Aubrey Smith in 1932 (other members included P.G. Wodehouse, Boris Karloff, Ronald Colman and David Niven).Plot: Vault #35167- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mae Busch can certainly claim career versatility, having successfully played Erich von Stroheim's mistress, Lon Chaney's girlfriend, Charley Chase's sister, James Finlayson's ex-wife and Oliver Hardy's wife! She was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1891; her parents were in the theater and when she was six years old the family moved to the US, arriving in San Francisco in 1897 before moving to New York. It is claimed Mae was placed in St. Elizabeth's Convent in New Jersey until at least the age of 12, when she joined her parents in vaudeville as part of the Busch Devere Trio (New York press articles confirm Mae as being part of the group in early 1908). Her big break came in March 1912 when she replaced Lillian Lorraine in the lead role in the Broadweay play "Over the River", with Eddie Foy. She continued in this role until the end of the season, when she joined one of Jesse L. Lasky's touring "girl" shows, where she stayed until signed by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Pictures in 1915. As she was performing on Broadway at the same time as "The Agitator" was filming in California, the claim that this was her first film is incorrect. Similarly, there is no evidence that she knew Mabel Normand prior to arriving in Los Angeles in 1915.
In Hollywood things didn't begin so well for Mae. In order to get work, she falsely claimed to have lived in Tahiti and to be able to swim and dive. A high dive she took while filming The Water Nymph (1912) resulted in an injury and her returning to her parents in New York. It was only then when working in the theater again that she developed into leading-lady status.
Mae returned to Hollywood, and Keystone, in 1915. However, her friendship with Mabel ended abruptly when she was "caught" with Sennett, Mabel's fiancé, and Mae was forced to leave Keystone. Over the years she had substantial roles in quite a few films, such as von Stroheim's The Devil's Passkey (1920) and Foolish Wives (1922). Although 1927 was the year of her first movie with Stan Laurel and Hardy, it wasn't until Unaccustomed As We Are (1929) that she first played Mrs. Hardy, the role that she will always be remembered for. She was Mrs. Hardy again in Their First Mistake (1932), Sons of the Desert (1933), and The Bohemian Girl (1936). She also appeared in other Laurel and Hardy pictures but not as Mrs. Hardy, such as Charlie Hall's wife in Them Thar Hills (1934), and she only flirted with Hardy in Tit for Tat (1935).
Mae's Hollywood career lasted 30 years; she worked with many of the leading directors, actors and actresses of the time. After a long illness she died in 1946, aged 54. She was cremated and her ashes remained in a cardboard box at the Motion Picture Country Home Hospital for over 20 years until a proper interment and plaque was provided.Plot: Deadora Hall, South on left side in R, Sec. 7 down from top, in middle- Leonard Carey was born on 25 February 1887 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Rebecca (1940), Bombshell (1933) and The Little Minister (1934). He died on 11 September 1977 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Chapel, Section A, Niche 202
- Actress
- Writer
Louise Carver was born on 9 June 1869 in Davenport, Iowa, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for The Big Trail (1930), The Man from Blankley's (1930) and Romeo and Juliet (1908). She was married to Tom Murray. She died on 18 June 1956 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Helen Chandler was born in Charleston, South Carolina on February 1, 1906. By the late 1920s she had become a hugely popular actress on the New York stage. That Hollywood should beckon was inevitable, but unfortunately whatever quality made Chandler a success on the stage did not survive the transition to film. Chandler is probably best remembered by movie fans as the fragile Mina, pursued and nearly victimized by Bela Lugosi in the original Dracula (1931). In 1937 Chandler left Hollywood to return to the stage, but a dependency on alcohol and sleeping pills haunted her subsequent career, and in 1940 she was committed to a sanitarium. Ten years later she was disfigured in a fire, apparently caused by smoking in bed. Helen Chandler died (following surgery for a bleeding ulcer) on April 30, 1965. Her body was cremated, however, as no relative ever came forward to claim the remains, her ashes reposed in the vault (off limits to visitors) of the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. After an online fundraising effort led by Hollywood Graveyard YouTube channel creator Arthur Dark, Chandler's ashes were reinurned in the Cathedral Mausoleum of Hollywood Forever Cemetery on July 13, 2023.Plot: Vaultage section- Actor
- Soundtrack
Who could forget Colin Clive's "It's Alive! It's Alive!" as he melted to the floor mumbling the same over and over in ecstasy after his success at animating the Monster in the first sound version of Frankenstein (1931). Film history - horror film history - but part of a short history for actor Colin Clive - he died at 37 years of age. The son of a British army colonel on assignment in France at the time of Colin's birth, Clive the younger might have been expected to follow an army career-his ancestor was Baron Robert Clive, founder of the British Indian Empire. But he became interested in theater instead. His acting talents progressed through the 1920s to sufficient degree to replace Laurence Olivier who was starring in the R. C Sherriff play "Journey's End" in London. The director was up-and-coming James Whale, who had also been working his way up in London stage and film work as a budding scene designer and director. Among his stage and entertainment acquaintances in London was Elsa Lanchester - the future bride of Frankenstein. When Olivier moved on to other stage work, the play moved to the Savoy Theater in London with Clive in the lead in 1928.
Whale was waiting for the opportunity to move onto Broadway and Hollywood films. The success of "Journey's End" gave Whale his break. Broadway called for the play with him as both director and scene designer. It opened in March of 1929 but with Colin Keith-Johnston in the lead. Nevertheless, Clive came to New York as well to await developments. Halfway through 1930, the play had ended, and Whale was contracted by Paramount as a dialog director. Things continued to unfold quickly. Whale was very soon called on to direct what would be the first British/American co-produced sound film, a movie version of the popular Journey's End (1930). Whale got Clive back as the lead-the laconic, alcoholic Capt. Stanhope. And Clive showed on screen what came out in his stage performances - a measured intensity to his character, bolstered by his unique cracked baritone voice - seemingly always on the edge of irritation. Clive's first picture then led to opportunities in both British and American films. But he got his first play on Broadway "Overture" in late 1930 which ended in January of 1931. Then it was back to London where he was prophetically cast with Lanchester in The Stronger Sex (1931).
As they say, what came next was film history. Whale was contracted by Universal where Dracula (1931) had just been a huge hit and the studio was looking for a quick follow up. Shelley's Frankenstein was optioned as the next 'horror' movie with Whale directing. Whale wanted Clive as Dr. Henry Frankenstein, and it all came together. Clive played the tortured legitimate doctor driven to macabre surgery and near insanity with over-the-top theatrics that would type him for the remainder of his short career.
The next few years he played both B leading and A supporting roles. Two apt examples were playing brooding but romantic Edward Rochester in an early Jane Eyre (1934) and playing a British officer in Clive of India (1935) in which Ronald Colman - not he - played his illustrious ancestor. Clive returned to Broadway for two plays in 1933 and 1934 and one more in the 1935-36 season. Then it was back to Universal for the "Bride" sequel of Frankenstein (1935) in which his Dr. Henry was somewhat more subdued. This was mostly to do with a broken leg suffered from a horseback riding accident. He is seen doing a lot of sitting or lying down because of it. Dour and sour seemed to be his trademark, bolstered that much more with the remainder of his films in which he was usually disturbed supporting characters.
His final two films were in early 1937 with the better known History Is Made at Night (1937) - awkward type-casting him as the world's most sour grapes ex-husband, Bruce Vail, who engineers a sure collision of his new steamship with any available iceberg in foggy weather to hopefully drown his ex-wife Jean Arthur and her romantic true love Charles Boyer. But the sinking ship is stabilized and the lovers are saved to live happily ever after. Ironically, but befitting such a deed in Hollywood ethics, Vail shoots himself.
Ironically, Clive, suffering from tuberculosis, furthered along by chronic alcoholism, died not long after in late June of 1937.Plot: Cenotaph located in Rose Garden. Actual ashes likely scattered at sea.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Charles Coleman was born on 22 December 1885 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Poor Little Rich Girl (1936), It Started with Eve (1941) and Becky Sharp (1935). He was married to Beatrice. He died on 8 March 1951 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
June Collyer was born Dorothea Heermance in New York City on August 19, 1906. She began her career in the film East Side, West Side (1927). After making the successful change to the sound era, June continued to work, something some of her counterparts couldn't do. She appeared on the silver screen until her last meaningful film, A Face in the Fog (1936). From 1950 to 1955, June appeared on the television series The Stu Erwin Show (1950).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Tom Conway played "The Falcon" in ten of that series' entries. He starred in three Val Lewton horror classics. He appeared in comedies, musicals, two Tarzan films and even science fiction films.
He was early television's Detective Mark Saber, but Conway will probably be best remembered as George Sanders' brother.
Born into a wealthy family in pre-Bolshevik Revolution Russia, Thomas Charles Sanders might have followed his father as a rope manufacturer and inherited several estates. Had the family not been forced to flee to England, the brothers Sanders may never have added their names to the Hollywood saga.
But the Russian Revolution came, and Tom (age 13), George (age 11), sister Margaret (age 5), together with their parents, fled to England, leaving most of their wealth in the hands of the Bolsheviks.
The brothers attended Dunhurst and Bedales, private schools, and eventually Brighton College.
After college, Tom went to Northern Rhodesia where he worked in gold, copper and asbestos mines and even attempted ranching. Frustrated and "pretty well fed up to the teeth" with his failures, he borrowed passage home. In England, Conway worked as an engineer in a carburetor company and later sold safety glass.
He was discovered by a representative from a little theater group who persuaded him to join them. Conway eventually worked for the Manchester Repertory Company and toured with them in over twenty-five plays. He also appeared in BBC radio broadcasts.
Brother George persuaded him to come to Hollywood. To prevent confusion on the part of the public, they tossed a coin to see who would have to change his name. Tom lost, thereby becoming Tom Conway.
Conway began work at MGM, eventually appearing as a contract player in twelve films there, including a bit part in Mrs. Miniver (1942).
Brother George, tiring of B-film appearances in RKO's Falcon series and with better roles at two studios looming on the horizon, offered Tom his first big break. In The Falcon's Brother (1942), George was conveniently eliminated by a Nazi sniper so that Tom, as Tom Lawrence, could inherit the role. Conway played the role with even greater success than that of his brother in the next ten installments, concluding with The Falcon's Adventure (1946).
During those years, he also appeared in Val Lewton's Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and The Seventh Victim (1943). These led to two major film appearances, Universal's One Touch of Venus (1948), with Ava Gardner and Eve Arden and Warner Brothers' Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951).
Amidst the collapse of the studio system, Tom found his opportunities shrinking. There were to be no further major roles for him. His next film was Bride of the Gorilla (1951).
Alert to new possibilities for work, he accepted the part of homicide detective Mark Saber in the television series, Mark Saber (1951). Conway also made several mystery films in England during the same period. He played a cameo role as a bearded and be-wigged Sir Kay in Prince Valiant (1954) with two brief lines.
Back in the states, there were guest appearances on TV's Rawhide (1959), Adventures in Paradise (1959), and Perry Mason (1957).
In October, 1957, Tom turned in a brilliant performance as ventriloquist Max Collodi in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) chilling tale "The Glass Eye". He appeared regularly as the boyfriend on the The Betty Hutton Show (1959).
Conway also lent his voice to One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). His final appearance was an uncredited part, in What a Way to Go! (1964).
Failing eyesight and prolonged bouts with alcohol took their toll on Conway in his last years. His second wife, Queenie Leonard divorced him in 1963. George Sanders broke off all contact with him over his drinking.
Conway underwent cataract surgery during the winter of 1964/65. In September of 1965 Tom briefly returned to the headlines when he was discovered living in a $2-a-day room in a Venice, California flophouse. Gifts, contributions and offers of aid poured in - for a time. Conway, still standing tall and trim, his hair now white, peered owl-like through thick-lensed glasses at the newspaper cameras.
His last years were marked with further visits to the hospital. It was there that former sister-in-law Zsa Zsa Gabor visited him one day and gave him $200. "Tip the nurses a little bit so they'll be good to you," she told him. The following day, the hospital called her to say that Conway had left with the $200, gone to his girlfriend's and died in her bed.Plot: Cremated. Ashes in vaultage.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Cecil Cunningham was born on 2 August 1880 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for The Awful Truth (1937), Playboy of Paris (1930) and Daughter of Shanghai (1937). She was married to Jean C. Havez. She died on 17 April 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Edgar Dearing was born on 4 May 1893 in Ceres, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Abraham Lincoln (1930), Lightning Strikes Twice (1934) and Raiders of Tomahawk Creek (1950). He was married to Lila Stones and Nelvina Hyink. He died on 17 August 1974 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Born in the upstate New York town of Horseheads in 1878, William Desmond began his show business career in vaudeville and on the stage. He had his own theatrical company by the time he made his film debut in Kilmeny (1915). Starting out in dramatic parts, Desmond soon switched to westerns and action serials, and became a major western star. When the sound era began Desmond was almost 50 years old, and was soon relegated to supporting roles. He continued making films into the 1940s.Plot: Vaultage
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Margaret Dumont would not consider it a tragedy that she is best-known for her performances as the ultimate straight woman in seven of the Marx Brothers' films (including most of their best). It is a popular myth that she never understood their jokes (offscreen and on); restored footage of Groucho's "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" shows her laughing at his ad libs. Apart from a small role in a 1917 Dickens adaptation, she spent her early career on the stage, ending up with the Marxes in the late 1920s in the stage versions of The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930), and was given a Paramount contract at the same time they were. She played similar roles alongside other great comedians, including W.C. Fields, Laurel & Hardy and Jack Benny and also played straight dramatic parts (her chief love), but few of them made much impact - it is as Groucho Marx's foil that she ranks among the immortals, and she died shortly after being reunited with him on The Hollywood Palace (1964).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Stuart Erwin was an American actor who often worked as a voice actor in radio and animation. He was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Erwin was born in Squaw Valley, Fresno County, California in 1903. Squaw Valley is a census-designated place, the location of a post office which has operated on-and-off since 1879. It is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) to the east of the county seat, Fresno. Despite the similarity in names, it has no connection to the Squaw Valley Ski Resort, which is located in Placer County, California.
Erwin attended school at Porterville High School in Porterville, California. Porterville was at the time a local center for the mining industry, primarily known for the extraction of magnetite from nearby mines. Erwin latter attended the University of California. He started performing on stage as an actor while still a college student. During the 1920s, Erwin mainly appeared on repertory theatre in Los Angeles.
In 1928, Erwin made his film debut in the biographical film "Mother Knows Best." The film was largely based on the life of actress and singer Elsie Janis (1889-1956), and depicted her relationship with the stage mother who managed her career since childhood. The film was mainly notable as the first "talkie" (sound film) produced by the film studio Fox Film (1915-1935), using the Movietone sound system.
Erwin regularly appeared in theatrical films during the late 1920s and early 1930s, but was infrequently cast on major roles. His first memorable role was that of oil-industry businessman and radio-station owner Leslie McWhinney in the musical comedy "The Big Broadcast" (1932). In the film, McWhinney is both the employer and a close friend to singer Bing Crosby (1903-1977). The film was Crosby's first starring role as an actor, and he depicted a fictionalized version of himself.
Erwin gained a starring role in the comedy film "Palooka" (1934), an adaptation of the popular comic strip "Joe Palooka" (1930-1984) by cartoonist Ham Fisher (1900-1955). Erwin was cast in the role of Joe Palooka himself. Palooka was depicted as a professional boxer, but with a kind heart, a hero's instinct to protect others, and rather limited intelligence. In the film, the role of the middle-aged Knobby Walsh, Palooka's Irish-born manager and the mastermind behind his rise to fame, was played by Jimmy Durante (1893-1980).
In 1936, Erwin starred as hillbilly Amos Dodd in the comedy "Pigskin Parade." In the film, Amos is an uneducated farmer from Arkansas who has an amazing talent for American football, so he gets recruited as a college football player by a Texas-based university. The role met with critical praise, and Erwin was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. However, the Award for that year was won by rival actor Walter Brennan (1894-1974).
In radio, Erwin had a recurring role in "Phone Again Finnegan" (1946), and played multiple roles in the anthology series "Lux Radio Theatre" (1934-1955), "Cavalcade of America" (1935-1953), and "The United States Steel Hour" (1943-1953).
From 1950 to 1955, Erwin starred in the television sitcom "The Stu Erwin Show." The series lasted for a total of 130 episodes, and cast Erwin in the role of a high-school principal who was also the father of high-spirited teens. After the sitcom ended, Erwin frequently appeared as a guest star on other television shows.
In 1963, Erwin played the role of football coach Wilson in the science-fiction comedy film "Son of Flubber," The film was a commercial success, earning about $22 million at the North American box office. It was the seventh-most commercially successful film of 1963, being outperformed by "Cleopatra" (first), "How the West Was Won" (second), "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (third), 'Tom Jones" (fourth), "Irma la Douce" (fifth), and "The Sword in the Stone" (sixth). "Son of Flubber" itself outperformed the horror film "The Birds" (eighth), the spy film "Dr. No" (ninth), and the drama film "The V.I.P.s" (tenth).
In 1964, Erwin played the role of Police Chief Loomis in another science-fiction comedy film, "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones." This film earned only $4 million at the box office but was considered successful enough to receive a sequel, "The Monkey's Uncle" (1965). Erwin was not asked to appear in the sequel. "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" was Erwin's last film role.
From 1965 to 1967, Erwin was limited to playing guest star roles in various television series, such as "Gunsmoke," "Bonanza," and "Lassie." In December 1967, Erwin suffered a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and died in Beverly Hills. He was 64. He was survived by his wife June Collyer (1906-1968), who died of pneumonia in March 1968.
The bodies of both Erwin and Collyer were cremated. Their ashes were interred at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory, in Los Angeles.- Anthony Eustrel was born on 12 October 1902 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958), The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) and Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953). He died on 2 July 1979 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Unmarked, ashes scattered in the Rose Garden
- Actress
Renee Evans was born on 29 February 1908 in London, England, UK. She was an actress. She was married to John Alban. She died on 22 December 1971 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Vaultage- Actor
- Writer
E.P. Evers was born on 12 September 1874 in Villa Ridge, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Drugged Waters (1916), The Jungle (1914) and Her Own Home (1914). He died on 22 July 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Vaultage- Bess Flowers was born on 23 November 1898 in Sherman, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for We Faw Down (1928), The Shadow (1937) and Sinister Hands (1932). She was married to William S. Holman and Cullen Tate. She died on 28 July 1984 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Ashes scattered in Rose Garden
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Raymond Friedgen was born on 18 October 1893 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and assistant director, known for Free Kisses (1926), Broken Barriers (1919) and Hong Kong Affair (1958). He died on 1 March 1966 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Actress
Talented Maude Fulton was born on 14 May, 1881 in Eldorado, Kansas, the daughter of Titus P. and Lulu Fulton. Her father was a newspaper editor who over the years operated several papers in Butler and Crawford counties in Kansas before his death sometime in late 1890s. By 1900 Maude was working as a stenographer and living with her mother in St. Louis, Missouri. She would go on to be a vaudeville entertainer, stage and screen actress, concert pianist, dancer, composer, screenwriter, playwright, theater manager and magazine writer. Theatergoers at the time best remembered her for the plays "The Brat" (1919), which she wrote and played the lead role and "The Humming Bird" (1924).
In 1918 her manger, George Ebey, bought the Bishop Theater in Oakland, California and renamed it the Fulton Playhouse. The theater remained open until the early years of the Great Depression.
At midnight on 20 December, 1920 she married actor/playwright Robert Ober in Boston, Massachusetts. The couple divorced some five or six years later. Fulton and Ober were both born in 1881 and died in 1950.
She retired in 1941 after her heath began to decline and spent the last six years of her life under hospital care. Maude Fulton passed away on 9 November, 1950 in Los Angeles, California.
New York Times, 23 December, 1920, Sheboygan Press Telegram 11 Nov 1950, US Census recordsPlot: Ashes in basement vaultage [unmarked]- Actress
- Soundtrack
Florence Gill was born on 27 July 1877 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Larceny on the Air (1937), The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and Obliging Young Lady (1942). She died on 19 February 1965 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
There are very few character actors from the 1930s, '40s or '50s who rose to the rank of stardom. Only a rare man or woman reached the level of renown and admiration, and had enough audience appeal, to be the first name in a cast's billing, a name that got marquee posting. Charles Coburn comes to mind, but there aren't many others. However, one who made it was Edmund Gwenn.
Gwenn was born Edmund Kellaway in Wandsworth, London, on September 26, 1877. He was the oldest boy in the family, which at that time meant he was the only one who really mattered. His father was a British civil servant, and he groomed Edmund to take a position of power in the Empire. However, early on, the boy had a mind of his own. For a while, his inclination was to go to sea, but that ended when one of his forebear's in the Queen's Navy was court-martialed for exceeding his "wine bill". In addition to that, Edmund had poor eyesight and perhaps most importantly, he was his mother's darling, and she kept having visions of shipwrecks and desert island strandings. As for the civil service, to the boy it seemed like a "continent of unexplored boredom".
He attended St. Olaf's College and would attend King's College in London as well. Surprisingly, he excelled at rugby and amateur boxing. Meanwhile, he developed a strong inclination to the stage, partly because of his admiration for the great English actor, Henry Irving. A major roadblock to that ambition, however, was his father, who, at that time, was stationed in Ireland. When Edmund broke the news to his father that he had chosen acting as a career, there followed "a scene without parallel in Victorian melodrama." His father called the theatre "that sink of iniquity." He predicted that, if Edmund went into theatre, he would end up in the gutter, and then literally "showed him the door." Years later his father would admit he had been wrong, but that didn't help the young man during an all-night crossing from Dublin to England during which he had time to reflect. He was penniless. His experience consisted of a few performances in amateur productions, and he knew that if he failed, there was no going back home.
However, in 1895, at the age of eighteen, he made his first appearance on the English stage with a group of amateurs just turned professional, playing two roles, "Dodo Twinkle" and "Damper", in "Rogue and Vagabond". For a long time afterward, he refused to go on stage without a false beard or some other disguise, fearing someone would recognize him and tell his father (it's a bit ironic, by the way, that Edmund's younger brother Arthur would also become an actor using the name of Arthur Chesney). During the next few years, roles were hard to come by but, by 1899, he made his first appearance on the West End in London in "A Jealous Mistake". This was followed by ten years in the hinterlands acting with stock and touring companies, gradually working his way up from small parts to juicier roles. While with Edmund Tearle's Repertory Company, which toured the provinces, he played a different role each night. It was excellent training, in that he acted in everything from William Shakespeare to old melodrama.
About this time, he married Minnie Terry, niece of the more famous actress Ellen Terry, a marriage that evidently was short-lived. Most sources list it as beginning and ending in 1901, perhaps only for a matter of days or even hours. From that point, Gwenn would remain a bachelor for the rest of his life. He seems to have preferred not going into any details about the marriage and divorce, and Minnie Terry, who outlived Gwenn, apparently never mentioned what happened, at least not publicly. That same year, however, he went to Australia and acted there for three years, not returning to London until 1904. There, he took a small part in "In the Hospital", which led to his receiving a postcard from George Bernard Shaw, offering him a leading role as "Straker", the Cockney chauffeur, in "Man and Superman". Gwenn accepted (by this time he was Edmund Gwenn) and the play was a success. Shaw became a sort of professional godfather for him. He appeared in "John Bull's Island", "Major Barbara", "You Never Can Tell", "Captain Brassbound's Conversion" and "The Devil's Disciple", all by Shaw. He spent three years in Shaw's company, years which he called "the happiest I've ever had in the theatre".
From 1908 until 1915, he performed in new plays by noted playwrights of the time, including John Masefield's "The Campden Wonder", 'John Galsworthy''s "Justice" and "The Skin Game", J.M. Barrie's "What Every Woman Knows" and "The Twelve Pound Look", as well as Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck" and Harley Granville-Barker's "The Voysey Inheritance". By this time, World War I had started and Gwenn, despite his poor eyesight, was conscripted into the British Army. Most of his time during "The Great War" was spent drawing supplies up to the front lines, while under fire. He was so successful at this task that, after a year as a private, he received a steady stream of promotions until eventually becoming a captain.
After the War, he returned to the stage and, in 1921, made his first appearance in the US in "A Voice from the Minaret" and "Fedora". He would return to America in 1928 to replace his friend, Dennis Eadie, who had died while in rehearsal for "The House of Arrows", but for most of this time, he was in England doing more stage roles and two dozen British films.
His first appearance on screen was in a British short, The Real Thing at Last (1916) in 1916, while he was still in the army. His next film roles were in Shaw's How He Lied to Her Husband (1931) and J.B. Priestley's The Good Companions (1933). He was also in Unmarried (1920) in 1920 and a silent version of "The Skin Game" (The Skin Game (1921)) as "Hornblower", a role he would reprise in 1931 for a talking version (The Skin Game (1931)) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. From then on, Gwenn was to work steadily until the end of his life. He appeared in English stage plays and films, eventually doing more and more on Broadway and in Hollywood. For example, he played the amiable counterfeiter in "Laburnum Grove" in 1933 (later to become the film Laburnum Grove (1936) in which he would star) and then with the entire British company brought it to New York. He was also a huge success in "The Wookey" in 1942, playing a Cockney tugboat captain. That same year, he appeared as "Chebutykin" in Anton Chekhov's "The Three Sisters", with Katharine Cornell, Ruth Gordon and Judith Anderson. In such illustrious company, Gwenn was hailed by critics as "magnificent" and "superlatively good".
In 1935, RKO summoned him to Hollywood to portray Katharine Hepburn's father in Sylvia Scarlett (1935). From then on, he was much in demand, appearing in Anthony Adverse (1936), All American Chump (1936), Parnell (1937), and A Yank at Oxford (1938). In 1940, he was the delightful "Mr. Bennet" in Pride and Prejudice (1940), then made a 180-degree turn by playing a folksy assassin in Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940). The year 1941 brought Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941), One Night in Lisbon (1941), The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and Scotland Yard (1941). Then came Charley's Aunt (1941), in which he romanced Jack Benny, masquerading as a woman. Other important films included A Yank at Eton (1942), The Meanest Man in the World (1943), The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) and Between Two Worlds (1944).
In 1945, he played villain "Albert Richard Kingby" in Dangerous Partners (1945). There is a peculiar scene in this film, which makes one wonder what director Edward L. Cahn was thinking. James Craig and Signe Hasso, the hero and heroine, are being held by the villainous Gwenn in a room, when Gwenn comes in to interrogate them. In the midst of this, the 33-year-old, 6'2" Craig punches the 68-year-old, 5'5" Gwenn in the belly and then forces the doubled-over Gwenn to release them. Admittedly, Craig and Hasso must escape, and Gwenn's character is pretty evil, but knocking the wind out of the old man makes Craig seem like a bully and far less sympathetic.
After "Dangerous Partners", Gwenn was in Bewitched (1945), She Went to the Races (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), Undercurrent (1946), Life with Father (1947), Green Dolphin Street (1947) and Apartment for Peggy (1948). In Thunder in the Valley (1947), he played one of his most unlikable characters, a father who beats his son, smashes his violin and shoots his dog.
Then in 1947, he struck it rich. Twentieth Century-Fox was planning Miracle on 34th Street (1947). It had offered the role of "Kris Kringle" to Gwenn's cousin, the well-known character actor Cecil Kellaway, but he had turned it down with the observation that "Americans don't like whimsy". Fox then offered it to Gwenn, who pounced on it. His performance was to earn him an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor (at age 71) and, because it is rerun every Christmas season, he would become for many their all-time favorite screen Santa. Accepting the award, Gwenn said, "Now I know there is a Santa Claus". He beat out some stiff competition: Charles Bickford (The Farmer's Daughter (1947)), Thomas Gomez (Ride the Pink Horse (1947)), Robert Ryan (Crossfire (1947)) and Richard Widmark (Kiss of Death (1947)). As soon as he got the part, Gwenn went to work turning himself into Santa Claus. Though rotund, Gwenn didn't feel he was rotund enough to look like the jolly old elf most people expected after having read Clement Moore's "The Night before Christmas", in which Santa "had a broad face and a little round belly / That shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly." He could of course wear padding, but he resisted that as too artificial. So he put on almost 30 pounds for the role, a fair amount for a man of his short stature, and added nearly five inches to his waistline. The problem was that after the film was finished, Gwenn found it hard to lose the extra weight. "I've been stocky all my adult life," he said, "but now I must accept the fact that I'm fat." As was his nature, he didn't get upset, and instead was able to laugh about it. Six years later, when playing an elderly professor in The Student Prince (1954), he had a scene in which he entered the Prince's chamber, struggling with the buttons of a ceremonial uniform. The line he was given was, "I'm too old to wear a uniform," but Gwenn suggested a change which stayed in the finished film, "I'm too old and fat to wear a uniform."
Gwenn had lost his hair early on, and had no more concern about it than he did about his portliness. In a fair number of films, such as Pride and Prejudice (1940), he appears bald, but he also played many roles with a toupee if he felt that worked better for the character. He would select a hairpiece that helped achieve the look he was after for the role. As regards the rest of his appearance, Gwenn is commonly listed as 5'6" tall, which may have been accurate when he was a younger man, but by the time he was a Hollywood regular he appears to be at least two inches shorter. Plagued by weak eyesight since his youth, Gwenn wore a pince-nez for a while, and then glasses, off-screen and sometimes on. Though he enjoyed fine clothes, he does not seem to have been in the least bit vain about any physical shortcomings he may have had. He looked a bit like a benign clergyman, perhaps of the Anglican faith, an image enhanced by his soft, almost soothing voice. He once said he was "always short and stocky, and not a particularly handsome thing. I could never play romantic leads." After "Miracle on 34th Street," however, Gwenn was a star and constantly in demand, especially when the role called for a kindly eccentric.
Gwenn remained a British subject all his life. When he first moved to Hollywood, he lived at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. His home in London had been reduced to rubble during the bombings by the Luftwaffe in World War II. Only the fireplace survived. What Gwenn regretted most was the loss of the memorabilia he had collected of the famous actor Henry Irving. Eventually Gwenn bought a house at 617 North Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills, which he was to share with his secretary and "confidential man", Ernest C. Bach, and later with former Olympic athlete Rodney Soher.
The year 1950 brought a pair of interesting films. In Louisa (1950) he and Charles Coburn were romantic rivals for the hand of Spring Byington. In one scene Gwenn socks Coburn in the jaw, though Coburn later bests him in arm wrestling. Gwenn wins Byington's hand in the end. He was also delightful in Mister 880 (1950) as a kindly counterfeiter. Gwenn received his second Oscar nomination for his performance, though this time he lost out to George Sanders in All About Eve (1950) He did, however, win the Golden Globe Award.
In 1952 he appeared in Sally and Saint Anne (1952) as Grandpa Patrick Ryan, affecting an Irish brogue for the role. He played football coach Pop Doyle, teamed up with a chimpanzee, in Bonzo Goes to College (1952). "The Student Prince" followed in 1954, as did the science-fiction classic Them! (1954). This film raises an interesting observation. The year before, Cecil Kellaway had appeared in another sci-fi classic, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). Watch the two films together and you'll see that the two cousins are playing essentially the same role, that of an elderly scientist with a lovely daughter who is able to provide the hero, and the audience, with some scholarly background on the dangers they face. The two actors could easily have switched roles. "Them!" is noteworthy, too, in that it was a particularly physically painful part for Gwenn. By this time he was 77 and suffering from advanced arthritis. Several scenes in the movie were filmed in the desert, where the temperature often reached 110 degrees. The costumer had outfitted him in a wool suit for some of the early scenes. Joan Weldon, who played his daughter, has noted that Gwenn was in great discomfort and almost certainly could not have continued without the help of his valet, Ernest.
The next year Gwenn was in It's a Dog's Life (1955) and The Trouble with Harry (1955). His film work has some interesting patterns. "Dog's Life" was at least the third time Gwenn made a film centered on a dog. He had already co-starred with Pal as Lassie in Lassie Come Home (1943) and Challenge to Lassie (1949). "Harry" was Gwenn's fourth picture directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the others being "The Skin Game", Strauss' Great Waltz (1934) and "Foreign Correspondent". Gwenn's last feature film was The Rocket from Calabuch (1956), shot in Spain and released in 1958, when he was 81. As for TV, his most memorable role may have been as a snowman that comes to life in a Christmas night telecast on The Ford Television Theatre (1952) from a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Heart of Gold".
Gwenn's final days were spent at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, California. Having endured terrible arthritis for many years, he had suffered a stroke, and then contracted pneumonia, from which he died at age 81 on September 6, 1959. His body was cremated, and his ashes were originally stored in a private vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. In March 2023, Gwenn's misplaced urn was found in the vault by Hollywood Graveyard creator Arthur Dark and researcher Jessical Wahl. Dark and Wahl created a GoFundMe campaign to fund moving Gwenn's urn to a publicly accessible location and, on December 3, 2023, Gwenn's urn was reinurned in the Cathedral Mausoleum at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Gwenn had appointed Rodney Soher as the executor of his will, in which he had left Minnie Terry one-third of his estate, his sister Elsie Kellaway a third, and Ernest Bach a third, in addition to his clothes, shoes, linens, ties and luggage. However, for some reason, while he was spending his last days at the Motion Picture Home, Gwenn signed a codicil to his will, in which he said he had given Bach the lump sum of $5000, and that was all he was to receive. After Gwenn's death, Bach challenged the codicil, claiming that Gwenn was not of sound mind while in the Home and that some unnamed person--possibly referring to Soher--had unduly influenced Gwenn to change his will. The outcome is not known. There is a story that has been around for years that shortly before he died a visitor observed, "It must be hard [to die]", to which Gwenn replied, "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard". The story and the wording vary somewhat from teller to teller. Gwenn may indeed have said it, but he may have been repeating someone else. The quotation has also been ascribed to several earlier wits, including his mentor George Bernard Shaw and the famous actor Edward Keane. Gwenn's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame can be found at 1751 Vine Street.Plot: Ashes in vaultage- Actor
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Raymond Hackett was born on 15 July 1902 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929), Not So Dumb (1930) and The Cat Creeps (1930). He was married to Blanche Sweet and Myra Hampton. He died on 7 July 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jean Shirley Verhagen (later shortened to Hagen) was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 3, 1923. Her father was a Dutch immigrant. Hagen and her family moved to Elkhart, Indiana when she was twelve; she subsequently graduated from Elkhart High School. Afterwards, she graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied drama and was a roommate of fellow actress Patricia Neal.
Hagen began her show business career in the late 1940s, performing in radio programmes. She also dabbled in Broadway plays. She made her film debut in 1949 with a role as a comical femme fatale in the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy pairing Adam's Rib (1949). She had her first leading role the following year, when she starred opposite Sterling Hayden in the film noir classic The Asphalt Jungle (1950), a performance which gained her considerable attention and praise.
The performance for which Hagen is best remembered today came about in 1952, when she lent her support to the classic musical Singin' in the Rain (1952). Hagen's portrayal of the helium-voiced silent film star Lina Lamont earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress; she lost to Gloria Grahame for The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).
Following her 'Singin' in the Rain' success, Ms. Hagen joined the cast of the television sitcom The Danny Thomas Show (1953). She was nominated for three Emmys for her role as Margaret Williams, but grew tired of the role after three seasons and subsequently left the show.
For the rest of her career, Hagen mostly made guest appearances on numerous television shows, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Andy Griffith Show (1960), Wagon Train (1957), and Starsky and Hutch (1975). She also had supporting roles in Sunrise at Campobello (1960) and Dead Ringer (1963).
Sadly, by the 1960s, Ms. Hagen's health had declined and she spent many years under medical care. She died of esophageal cancer on August 29, 1977 at the age of 54.- Actor
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Hobart Henley was born on 23 November 1887 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Society Snobs (1921), The Abysmal Brute (1923) and Parentage (1917). He was married to Corinne Barker. He died on 22 May 1964 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Ashes scattered in Rose Garden- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born at Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford-on-Avon, Halliwell Hobbes could perhaps not aspire to anything else but to be an actor. He made his stage debut in 1898 playing Shakespearean repertory with the famous acting company of Sir Frank Benson throughout England. Among others he played opposite Mrs. Patrick Campbell and Ellen Terry. Hobbes came to the American and Broadway as early as 1906, doing performing and some directing until early 1929 when he came to Hollywood as an elderly actor to launch a long career of memorable character roles. In those first years he seemed to be either a lord or a butler. But by 1931 he was much in demand, lending his distinctive and dignified nasal voice to nearly ten films per year through most of the 1930s. Moving from one studio to another, he was doctors, diplomats, more lords, and some very memorable clerics-especially the staid archbishop reduced to laughter in The Prince and the Pauper (1937). The roles were scarcer through the 1940s, but he was back on Broadway by mid 1940 playing Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet." Still that distinctive voice graced over 100 films by 1949. He turned to the richly diverse American TV playhouse format by 1950 and continued with roles through the decade along with a continued presence on Broadway until late 1955. Although he was sometimes uncredited in films, his roles were no less a recorded legacy of a dedicated acting talent.Plot: Unmarked, ashes scattered in the Rose Garden- Actor
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Extremely prolific actor/director of the silent screen, on Broadway from 1905. Hoyt joined the acting fraternity through the recommendations of an uncle, who worked as dramatic editor for a Cleveland tabloid. Signed by theatrical producer George C. Tyler (1868-1946), he began on stage (earning $10 per week), playing up to ten different parts. He made his Hollywood debut in 1916 with Universal. Short, balding and usually bespectacled, he managed to forge a 30-year career by playing a succession of 'little men', be they mild-mannered professors, henpecked husbands or easily intimidated minor officials. Looking perpetually befuddled was Hoyt's stock-in-trade. He was particularly effective as Professor Summerlee in The Lost World (1925) (directed by his younger brother Harry O. Hoyt), as the confused motel owner of It Happened One Night (1934) and as Mayor Tillinghast in The Great McGinty (1940). The better part of Hoyt's screen career, however, consisted of uncredited bits. For his last seven years in the business (1940-47), he was regularly employed as a member of Preston Sturges personal entourage of stock players at Paramount.Plot: Alcove J, Niche 52- Actor
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Warren Hymer was born on 25 February 1906 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938), The Lady and the Mob (1939) and Up the River (1930). He was married to Beau Williams and Virginia Meyer. He died on 25 March 1948 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Memory Hall, Section C, Niche H-17- Actor
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Lloyd Ingraham was born on 30 November 1874 in Rochelle, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Intolerance (1916), At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern (1922) and Man's Desire (1919). He was married to Maude May Plopper and Blanche M. Stoddard. He died on 4 April 1956 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Deodora Hall North, Section K, Niche 40- Julanne was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, but she and her family briefly lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, then settled in Los Angeles, California, where she attended the Hollywood School for Girls. She also studied dancing and went on tour with the Ruth St. Denis Dancers, which led to her first screen part as a dancer. In her post-screen life in Grosse Pointe and Detroit, Michigan, she volunteered actively at the Detroit Institute of Arts.Plot: Ashes scattered in Rosegarden
- Justine Johnstone was born Gustina Johnson in 1895 to a poor Scandinavian immigrant family in New Jersey. She later described her mother and father as "stern parents of Viking ancestry." Despite their severity and poverty, Johnstone grew up in a household that honored the written word and the stage. The future actress lived in the melting pot of Hoboken, a cosmopolitan theatre capital just across the Hudson from New York City's many stages.
Acting was in her blood, and on her mind as a child. In The Lives of Justine Johnstone: Follies Star, Research Scientist, Social Activist, writer Kathleen Vestuto quotes Johnstone: "When I was a child, I used to write plays in which my little chums and I acted. I hoped one day to write a real play." But she also nursed a dream in academia.
"A cherished wish was to become - what do you think? - a librarian! But librarians can't jump and dance all the time the way I like to do."
But first, Justine Johnstone had to make a living, and her Nordic face and statuesque bearing commanded a fair price as a model - around $7 a week, a large sum for a young girl in that era. One day as she was shuffling back and forth from Hoboken to Manhattan, the poor immigrants' daughter with the angelic face was discovered by Broadway press agent Walter Kingsley. At Kingsley's advice, she took on the stage name Justine Johnstone. In 1910, she got her start on stage at 15 years old, with a small part in a Broadway show called The Blue Bird. She dropped out of high school and moved on to perform in Hell/Temptations/Gaby in New York's Folies-Bergère in 1911. This was a big gig: the price of admission to the Folies-Bergère was second only to the Metropolitan Opera. Despite the attention Johnstone received as a ravishing chorus girl, the experience proved somewhat hollow. The show flopped, and she decided to rearrange her priorities and finish her education.
Justine Johnstone next set her sights on the Emma Willard School. A haven of blue-blood learning in upstate New York, the school suited the young actress with an air of quiet sophistication very nicely. Her fees were paid by an older gentleman friend, though Johnstone swore it was a platonic arrangement. A few parents of the well-heeled students raised eyebrows that the Broadway dancer was joining their daughters' ranks. But by all accounts, she was beloved by her peers in the class of 1914, who affectionately called her Ju-Jo. After completing her education, Johnstone went back to acting but her time at Emma Willard had firmed up Johnstone's formal education, laying the groundwork for her future studies.
Johnstone returned to Broadway, commanding $75 a week in the Ziegfeld Follies and often sharing the stage with another future film star, Marion Davies. In 1917, producer Lee Schubert created a revue called Over the Top with a lead role written just for Justine, who had become known as "the girl who owns Broadway." During her days in the Follies she uttered one of her most prescient comments to a theatre critic: "As soon as a girl is called a beauty it is assumed that she has no brains."
Not satisfied with stage roles that she felt relied more on her looks than her talent, Johnstone set her sites on the screen. She broke into pictures in the 1920s, in films like Blackbirds, Never the Twain Shall Meet, and Nothing But Lies.
Justine Johnstone first met her husband Walter Wanger during her Ziegfeld days, when he worked as a producer's assistant. The two kept up correspondence during WWI when Wanger served as an aviator. After his return from the war, they married in New York City Hall in 1919. Cosmopolitan Johnstone officially became Mrs. Justine Wanger, the name which she'd later use in her scientific career. In 1920, Wanger took a job at Paramount and began to climb the ladder as a movie producer. During his long career, he would work on films like The Sheik (1921), Stagecoach (1939), and Cleopatra (1963), and serve as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
As Wanger's star was rising, Johnstone announced her retirement from acting in 1926. The beautiful star was unhappy with the lack of depth in the roles available to her. And her husband's casting couch antics and predilection for young actresses only made matters worse. To escape from these woes, Johnstone found solace in another old love: learning. She had formed a friendship with her husband's doctor Samuel Hirschfeld. In 1927, at Hirschfeld's urging, she began auditing classes at the Pharmacology Department of Columbia University's School of Physicians and Surgeons. Soon the courses at Columbia turned into a job as an assistant in the laboratory, where she worked with Hirschfeld and Dr. Harold Thomas Hyman. Their work focused on the phenomenon of "speed shock" in injections, which occurs when medications injected into the bloodstream have deadly effects if introduced too quickly. With Hirschfeld and Hyman, she co-authored the 1931 paper "Influence of Velocity on the Response to Intravenous Injections," positing a safer slow-drip method. Their research would lead to the modern IV drip and a pre-penicillin treatment for syphilis. When news of her new career in medicine reached the press in 1941, reporters clamoured to interview Johnstone, who refused all of them.
In 1931, Justine Johnstone left New York, following her husband to LA for his new job at Columbia Pictures. But her scientific work didn't stop. She continued to research disease cures at Caltech, joined independent studies for cancer research, and was renowned as an expert on syphilis. After several unhappy years, she and Wanger divorced in 1938, though she continued to work under the name Justine Wanger. She made a rare public comment then, telling the New York Times that Wanger was, "abrupt, surly, and discourteous."
As a single woman, she adopted two sons whom she raised on her own. A 1941 article in Independent Woman magazine described her during this time as, "white-haired, serene, and happy." As a feminist, she would fight against the blacklist in the '50s and for women's political equality all her life, all while maintaining a very guarded private life. She died in 1982 in Los Angeles from congestive heart failure at the age of 87. By her request, there were no obituaries. - Actress
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Brunette Dorothy Jordan was a graduate of Southwestern University and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Trained as a ballerina, she first graced the stage as a chorus girl in top flight musicals, like "Funny Face" (1927), with Fred Astaire, and "Treasure Girl" (1928), with Gertrude Lawrence and Clifton Webb. This led to what turned out to be a fairly short and desultory movie career, beginning with a run-of-the-mill thriller, Black Magic (1929). Dorothy was soon cast as assorted sultry dames in Devil-May-Care (1929) and Call of the Flesh (1930), opposite Latin star Ramon Novarro. Rather more demure was her Bianca, the overtly obedient (but deceptively cunning) younger sister of Kate (Mary Pickford) in The Taming of the Shrew (1929). Contemporary critics were frequently unimpressed with Dorothy's acting, whether it was speaking her lines too quickly (Hell Bound (1931)) or delivering them as a 'memory citation' (Beloved Bachelor (1931)). She gave rather better account of herself in more downtrodden waif-like roles, notably as Marie Dressler's daughter in Min and Bill (1930), as an unwed mother in Bondage (1933) and as simple-minded Southern girl Betty Wright in The Cabin in the Cotton (1932).
After her marriage to famed producer Merian C. Cooper in 1933 -- and finding decent roles ever harder to come by -- Dorothy gave up acting to raise a family. She emerged from retirement in 1937, unsuccessfully screen testing for the role of Melanie in Gone with the Wind (1939). She made a second comeback upon her husband's successful entreaties to a long-term friend and collaborator, the director John Ford. Dorothy appeared in supporting roles in three of Ford's films, before leaving the screen for the final time. In her later years, she became somewhat reticent about discussing her career as a movie actress.- Director
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A former cartoonist, Gregory La Cava entered films during WWI as an animator for Walter Lantz on such animated films as "The Katzenjammer Kids" series. Hired by the Hearst Corp. as the editor-in-chief for its International Comic Films division, La Cava switched to live-action films in the 1920s and began directing two-reel shorts. Graduating to features, La Cava gained a reputation as a surefooted comedy director, responsible for such classics as My Man Godfrey (1936) and She Married Her Boss (1935). La Cava was equally proficient in other genres as well, turning out the dramatic Stage Door (1937) and the bizarre political fantasy Gabriel Over the White House (1933). He is also supposed to have directed some scenes in several of the films of his close friend W.C. Fields when Fields couldn't get along with the directors assigned to him, although there is no official record of this ever happening.- Director
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Rivaling Sam Newfield and William Beaudine as one of the American film industry's most prolific directors, Lew Landers began directing features in the mid-'30s under his real name of Louis Friedlander, but changed it to Lew Landers after several films. His first effort, The Raven (1935), with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, was probably his best. Landers worked for just about every studio in Hollywood during his long career, but spent a lot of time at RKO and Columbia turning out low-budget adventure epics, thrillers and westerns. In the 1950s he turned to series television, as many of his fellow B directors did, and alternated between that and features for the remainder of his career.Plot: Vaultage- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Producer, songwriter, composer and author, educated at the University of Chicago and New York University. He wrote a number of Broadway stage scores and libretti, and worked as the managing editor of Cosmopolitan magazine between 1918 and 1919, then was the director general of Cosmopolitan Productions until 1924. Coming to Hollywood in 1924, he began producing films. Joining ASCAP in 1933, his popular-song compositions include "American Serenade" (from "Her Regiment", "Brothers", "Canzonetta", "Days That Used to Be", "Deep in Your Eyes", "First Love", "Girls Along Fifth Avenue", "Half Moon", "Her Regiment", "I'm in Love" (from "Apple Blossoms"), "I'll Be True to You", "Letter Song" (from "Apple Blossoms"), "Little Book" (from "The Half Moon", "Little Girl's Goodbye" (from "Apple Blossoms"), "Little Old New York", "The Marriage Knot" (from "Apple Blossoms"), "Nancy's Farewell", "On Miami Shore", "Overture", "Second Violin", "Serenade", "Soldier Men", "Someday", "Sometime We Will Meet Again", "Star of Love", "Superlative Love", "Twixt Love and Duty", "When Knighthood Was in Flower", "When Wedding Bells are Ringing", "Who Can Tell?", and "You Are Free". His wife, Mabel Hollins, was a British musical-comedy actress.Plot: Mezzanine, Section B, Niche 80- Director
- Art Director
- Costume Designer
Mitchell Leisen was born on 6 October 1898 in Menominee, Michigan, USA. He was a director and art director, known for Death Takes a Holiday (1934), The Mating Season (1951) and Hold Back the Dawn (1941). He was married to Stella Yeager. He died on 28 October 1972 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Ashes in vaultage, no public access.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Montague Love - certainly an intriguing name - but his own - started his working life as a newspaper man in London. His primary expertise centered on being a field illustrator and cartoonist who covered the Boer War (1899-1902). His realistic battle sketches gained him popularity among readers, but he was bound for a different career. He decided to become an actor. A robust man with a massive head of noble bearing and brooding lower lip, these were ingredients well suited to this goal. Love honed basic stage talents in London, and then made an early departure for the US in 1913 with a road-company production of Cyril Maude's "Grumpy." An early stop was Broadway, and he returned many times to appear in a laundry list of important plays from 1913 to 1934.
Silent film studios of the early days were originally based in the East, and Love started his film career at World Studios, New Jersey in 1914. His silent career alone was prodigious-nearly a hundred films. His look and bearing were perfect for authoritative figures. And, though certainly taking on a whole spectrum of roles (sultan, native chiefs, many a doctor and military officer, among many others) he became famous for his bad guy characterizations through the 1920s. Some historians credit him as the best villain of the silent era.
In 1926 he was nemesis to Rudolf Valentino in The Son of the Sheik (1926) and 'John Barrymore' in Don Juan (1926). The latter movie had the particular fame of sporting the longest sword duel in silent history between Love's Count Giano Donati and Barrymore's Don Juan. The fight filming was unique and realistic with middle and close shots looking directly at the individual combatants-with the appropriate blood in their eyes. The duel was all the more complex choreography for being one with swords and daggers (historically correct but rarely seen in film history). But Love was just as effective as the Roman centurion in The King of Kings (1927) by 'Cecil B DeMille'. Starting with Synthetic Sin (1929), Love's movies followed the trend of an increasing number of silent films using recorded music and some snatches of dialogue or background sound with the several incipient audio systems. Some movies originally issued as silent were released again with the process added. `Sin' was one of 11 films of 1929 featuring Love given the semi-sound treatment. The last of these was Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island (1929), very loosely adapted to the point of being hokey, but one of the first films also using the primitive two-color process.
Love had a commanding, puckered-lip British delivery of speech which he could believably weld to any part, but it particularly fit characters of authority, as in the silent era. Into the 1930s, these were increasingly benign rather than despotic-always colonels and generals, prime ministers, American presidents - even Zorro's father. Perhaps his best known character tour de force displaying his genuine acting power was his Henry VIII in Prince and the Pauper (1937). It is hard to forget him in purple as the Bishop of the Black Canons in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Sometimes, as with other veteran character actors, his roles were almost as featured extra-but his very costumed presence was all that was needed to lend realism. A very apt example was his Detchard, noble henchmen to 'Raymond Massey', in The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), in which he has little more than one line. He was still in demand in the early 1940s - ten roles in 1940 alone. But these slowed into the war years. By his passing in 1943, an actor who was considered as noble on screen as off, he had lent his voice as well as virtuoso acting skills to eighty-one additional films.Plot: Vaultage- Actor
- Director
- Writer
The youngest of three sons, he was born in Norfolk, Ontario, Canada and was educated at McGill University then In 1904 he moved to New York where he appeared in a number of plays on Broadway including The Blue Grass Handicap, The Superstition of Sue and successful The Chorus Lady after which he was invited by D.W. Griffith to join Biograph Studios where he made his film debut in The Greaser's Gauntlet (1908) followed by some 50 other films. Then, in 1910, he wrote his first film script, Sunshine Sue (1910), which was followed by many more. In 1912, he turned to directing with An Outcast Among Outcasts (1912) with a further 40 or so in the next 20 years. Acting wasn't neglected, with his appearing in Griffith's classic Intolerance (1916). Mack Sennett hired him to direct and star in a number of films at his Keystone Studios. He made the successful transition from silents to sound and frequently returned to his roots on Broadway. He married twice, first to actress Alice Louise Perine in October 1898 and had two children After their divorce and while working at Biograph Studios, he met and married actress/screenwriter Bess Meredyth (1890-1969) with whom he had a son.Plot: Vaultage- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
J. Farrell MacDonald was born on 14 April 1875 in Waterbury, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Sunrise (1927), My Darling Clementine (1946) and The Great Lie (1941). He was married to Edith Bostwick. He died on 2 August 1952 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Herbert Marshall had trained to become a certified accountant, but his interest turned to the stage. He lost a leg while serving in World War I and was rehabilitated with a wooden leg. This did not stop him from making good his decision to make the stage his vocation. He used a very deliberate square-shouldered and guided walk, largely unnoticeable, to cover up his disability. He spent 20 years in distinguished stage work in London before entering films. He almost made the transition from the stage directly to sound movies except for one silent film, Mumsie (1927), produced in Great Britain. His wonderfully mellow baritone and British accent rolled out with a minimum of mouth movement and a nonchalant ease that stood out as unique. His rather blasé demeanor could take on various nuances, without overt emotion, to fit any role he played, whether sophisticated comedy or drama, and the accent fit just as well. He filled the range from romantic lead, with several sympathetic strangers thrown in, to dignified military officer to doctor to various degrees of villainy, his unemotional delivery meshing with the cold, impassive criminal character.
He was almost 40 when he appeared in his first picture in Hollywood, The Letter (1929), a film worthy of comparison (but for the primitive sound recording) to the more famous second version (The Letter (1940)) with Bette Davis. Marshall is the murder victim in 1929 and the betrayed husband in 1940. He was heavily in demand in the 1930s, sometimes in five or six pictures a year. Perhaps his best suave comedic role was in Trouble in Paradise (1932), the first non-musical sound comedy by producer-director Ernst Lubitsch--to some, Lubitsch's greatest film. That same year, Marshall did one of his most warmly human, romantic roles in the marvelously erotic Blonde Venus (1932), with the captivating Marlene Dietrich.
Through the '40s, his roles were more of the character variety, but always substantial. He was deviously subtle as the pre-World War II peace leader actually working against peace for a veiled foreign power (Germany) in Foreign Correspondent (1940). The film was one of Alfred Hitchcock 's earliest Hollywood films and definitely an under-rated thriller. Who could forget Marshall's small but standout performance as "Scott Chavez", who at the beginning of Duel in the Sun (1946), with typical Marshall nonchalance, calmly shoots his Indian cantina-entertainer wife for her cheating ways? By the '50s, Marshall was doing fewer movies, but still in varied genres. His voice was perfect to lend credence to some early sci-fi classics, such as Riders to the Stars (1954) and Gog (1954) and the The Fly (1958). He was also busy honing his considerable talent with various early-TV playhouse programs. He also fit comfortably into episodic TV, including a rare five-episode run as a priest on 77 Sunset Strip (1958). All told, Herbert Marshall graced nearly 100 movie and TV roles with an aplomb that remains a rich legacy.- Edward Martindel was born on 8 July 1876 in Hamilton, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Why Be Good? (1929), On Trial (1928) and The Duchess of Buffalo (1926). He was married to Jane. He died on 4 May 1955 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Vaultage
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Sarah Y. Mason was born on 31 March 1896 in Pima, Arizona, USA. Sarah Y. was a writer, known for Little Women (1933), Magnificent Obsession (1954) and The Girl Said No (1930). Sarah Y. was married to Victor Heerman. Sarah Y. died on 28 November 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Vaultage- Torben Meyer was born on 1 December 1884 in Århus, Denmark. He was an actor, known for Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Sullivan's Travels (1941) and The Last Warning (1928). He died on 22 May 1975 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Ashes in Vaultage.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Gertrude Michael was born in Talladega, Alabama, on June 1, 1911. After graduating from high school, she appeared on radio, as a musician and "Home Arts" advisor. A piano prodigy, she dropped out of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music at age 18 to pursue acting. It was in Cincinnati, in 1929, that she made her stage debut in a stock company headed by Stuart Walker. She subsequently appeared on Broadway in Rachel Crothers's "Caught Wet" (1931). She entered the movies playing Richard Arlen's fiancée in Wayward (1932). Arguably her best remembered role is the jealous "Rita Ross" of Murder at the Vanities (1934). She died in Hollywood on December 31, 1964, having never married. She was interred at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory, Los Angeles, California.Plot: Vaultage- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Thomas Mitchell was one of the great American character actors, whose credits read like a list of the greatest American films of the 20th century: Lost Horizon (1937); Stagecoach (1939); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); Gone with the Wind (1939); It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and High Noon (1952). His portrayals are so diverse and convincing that most people don't even realize that one actor could have played them all. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1940 for his role as the drunken Doc Boone in John Ford's Stagecoach (1939).Plot: Cremated at the Chapel of the Pines and his ashes are in Vaultage- Leonard Mudie was a stalwart acting veteran who made nearly 150 appearances before the camera. He was from the Midlands of England and began on stage in 1908 at the Gaiety Theater (1884-1959) in Manchester. This was the first regional repertory theater in England and well noted for the spectrum of plays produced and the patronage of new plays by local writers. Mudie was well accomplished when he came to America and Broadway in 1914, where he first appeared in the original play "Consequences". He was active there off and on through 1948 in some twenty-five roles. Later in 1921 Mudie was lured to Hollywood and silent films, sampled two for a year and then returned to Broadway. But after late 1931 Mudie returned to Hollywood, not to return to the Great White Way until his last appearance in 1948. Hollywood sound era could use his efficient, somewhat nasal British intonation and did - profusely. He managed to appear as at least a featured extra - not always with lines - in many of the great and historic films of the mid 1930s. About half his roles to 1946 were uncredited, but his was a steady voice of realism in whatever the part: stiff British official, doctor, lawyer - lots of judges - but also many an everyman role. In 1935 alone he was in thirteen films. And in one of these he was a particularly noteworthy judge. Warner Bros. was gambling on a dashing but relatively untried and unknown Australian (well Tasmanian) actor named Errol Flynn for a hoped hit remake version of the Rafael Sabatini novel Captain Blood (1935). Production was combing Hollywood for character actors for the huge cast, and Mudie was picked for one of the most villainous yet historical characters of the film, Chief Judge George Jeffreys, Baron of Wem, the "Hanging Judge", who presided over the "Bloody Assizes", the wholesale trials of the followers of the Duke of Monmouth's Rebellion at the beginning of the film. Flynn's first big dramatic scene is his confrontation with Jeffreys, bewigged and looking ashen with the kidney disease killing him. It is a great scene with great lines for both actors. Mudie was busy with over ten roles per year from 1937 thru 1941 before he began to slow down, age bringing about fewer character roles -- four or so per annum in the ensuing years. He had a somewhat prophetic line playing an old traditional actor Horace Karlos in a Charlie Chan whodunit The Scarlet Clue (1945) when he makes a reference to appearing in the still infant television as "Well, it's a living!" Indeed by 1953 Mudie got his feet wet in TV, and by later 1955 he was more a fixture of that medium than film and visiting all the varied series with a full sprinkling of character roles-including judges. In fact in the super cast of Hollywood who's who in the film The Story of Mankind (1957), he was the Chief Inquisitor for the cosmic aliens putting humanity on trial. That bit of fantasy was director by future sci-fi and underwater adventure showman Irwin Allen. He finished off his long, busy life with a few more TV roles at 82 - it certainly was a living.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
A tall, distinguished-looking English character actor with aristocratic bearing and a precisely modulated voice, Alan William Napier-Clavering was born in Kings Norton, Worcestershire, England. A cousin of the former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (graduating in 1925) and spent his formative years as an actor with Oxford Repertory and, from 1924, on the London stage. During the 1930s, he found his niche in Shakespearean roles. His characterisation of Menenius in a 1954 Boston revival of "Coriolanus" was described in the Christian Science Monitor (January 23, 1954) as imbued with "benevolent distinction and with some of the comic quality of the part". However, by that time, Napier had largely forsaken the stage for the screen.
In 1939, Alan Napier immigrated to America and, in the course of nearly five decades, appeared in film and on television as noblemen, manservants and doctors. His gaunt, suave, sometimes bespectacled characters could be kindly or nefarious. He gave good support in the supernatural thriller The Uninvited (1944) and lent gravitas to his role of Cicero in Julius Caesar (1953). Baby boomer TV audiences will remember him fondly as Bruce Wayne's ever reliable, and very English, butler Alfred Pennyworth in Batman (1966), starring Adam West. Napier's second wife, Aileen Dickens Bouchier Hawksley (nicknamed "Gypsy"), was a great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Alan Napier died at age 85 of pneumonia in Santa Monica, California on August 8, 1988.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Boston-born Ray Nazarro began his movie career in the silent-film era, where he often worked as an assistant director. He started his directing career in 1932, beginning with shorts and graduating to low-budget quickie features for Poverty Row studios. He alternated between directing shorts and an assistant director on features--often on westerns at Columbia--for years. By 1945 he fell into directing westerns for that studio, a genre and a studio in which Nazarro would spent the vast majority of his career. He worked steadily for the next 20 years, churning out dozens and dozens of Columbia's westerns, including many in the "Durango Kid" series with Charles Starrett, and was at the helm of a slew of Columbia's musical westerns and low-budget hillbilly musicals, which featured such acts as The Hoosier Hotshots. As the era of the B western ended, Nazarro journeyed to Europe, where he turned out some "spaghetti westerns" and was one of several directors to work on a bizarre and trouble-plagued Jayne Mansfield film, Einer frisst den anderen (1964). He also returned to directing television series, a medium in which he had occasionally worked since the early 1950s -- again, mostly in westerns.Plot: Cremated- Actor
- Soundtrack
Tom Neal is best remembered for his off-screen exploits, which involved scandal, mayhem and a charge of murder. Before his 1938 screen debut in MGM's Out West with the Hardys (1938), Neal had been a member of the boxing team at Northwestern University, had debuted on the Broadway stage in 1935 and had received a law degree from Harvard, also in 1938. Throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s, he appeared mostly as tough guys in Hollywood low-budgeters. In 1951, in a dispute over the on-again / off-again affections and the wavering allegiance of notorious actress / "party girl" Barbara Payton, he mixed it up with Payton's paramour, the aristocratic actor Franchot Tone. The former college boxer Neal inflicted upon Tone a smashed cheekbone, a broken nose and a brain concussion. Hollywood essentially blackballed Neal thereafter, but he would come to find a livelihood in gardening and landscaping. He was brought to trial in 1965 for the murder of his wife Gale, who had been shot to death with a .45-caliber bullet to the back of her head. Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Neal, which at the time meant a trip to the cyanide-gas chamber. The trial jury, however, convicted him only of "involuntary manslaughter", for which he was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
On 7 December 1971 he was released on parole, having served exactly six years to the day. Eight months later, Tom Neal was dead of heart failure.Plot: Cremated; Location of ashes unknown- Director
- Special Effects
- Writer
In 1949, 16 years after his ground-breaking work on the 1933 film "King Kong", Willis O'Brien worked as Chief Technician on another gorilla film for Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Shoedsack titled "Mighty Joe Young". A young Ray Harryhausen would do most of the animation, but O'Brien did come up with the designs for the film. At the 1950 Academy Awards, O'Brien was awarded an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for "Mighty Joe Young". This, along with "King Kong", are often considered his greatest achievements.Plot: Deodora Hall South, Section W, Niche 15 (near the top of the wall).- Actress
- Soundtrack
This vivacious, platinum-blonde leading lady of silent screen comedy was a former Ziegfeld Girl (under her birth name 'Anderson'). The daughter of Norwegian immigrants, she appeared in vaudeville from early childhood and began in films in 1915. Two years later she made her debut on Broadway. From the early 1920's, Vivien became a regular feature in two-reelers for Hal Roach, her forte being the 'slow burn'. She invariably played a put-upon society matron, or the long-suffering wife of either Charley Chase (Mighty Like a Moose (1926)), Oliver Hardy (Along Came Auntie (1926)and That's My Wife (1929)), Stan Laurel (Love 'Em and Weep (1927)), Edgar Kennedy (Dumb's the Word (1937)) or Leon Errol (in a series of shorts at RKO, beginning with Wrong Romance (1937)).
Vivien successfully made the transition to sound and was featured to great effect with Laurel & Hardy in We Faw Down (1928), Scram! (1932) (an infectious drunken scene), and Way Out West (1937). Her film roles were usually small, though she made the most of being one of the Florodora Sextette in the musical period romance The Florodora Girl (1930). Vivien retired in 1951, settling in Sherman Oaks, California. In the final year of her life, she worked at Neff's Toy Store as a saleslady.Plot: Vaultage- Florence Oakley was born on 21 December 1890 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for A Most Immoral Lady (1929). She was married to Lewis Stone and Percy Church Pryor (actor). She died on 25 September 1956 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Philip Ober's bald head, stern bearing and booming voice made him a natural for the roles of business executives, high-ranking military officers and other authority figures he played so well. A Princeton University graduate, Ober spent years as an advertising executive for several different national magazines before switching careers to acting. He spent many years on Broadway and in stock companies before breaking into films. His best remembered roles would probably be that of the murder victim who dies in Cary Grant's arms in North by Northwest (1959) and the bullying officer whose wife is having an affair with his subordinate, Burt Lancaster, in From Here to Eternity (1953). He also did much television work, including appearances on his wife's show, I Love Lucy (1951) (he was married to Vivian Vance at the time). He retired from acting and went into the U.S. diplomatic service, and, while working at the U.S. consulate in Mexico City, died of a heart attack in 1982.
- Franklin Parker was born on 8 November 1902 in Fillmore, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for I Cover the War! (1937), The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1933) and F-Man (1936). He died on 12 June 1962 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Stuart Paton was born on 23 July 1883 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He was a director and writer, known for The Gray Ghost (1917), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) and Clipped Wings (1937). He was married to Ethel Patrick. He died on 16 December 1944 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Vaultage- Eileen Percy was born in Belfast, Ireland on August 21, 1900. She got an early start in films when she landed the role of Ethel Forsythe in 1917's Down to Earth (1917). She was barely 17 years old. Eileen was kept busy as the twenties rolled in with roles in The Third Eye (1920), Why Trust Your Husband (1921), Let's Go (1923), and Tongues of Flame (1924). (Her sister Thelma, briefly, appeared in four films in 1920 and 1921). Eileen was one of those stars whose voice didn't translate well into sound. She made only a few sound pictures with a bit part in The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood (1932). Afterwards she retired from the silver screen. On July 29, 1973, Eileen died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California. She was 72 years old.
- George Palmer Putnam was born on 7 September 1887 in Rye, New York, USA. He was married to Margaret Havilland, Jean-Marie Cosigny James, Amelia Earhart and Dorothy Binney. He died on 4 January 1950 in Trona, California, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
Herbert Rawlinson was born on 15 November 1885 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK. He was an actor and producer, known for The Flame Fighter (1925), The Carter Case (1919) and The Belle of Broadway (1926). He was married to Loraine Abigail Long, Roberta Arnold and Josephine Norman. He died on 12 July 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Beautiful, swift and tough-tongued British character actress Rachel Roberts gained notice for her roles on the English stage, before she hit it largely in films. Born in Wales and married to actor Rex Harrison in 1962, Roberts made her film debut in a key role in J. Lee Thompson's Young and Willing (1954) a drama film about the life of women in prison. Around the early sixties, it wasn't uncommon to see a British actress in feature films, usually such an actress would remain on the British screen for such time, but Roberts continued going strong, she's hard to forget as the cankerous housewife in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960).
After her divorce from Rex Harrison in 1971, Roberts continued such supporting roles usually as tough authority women characters or villainous beauties in films including Doctors' Wives (1971), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Foul Play (1978), When a Stranger Calls (1979) and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981). Although never far from the screen, she was occasionally seen on television, such as Mrs. Bonnie McClellan in the 1976 series The Tony Randall Show (1976). She probably achieved her greatest success as Richard Harris's love interest in the film This Sporting Life (1963) which earned her an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress. Rachel Roberts committed suicide in November of 1980 of a "barbiturate overdose" at her home in Studio City, California. Roberts was only 53 years old.cremation location- Music Department
- Writer
- Actor
As 'Harry Ruby', Harry Rubenstein was a 'song plugger' for Gus Edwards and for George Gershwin at Jerome H. Remick's, the Detroit music publishing firm. He had unfulfilled ambitions to become a professional baseball player and had previously worked the vaudeville circuit as a pianist with The Bootblack Trio and The Messenger Boys Trio. Ruby's luck was to change after meeting the lyricist Bert Kalmar at a Tin Pan Alley publishing house. By 1918, the duo had formed a songwriting partnership which was to endure for almost three decades, resulting in numerous popular hits for Broadway shows and movies. Some of their best-known numbers included "I Wanna Be Loved by You", "Who's Sorry Now?", "Three Little Words", "Give Me the Simple Life", "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" and many more. A fictionalised biopic of Kalmar & Ruby, Three Little Words (1950) (in which Ruby was played by Red Skelton), was released by MGM three years after Kalmar's death. Ruby lived on until 1974, but managed just one hit song on his own, the 1949 chart topper "Maybe It's Because".Plot: In vaultage (not accessible to the general public)- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Director
Born into a large Bohemian-Polish family in Chicago on March 14, 1864, William N. Selig was one of the true pioneers of the motion picture industry. Though not widely remembered today, his Selig Polyscope Co. was responsible for many landmark events in early cinema. Among these were construction of the first permanent studio in Los Angeles in 1908-1909, production of the first cliff-hanger serial (The Adventures of Kathlyn (1913)) and the first film version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910).
After working as an upholsterer, then a vaudeville magician in Chicago, Selig traveled to northern California in 1890 to run a fruit ranch in a small town called Chicago Park. The move was partially necessitated by health problems he was having at the time. By 1893 William had recovered enough to start an African-American minstrel company known as "Selig and Johnson's Colored Minstrels." Performing in the San Francisco area, the most notable member of this troupe was Bert Williams, who would become the greatest African-American comedian of the vaudeville era.
Upon seeing an Edison Kinetescope at the Dallas Fair in 1894, Selig decided to return home to Chicago where he began working on his own camera-projection system. In 1896 he founded one of the world's first motion picture studios. From very modest beginnings, his Selig Polyscope Co. quickly grew to be one of the major players during the pioneer era. With the help of a machinist named Andrew Schustek, Selig designed one of the earliest camera-projectors. Based largely on the Lumiere Cinematographe, his invention would share its name with his fledgling studio.
The first decade of Selig Polyscope's operation was marked by legal turmoil, due largely to the efforts of Thomas A. Edison's lawyers. Finally, in 1909, Selig and several other studio heads formed an uneasy alliance with Edison. The resulting Motion Picture Patents Company and its distribution arm General Films would dominate the film industry until 1915. That year the independent companies won a major victory when the Supreme Court ruled the M.P.P.C. an illegal monopoly.
"Colonel" Selig's ambitions were not strictly confined to cinema. Around 1911 he began acquiring land for what would become the largest private zoo in the world. The Selig Zoo at Eastlake (now Lincoln) Park, in Los Angeles was a logical extension of his movie business. Over the years, William had accumulated a sizable collection of animals for his jungle movies. The 32-acre zoo allowed him to showcase his menagerie while leaving room for studios at the back of the grounds. Many famous animals resided at the zoo, including the original Leo the MGM lion.
Once the zoo/studio was in operation, Selig no longer needed the first L.A. studio that director Francis Boggs had opened for him in Edendale (now Echo Park). An up-and-coming producer named William Fox decided to lease that site for his soon-to-be-famous company. Another giant of the industry benefited from Selig's initial investment in Los Angeles. Louis B. Mayer moved into the studios at the zoo once Selig retired from major production around 1920. The Colonel had no desire to compete against these younger, more aggressive movie moguls.
There were other factors which led William to leave the industry he helped found. With the release of The Spoilers (1914) in 1914, Selig enjoyed his greatest success. At this point Selig Polyscope appeared to have a bright future, but things quickly changed. During this time the industry was evolving from producing the short films Selig specialized in to the modern feature-length productions. While William did make longer films like "The Spoilers," he felt shorts were the way of the future. The onset of World War I also hurt Selig Polyscope, given its extensive European operations. Finally, the dissolution of the Patents Company made the industry more competitive, dooming the pioneer studios.
Selig moved into independent production after closing his studios, working infrequently until the 1930s. The Colonel's glory days were past, though, and he faded into obscurity. The cost of operating a large zoo and the Great Depression had reduced Selig's fortune to nothing. He became a literary agent in his later years, selling off the story rights purchased years before for his films. In 1947 Selig and several other film pioneers were awarded special Oscars. He died the following year on July 15, with his loving wife of many years, Mary, at his side.Plot: Hall of Memory Columbarium, L-6- Herbert Standing was born on 13 November 1846 in Peckham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for An International Marriage (1916), David Garrick (1916) and Peer Gynt (1915). He was married to Janet Grace Dalghesh Riddell and Emily Clementina Brown. He died on 5 December 1923 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Vaultage
- Vernon Steele was born on 18 September 1882 in Santiago, Chile. He was an actor, known for Captain Blood (1935), Kidnapped (1938) and Temptation (1923). He was married to Vivia Steele and Muriel Maude Walker. He died on 23 July 1955 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Vaultage
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Harry Stubbs was born on 7 December 1874 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Invisible Man (1933), Alibi (1929) and The Locked Door (1929). He was married to Susan. He died on 9 March 1950 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Stephen Stucker was a marvelously wild and dynamic free-spirited actor who specialized in deliciously broad portrayals of memorably outrageous characters in a handful of comedies made in the 70's and 80's. Stucker was born on July 2, 1947 in Des Moines, Iowa. He attended Lincoln School in Alameda, California. During his school days Stephen was known as both an accomplished pianist and a class clown with a dry wit. Stucker made his film debut with a funny turn as crazed asylum escapee Bruce Wilson in the entertainingly lowbrow "Carnal Madness." He was likewise sidesplitting as a cross-dressing court stenographer in "The Kentucky Fried Movie." Stephen achieved his greatest enduring popularity with his gloriously zany and unforgettable performance as loopy airport control room worker Johnny in the hilarious disaster picture parody "Airplane!." Stucker reprised this role in "Airplane II: The Sequel" and had an amusing bit as a train stationmaster in "Trading Places." Stephen appeared in three episodes of the hit TV series "Mork & Mindy." Besides "The Kentucky Fried Movie" and "Airplane!," Stucker also worked with the comedy team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker as a member of the theatrical group the Kentucky Fried Theater. Stephen Stucker died at the tragically young age of 38 from AIDS on April 13, 1986.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Zeffie Tilbury was born on 20 November 1863 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Werewolf of London (1935) and Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935). She was married to L. E. Woodthorpe and Arthur Frederick Lewis. She died on 24 July 1950 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Memorial Hall G, L-10- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Widely publicized as "The Vitagraph Girl," dark-haired silent film actress Florence Turner was one of the screen's first celebrities to be called by the term "movie star." Born in New York City in 1885, she was pushed into the business at age 3 by an overzealous stage mother, performing on the vaudeville stage as Eugenie Florence. Audiences took delight in her talents as an impressionist of well-known stage actresses of the time such as Marie Dressler. Florence was a full-fledged professional by the time she hooked up with Vitagraph Studios in 1906 as a wardrobe mistress/cashier/actress.
Making her film debut in Cast Up by the Sea (1907), Turner was prominently displayed in front of the camera within a short period of time. Appearing in the company's more quality pieces, she formed a sturdy pairing with Maurice Costello and other matinée idols of the day. The diminutive, forlorn-looking performer eventually tested the acting waters in London in 1913, and was directed frequently by long-time friend Lawrence Trimble, occasionally collaborating on screenplays. She also contributed to her livelihood making appearances in music halls, still amazing audiences with her impersonations of everybody from Alla Nazimova to Charles Chaplin. She organized her own production company, Turner Films, and made more than 30 shorts, becoming the first star of the screen to take on producing chores. In 1915 she was the top box-office star.
Florence maintained a highly visible transatlantic career for nearly a decade while appearing both here and in England in everything from classic Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice (1908), Richard III (1908)) and historical epics (A Tale of Two Cities (1911), The Deerslayer (1913)) to classic drama (Far from the Madding Crowd (1915), Through the Valley of Shadows (1914), My Old Dutch (1915)). Her career started slipping after WWI, however, and by 1924 she was forced to settle permanently in Hollywood when the British film market dried up completely. At this point she had to make do as a stock player for MGM. The advent of sound was the final nail in her career's coffin, unfortunately. It was a respectful MGM that kept her on the payroll for the next decade, albeit in bit parts and extra roles.
She died practically forgotten at the Woodland Hills, California, Motion Picture Country Home in 1946 at age 61.Plot: Vaultage- Philip Van Zandt was born on 4 October 1904 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He was an actor, known for Citizen Kane (1941), City of Missing Girls (1941) and His Kind of Woman (1951). He died on 15 February 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Vaultage
- Henry Byron Warner was the definitive cinematic Jesus Christ in Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings (1927). He was born into a prominent theatrical family on October 26, 1875 in London. His father was Charles Warner, and his grandfather was James Warner, both prominent English actors. He replaced J.B. Warner as Jesus in The King of Kings (1927) when J.B. died of tuberculosis at age 29. (J.B. was not Henry's brother. J.B. had taken the professional last name "Warner" because Henry's family took him in.)
Henry Warner's family wanted him to become a doctor, and he graduated from London University but eventually gave up his medical studies. The theater was in his blood, and he studied acting in Paris and Italy before joining his father's stock company, making his debut in the English production of "Drink." It was from his father that he honed his craft.
Warner made it to the United States in the early 1900s, after touring the British Empire. Billed as Harry Warner, he made his Broadway debut in the US colonial drama "Audrey" at Hoyt's Theatre on November 24, 1902, starring James O'Neill, the father of playwright Eugene O'Neill. He was billed as H.B. Warner in his next appearance on Broadway, in the 1906 comedy "Nurse Marjorie." He appeared in 13 more Broadway productions in his career, from the twin-bill of "Susan in Search of a Husband" & "A Tenement Tragedy" (also 1906) to "Silence" in 1925.
He moved into motion pictures, making his debut in the Mutual short Harp of Tara (1914). Also in 1914, he appeared in a film written by Cecil B. DeMille for Famous Players Lasky, The Ghost Breaker (1914), in which he had played on Broadway the year before. Warner became a leading man and a star in silent pictures, reaching the zenith of his career playing Jesus in DeMille's The King of Kings (1927). His excellent performance was actually enhanced by the silent screen, allowing the audience to imagine how Jesus would sound. Warner could be extremely moving in silent pictures, notably in the melodrama Sorrell and Son (1927) as a war veteran father who sacrifices all for his son.
When talkies arrived, he became a busy supporting player. A favorite of Frank Capra, appeared in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). Cast again by Capra, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Lost Horizon (1937). He also appeared in You Can't Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Other major talkies included The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) and Topper Returns (1941). Other than Jesus, the role he is best remembered role for today is in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), in which he played Mr. Gower, the druggist who is saved from committing a lethal medication error by the young George Bailey (the James Stewart character as a child). H.B. Warner appeared in Sunset Boulevard (1950) as himself. His last credited role was as Amminadab in DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956), a remake of the earlier silent The Ten Commandments (1923). He last role was an uncredited bit part in Darby's Rangers (1958).
Henry Warner died on December 21, 1958 in Woodland Hills, California. He was 82 years old.Plot: Ashes in vaultage, not accessible for public viewing. - E. Alyn Warren was born on 2 June 1874 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Red Wine (1928), They Won't Forget (1937) and Son of the Gods (1930). He died on 22 January 1940 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Vaultage
- Art Director
- Production Designer
- Art Department
He was known as the 'dean of Hollywood art directors'. Lyle Wheeler worked on more than 350 films, winning five Academy Awards ("Gone with the Wind", "Anna and the King of Siam"', The Robe (1953), The King and I (1956) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)) and was nominated for twenty-four others. The former magazine illustrator and industrial designer (also a graduate in architecture from the University of Southern California) started at MGM in 1931 as a layout artist and soon worked his way up to becoming assistant art director under Cedric Gibbons. From the mid-1930s he began to work for David O. Selznick as a set designer and quickly proved his creative flair.
His first picture as associate art director was The Garden of Allah (1936) (replacing Sturges Carne). Wheeler applied the new Technicolor dye transfer process to its fullest advantage, giving the finished product sharper definition and enhanced richness of colour. In 1939, he worked with production designer William Cameron Menzies on Gone with the Wind (1939). He created the sets for Tara and was responsible for the burning of Atlanta (suggesting to set ablaze the old King Kong (1933) and The King of Kings (1927) sets on the backlot). A long time later, he reminisced, saying "I had to argue with Selznick about everything. ..I always won, too, at least in my own mind" (People,March 27 1989). Wheeler became supervising art director at 20th Century Fox in 1944 and head of the studio's art department three years later. During his tenure, he worked on some of the most sumptuous-looking films of the period, including Leave Her to Heaven (1945), Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) and The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) -- and, of course -- 'The King and I' with its visually stunning interiors. His outstanding black-and-white films are all characterised by sharp, clean lines, notable examples being Rebecca (1940), Laura (1944) and All About Eve (1950). He was also capable of creating amazing sets, as exemplified by the avant-garde nightclub in Selznick's The Young in Heart (1938). One of Wheeler's few regrets was the fact that one of his masterpieces, Anna and the King of Siam (1946), had to be shot in black & white because of a painter's strike.
Financial problems forced Wheeler to sell his house in Pacific Palisades in 1982 and putting his five Academy Awards into storage. Unable to cover the rent for that storage, the Oscars, hidden within eleven boxes marked 'Wheeler' were eventually auctioned off, selling for $175. Through the efforts of a sympathetic individual, Lyle was eventually reunited with at least one of them.Plot: Deodora Hall South, Section U, Niche 68- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Pioneer silver screen star Kathlyn Williams is primarily known as the spry blonde of the very first Hollywood cliffhanger, The Adventures of Kathlyn (1913), in which her real first name was used in the title. This accomplishment has resulted in many reference works mistakenly referring to her as an adventurous Pearl White-type silent serial queen. While Kathlyn did, in fact, go on to perform in a few other adventure-type pictures, including westerns, she was actually quite gentile and dignified in nature and primarily graced heavier drama on the screen. Having once been dubbed the Sarah Bernhardt of the screen, she never did appear in another serial.
She was born in Butte, Montana, on May 31, 1879 (most sources incorrectly list 1888) of Norwegian and Welsh descent, Kathlyn was born to Joseph E. and Mary C. Williams. With early interest and experience as a vocal recitalist, she eventually attended the Sargent School of Acting and studied at Wesleyan University (1899). Following stage experience in local stock and touring companies (from 1902) she began to develop a solid name for herself in such plays as "When We Were Twenty One". Her early career was generously sponsored by Sen. W.A. Clarke after Kathlyn's family lost their fortunes. She eventually went to Hollywood while performing with the Belasco Stock Company and began making films as early as 1908 with D.W. Griffith at the Biograph Studio.
A popular star at the Selig Polyscope Company in 1910 (she was at first publicized as "The Selig Girl"), she appeared in assorted jungle adventures for the studio as well as a number of westerns opposite cowboy star Tom Mix. She made history, however, with the very first serial adventure, which contained a number of wild animals, and it saved the faltering studio from bankruptcy. She proceeded to remain a popular item after being handed the lead in the Selig epic The Spoilers (1914), playing her signature role of Cherry Marlotte.
Once the Selig Studio folded, Kathlyn signed with Paramount Pictures following her marriage to Paramount executive Charles F. Eyton in 1916 (a former actor, he later became the studio's General Manager), and while there appeared as the star of several early dramas for both Cecil B. DeMille and his brother William C. de Mille, including The Whispering Chorus (1918), We Can't Have Everything (1918), The Tree of Knowledge (1920) and Conrad in Quest of His Youth (1920). Her numerous co-stars included veteran matinée idols (Thomas Meighan, Theodore Roberts, Tyrone Power Sr.), young established stars (Wallace Reid) and western heroes (Roy Stewart.
Kathlyn's fair, spunky, coquettish looks grew suddenly grim and matronly by the early 1920s and she moved swiftly into stately dramatic efforts, backing up such celebrity femmes of the day as May McAvoy, Betty Compson, Anita Page, Greta Garbo and even Joan Crawford before the advent of sound. She retired from films in 1935 after only a handful of talkies and, though comebacks were bantered about from time to time in the gossip mill, nothing came of it. A tragic car accident in 1949 resulted in the loss of a leg, ending any chances whatsoever of revitalizing her career. She was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life.
Married and divorced three times, her only child, Victor Hugo Kainer, from her first marriage to import/export businessman Otto Kainer, was born in 1905 but died a young teenager after developing influenza and succumbing to septic poisoning in 1922. After a brief marriage to actor Frank R. Allen, she married Eyton. That marriage ended in 1931.
Due to the loss of her leg, Kathlyn became a wheelchair-bound invalid in the last decade of her life. She succumbed to massive heart attack in her Hollywood apartment on September 23, 1960, at age 81. She was cremated and her ashes interred in the Deodora Hall, South Columbarium in the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.Plot: Deodora Hall, South Columbarium- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Richard Wallace was born in Sacramento, California, in 1894. At 14 years of age he got a job as a theater projectionist, a job he held for four years. He later traveled to Los Angeles to get into the film industry, and wound up as an editor for such studios as Triangle and Robertson-Cole. His career was interrupted by service in the US Army Signal Corps during World War I, but upon his return he got a job with Fox Films as an editor, and eventually worked his way up to director. He spent several years directing comedy shorts for Universal, Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, and made his first feature in 1926, Syncopating Sue (1926). He worked for many years at Paramount, not quite an "A" director but more than a "B" director. One of his better, and most successful, films was Bombardier (1943), a war picture, and he got to work with John Wayne on the adventure epic Tycoon (1947).- Actor
- Soundtrack
There are very few character actors from the 1930s, '40s or '50s who rose to the rank of stardom. Only a rare man or woman reached the level of renown and admiration, and had enough audience appeal, to be the first name in a cast's billing, a name that got marquee posting. Charles Coburn comes to mind, but there aren't many others. However, one who made it was Edmund Gwenn.
Gwenn was born Edmund Kellaway in Wandsworth, London, on September 26, 1877. He was the oldest boy in the family, which at that time meant he was the only one who really mattered. His father was a British civil servant, and he groomed Edmund to take a position of power in the Empire. However, early on, the boy had a mind of his own. For a while, his inclination was to go to sea, but that ended when one of his forebear's in the Queen's Navy was court-martialed for exceeding his "wine bill". In addition to that, Edmund had poor eyesight and perhaps most importantly, he was his mother's darling, and she kept having visions of shipwrecks and desert island strandings. As for the civil service, to the boy it seemed like a "continent of unexplored boredom".
He attended St. Olaf's College and would attend King's College in London as well. Surprisingly, he excelled at rugby and amateur boxing. Meanwhile, he developed a strong inclination to the stage, partly because of his admiration for the great English actor, Henry Irving. A major roadblock to that ambition, however, was his father, who, at that time, was stationed in Ireland. When Edmund broke the news to his father that he had chosen acting as a career, there followed "a scene without parallel in Victorian melodrama." His father called the theatre "that sink of iniquity." He predicted that, if Edmund went into theatre, he would end up in the gutter, and then literally "showed him the door." Years later his father would admit he had been wrong, but that didn't help the young man during an all-night crossing from Dublin to England during which he had time to reflect. He was penniless. His experience consisted of a few performances in amateur productions, and he knew that if he failed, there was no going back home.
However, in 1895, at the age of eighteen, he made his first appearance on the English stage with a group of amateurs just turned professional, playing two roles, "Dodo Twinkle" and "Damper", in "Rogue and Vagabond". For a long time afterward, he refused to go on stage without a false beard or some other disguise, fearing someone would recognize him and tell his father (it's a bit ironic, by the way, that Edmund's younger brother Arthur would also become an actor using the name of Arthur Chesney). During the next few years, roles were hard to come by but, by 1899, he made his first appearance on the West End in London in "A Jealous Mistake". This was followed by ten years in the hinterlands acting with stock and touring companies, gradually working his way up from small parts to juicier roles. While with Edmund Tearle's Repertory Company, which toured the provinces, he played a different role each night. It was excellent training, in that he acted in everything from William Shakespeare to old melodrama.
About this time, he married Minnie Terry, niece of the more famous actress Ellen Terry, a marriage that evidently was short-lived. Most sources list it as beginning and ending in 1901, perhaps only for a matter of days or even hours. From that point, Gwenn would remain a bachelor for the rest of his life. He seems to have preferred not going into any details about the marriage and divorce, and Minnie Terry, who outlived Gwenn, apparently never mentioned what happened, at least not publicly. That same year, however, he went to Australia and acted there for three years, not returning to London until 1904. There, he took a small part in "In the Hospital", which led to his receiving a postcard from George Bernard Shaw, offering him a leading role as "Straker", the Cockney chauffeur, in "Man and Superman". Gwenn accepted (by this time he was Edmund Gwenn) and the play was a success. Shaw became a sort of professional godfather for him. He appeared in "John Bull's Island", "Major Barbara", "You Never Can Tell", "Captain Brassbound's Conversion" and "The Devil's Disciple", all by Shaw. He spent three years in Shaw's company, years which he called "the happiest I've ever had in the theatre".
From 1908 until 1915, he performed in new plays by noted playwrights of the time, including John Masefield's "The Campden Wonder", 'John Galsworthy''s "Justice" and "The Skin Game", J.M. Barrie's "What Every Woman Knows" and "The Twelve Pound Look", as well as Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck" and Harley Granville-Barker's "The Voysey Inheritance". By this time, World War I had started and Gwenn, despite his poor eyesight, was conscripted into the British Army. Most of his time during "The Great War" was spent drawing supplies up to the front lines, while under fire. He was so successful at this task that, after a year as a private, he received a steady stream of promotions until eventually becoming a captain.
After the War, he returned to the stage and, in 1921, made his first appearance in the US in "A Voice from the Minaret" and "Fedora". He would return to America in 1928 to replace his friend, Dennis Eadie, who had died while in rehearsal for "The House of Arrows", but for most of this time, he was in England doing more stage roles and two dozen British films.
His first appearance on screen was in a British short, The Real Thing at Last (1916) in 1916, while he was still in the army. His next film roles were in Shaw's How He Lied to Her Husband (1931) and J.B. Priestley's The Good Companions (1933). He was also in Unmarried (1920) in 1920 and a silent version of "The Skin Game" (The Skin Game (1921)) as "Hornblower", a role he would reprise in 1931 for a talking version (The Skin Game (1931)) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. From then on, Gwenn was to work steadily until the end of his life. He appeared in English stage plays and films, eventually doing more and more on Broadway and in Hollywood. For example, he played the amiable counterfeiter in "Laburnum Grove" in 1933 (later to become the film Laburnum Grove (1936) in which he would star) and then with the entire British company brought it to New York. He was also a huge success in "The Wookey" in 1942, playing a Cockney tugboat captain. That same year, he appeared as "Chebutykin" in Anton Chekhov's "The Three Sisters", with Katharine Cornell, Ruth Gordon and Judith Anderson. In such illustrious company, Gwenn was hailed by critics as "magnificent" and "superlatively good".
In 1935, RKO summoned him to Hollywood to portray Katharine Hepburn's father in Sylvia Scarlett (1935). From then on, he was much in demand, appearing in Anthony Adverse (1936), All American Chump (1936), Parnell (1937), and A Yank at Oxford (1938). In 1940, he was the delightful "Mr. Bennet" in Pride and Prejudice (1940), then made a 180-degree turn by playing a folksy assassin in Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940). The year 1941 brought Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941), One Night in Lisbon (1941), The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and Scotland Yard (1941). Then came Charley's Aunt (1941), in which he romanced Jack Benny, masquerading as a woman. Other important films included A Yank at Eton (1942), The Meanest Man in the World (1943), The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) and Between Two Worlds (1944).
In 1945, he played villain "Albert Richard Kingby" in Dangerous Partners (1945). There is a peculiar scene in this film, which makes one wonder what director Edward L. Cahn was thinking. James Craig and Signe Hasso, the hero and heroine, are being held by the villainous Gwenn in a room, when Gwenn comes in to interrogate them. In the midst of this, the 33-year-old, 6'2" Craig punches the 68-year-old, 5'5" Gwenn in the belly and then forces the doubled-over Gwenn to release them. Admittedly, Craig and Hasso must escape, and Gwenn's character is pretty evil, but knocking the wind out of the old man makes Craig seem like a bully and far less sympathetic.
After "Dangerous Partners", Gwenn was in Bewitched (1945), She Went to the Races (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), Undercurrent (1946), Life with Father (1947), Green Dolphin Street (1947) and Apartment for Peggy (1948). In Thunder in the Valley (1947), he played one of his most unlikable characters, a father who beats his son, smashes his violin and shoots his dog.
Then in 1947, he struck it rich. Twentieth Century-Fox was planning Miracle on 34th Street (1947). It had offered the role of "Kris Kringle" to Gwenn's cousin, the well-known character actor Cecil Kellaway, but he had turned it down with the observation that "Americans don't like whimsy". Fox then offered it to Gwenn, who pounced on it. His performance was to earn him an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor (at age 71) and, because it is rerun every Christmas season, he would become for many their all-time favorite screen Santa. Accepting the award, Gwenn said, "Now I know there is a Santa Claus". He beat out some stiff competition: Charles Bickford (The Farmer's Daughter (1947)), Thomas Gomez (Ride the Pink Horse (1947)), Robert Ryan (Crossfire (1947)) and Richard Widmark (Kiss of Death (1947)). As soon as he got the part, Gwenn went to work turning himself into Santa Claus. Though rotund, Gwenn didn't feel he was rotund enough to look like the jolly old elf most people expected after having read Clement Moore's "The Night before Christmas", in which Santa "had a broad face and a little round belly / That shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly." He could of course wear padding, but he resisted that as too artificial. So he put on almost 30 pounds for the role, a fair amount for a man of his short stature, and added nearly five inches to his waistline. The problem was that after the film was finished, Gwenn found it hard to lose the extra weight. "I've been stocky all my adult life," he said, "but now I must accept the fact that I'm fat." As was his nature, he didn't get upset, and instead was able to laugh about it. Six years later, when playing an elderly professor in The Student Prince (1954), he had a scene in which he entered the Prince's chamber, struggling with the buttons of a ceremonial uniform. The line he was given was, "I'm too old to wear a uniform," but Gwenn suggested a change which stayed in the finished film, "I'm too old and fat to wear a uniform."
Gwenn had lost his hair early on, and had no more concern about it than he did about his portliness. In a fair number of films, such as Pride and Prejudice (1940), he appears bald, but he also played many roles with a toupee if he felt that worked better for the character. He would select a hairpiece that helped achieve the look he was after for the role. As regards the rest of his appearance, Gwenn is commonly listed as 5'6" tall, which may have been accurate when he was a younger man, but by the time he was a Hollywood regular he appears to be at least two inches shorter. Plagued by weak eyesight since his youth, Gwenn wore a pince-nez for a while, and then glasses, off-screen and sometimes on. Though he enjoyed fine clothes, he does not seem to have been in the least bit vain about any physical shortcomings he may have had. He looked a bit like a benign clergyman, perhaps of the Anglican faith, an image enhanced by his soft, almost soothing voice. He once said he was "always short and stocky, and not a particularly handsome thing. I could never play romantic leads." After "Miracle on 34th Street," however, Gwenn was a star and constantly in demand, especially when the role called for a kindly eccentric.
Gwenn remained a British subject all his life. When he first moved to Hollywood, he lived at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. His home in London had been reduced to rubble during the bombings by the Luftwaffe in World War II. Only the fireplace survived. What Gwenn regretted most was the loss of the memorabilia he had collected of the famous actor Henry Irving. Eventually Gwenn bought a house at 617 North Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills, which he was to share with his secretary and "confidential man", Ernest C. Bach, and later with former Olympic athlete Rodney Soher.
The year 1950 brought a pair of interesting films. In Louisa (1950) he and Charles Coburn were romantic rivals for the hand of Spring Byington. In one scene Gwenn socks Coburn in the jaw, though Coburn later bests him in arm wrestling. Gwenn wins Byington's hand in the end. He was also delightful in Mister 880 (1950) as a kindly counterfeiter. Gwenn received his second Oscar nomination for his performance, though this time he lost out to George Sanders in All About Eve (1950) He did, however, win the Golden Globe Award.
In 1952 he appeared in Sally and Saint Anne (1952) as Grandpa Patrick Ryan, affecting an Irish brogue for the role. He played football coach Pop Doyle, teamed up with a chimpanzee, in Bonzo Goes to College (1952). "The Student Prince" followed in 1954, as did the science-fiction classic Them! (1954). This film raises an interesting observation. The year before, Cecil Kellaway had appeared in another sci-fi classic, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). Watch the two films together and you'll see that the two cousins are playing essentially the same role, that of an elderly scientist with a lovely daughter who is able to provide the hero, and the audience, with some scholarly background on the dangers they face. The two actors could easily have switched roles. "Them!" is noteworthy, too, in that it was a particularly physically painful part for Gwenn. By this time he was 77 and suffering from advanced arthritis. Several scenes in the movie were filmed in the desert, where the temperature often reached 110 degrees. The costumer had outfitted him in a wool suit for some of the early scenes. Joan Weldon, who played his daughter, has noted that Gwenn was in great discomfort and almost certainly could not have continued without the help of his valet, Ernest.
The next year Gwenn was in It's a Dog's Life (1955) and The Trouble with Harry (1955). His film work has some interesting patterns. "Dog's Life" was at least the third time Gwenn made a film centered on a dog. He had already co-starred with Pal as Lassie in Lassie Come Home (1943) and Challenge to Lassie (1949). "Harry" was Gwenn's fourth picture directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the others being "The Skin Game", Strauss' Great Waltz (1934) and "Foreign Correspondent". Gwenn's last feature film was The Rocket from Calabuch (1956), shot in Spain and released in 1958, when he was 81. As for TV, his most memorable role may have been as a snowman that comes to life in a Christmas night telecast on The Ford Television Theatre (1952) from a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Heart of Gold".
Gwenn's final days were spent at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, California. Having endured terrible arthritis for many years, he had suffered a stroke, and then contracted pneumonia, from which he died at age 81 on September 6, 1959. His body was cremated, and his ashes were originally stored in a private vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. In March 2023, Gwenn's misplaced urn was found in the vault by Hollywood Graveyard creator Arthur Dark and researcher Jessical Wahl. Dark and Wahl created a GoFundMe campaign to fund moving Gwenn's urn to a publicly accessible location and, on December 3, 2023, Gwenn's urn was reinurned in the Cathedral Mausoleum at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Gwenn had appointed Rodney Soher as the executor of his will, in which he had left Minnie Terry one-third of his estate, his sister Elsie Kellaway a third, and Ernest Bach a third, in addition to his clothes, shoes, linens, ties and luggage. However, for some reason, while he was spending his last days at the Motion Picture Home, Gwenn signed a codicil to his will, in which he said he had given Bach the lump sum of $5000, and that was all he was to receive. After Gwenn's death, Bach challenged the codicil, claiming that Gwenn was not of sound mind while in the Home and that some unnamed person--possibly referring to Soher--had unduly influenced Gwenn to change his will. The outcome is not known. There is a story that has been around for years that shortly before he died a visitor observed, "It must be hard [to die]", to which Gwenn replied, "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard". The story and the wording vary somewhat from teller to teller. Gwenn may indeed have said it, but he may have been repeating someone else. The quotation has also been ascribed to several earlier wits, including his mentor George Bernard Shaw and the famous actor Edward Keane. Gwenn's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame can be found at 1751 Vine Street.His body was cremated, and his ashes are buried in a vault at The Chapel of the Pines in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Lionel Atwill was born into a wealthy family and was educated at London's prestigious Mercer School to become an architect, but his interest turned to the stage. He worked his way progressively into the craft and debuted at age 20 at the Garrick Theatre in London. He acted and improved regularly thereafter, especially in the plays of Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw. Atwill came to the US in 1915 and would appear in some 25 plays on Broadway between 1917 and 1931, but he was already trying his hand in silent films by 1918. He had a sonorous voice and dictatorial British accent that served him well for the stage and just as well for sound movies. He did some Vitaphone short subjects in 1928 and then his first real film role in The Silent Witness (1932) (also titled "The Verdict").
That voice and his bullish demeanor made Atwill a natural for a spectrum of tough-customer roles. As shady noblemen and mad doctors, but also gruff military men and police inspectors (usually with a signature mustache), he worked steadily through the 1930s. He had the chance to show a broader character as the tyrannical but unforgettable Col. Bishop in Captain Blood (1935). It's hard to forget his Inspector Krogh in Son of Frankenstein (1939), wherein he agrees to a game of darts with Basil Rathbone and proceeds to impale the darts through the right sleeve of his uniform (the character sported a wooden right arm). And he sends himself up with rolling and blustering dialogue as the glory-hog ham stage actor Rawitch in the classic To Be or Not to Be (1942) with Jack Benny. However, Atwill effectively ruined his burgeoning film career in 1943 after he was implicated in what was described as an "orgy" at his home, naked guests and pornographic films included--and a rape perpetrated during the proceedings. Atwill "lied like a gentleman," it was said, in the court proceedings to protect the identities of his guests and was convicted of perjury and sentenced to five years' probation.
He was thereafter kept employed on Poverty Row with only brief periods of employment by Universal Pictures, while the rest of Hollywood turned its collective back on him. He is more remembered for the horror films generally than for better efforts, but they have fueled his continued popularity and a bid by the Southern California Lionel Atwill Fan Club to petition for a Hollywood Blvd. star (he never received one).Chapel Of The Pines Crematory, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Plot: Ashes were interred here but the family has since moved them to an unknown location.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Helen Chandler was born in Charleston, South Carolina on February 1, 1906. By the late 1920s she had become a hugely popular actress on the New York stage. That Hollywood should beckon was inevitable, but unfortunately whatever quality made Chandler a success on the stage did not survive the transition to film. Chandler is probably best remembered by movie fans as the fragile Mina, pursued and nearly victimized by Bela Lugosi in the original Dracula (1931). In 1937 Chandler left Hollywood to return to the stage, but a dependency on alcohol and sleeping pills haunted her subsequent career, and in 1940 she was committed to a sanitarium. Ten years later she was disfigured in a fire, apparently caused by smoking in bed. Helen Chandler died (following surgery for a bleeding ulcer) on April 30, 1965. Her body was cremated, however, as no relative ever came forward to claim the remains, her ashes reposed in the vault (off limits to visitors) of the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. After an online fundraising effort led by Hollywood Graveyard YouTube channel creator Arthur Dark, Chandler's ashes were reinurned in the Cathedral Mausoleum of Hollywood Forever Cemetery on July 13, 2023.Her body was cremated, and as no relative ever came forward to claim the remains, her ashes now repose in the vaultage section (off limits to visitors) of the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mae Busch can certainly claim career versatility, having successfully played Erich von Stroheim's mistress, Lon Chaney's girlfriend, Charley Chase's sister, James Finlayson's ex-wife and Oliver Hardy's wife! She was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1891; her parents were in the theater and when she was six years old the family moved to the US, arriving in San Francisco in 1897 before moving to New York. It is claimed Mae was placed in St. Elizabeth's Convent in New Jersey until at least the age of 12, when she joined her parents in vaudeville as part of the Busch Devere Trio (New York press articles confirm Mae as being part of the group in early 1908). Her big break came in March 1912 when she replaced Lillian Lorraine in the lead role in the Broadweay play "Over the River", with Eddie Foy. She continued in this role until the end of the season, when she joined one of Jesse L. Lasky's touring "girl" shows, where she stayed until signed by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Pictures in 1915. As she was performing on Broadway at the same time as "The Agitator" was filming in California, the claim that this was her first film is incorrect. Similarly, there is no evidence that she knew Mabel Normand prior to arriving in Los Angeles in 1915.
In Hollywood things didn't begin so well for Mae. In order to get work, she falsely claimed to have lived in Tahiti and to be able to swim and dive. A high dive she took while filming The Water Nymph (1912) resulted in an injury and her returning to her parents in New York. It was only then when working in the theater again that she developed into leading-lady status.
Mae returned to Hollywood, and Keystone, in 1915. However, her friendship with Mabel ended abruptly when she was "caught" with Sennett, Mabel's fiancé, and Mae was forced to leave Keystone. Over the years she had substantial roles in quite a few films, such as von Stroheim's The Devil's Passkey (1920) and Foolish Wives (1922). Although 1927 was the year of her first movie with Stan Laurel and Hardy, it wasn't until Unaccustomed As We Are (1929) that she first played Mrs. Hardy, the role that she will always be remembered for. She was Mrs. Hardy again in Their First Mistake (1932), Sons of the Desert (1933), and The Bohemian Girl (1936). She also appeared in other Laurel and Hardy pictures but not as Mrs. Hardy, such as Charlie Hall's wife in Them Thar Hills (1934), and she only flirted with Hardy in Tit for Tat (1935).
Mae's Hollywood career lasted 30 years; she worked with many of the leading directors, actors and actresses of the time. After a long illness she died in 1946, aged 54. She was cremated and her ashes remained in a cardboard box at the Motion Picture Country Home Hospital for over 20 years until a proper interment and plaque was provided.She was cremated and her ashes remained in a cardboard box at the Motion Picture Country Home Hospital for over 20 years until a proper internment and plaque was provided.- Actress
Shortly after her birth Virginia Ray moved with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. W.F. Whitaker, to East St. Louis, Illinois. From the age of three she was able to perform many popular dances of the day, taught to her by a Negro "mammy." Virginia left East St. Louis and traveled to New York in the winter of 1920. She went to the office of Flo Ziegfield and somehow managed to leapfrog over 50 other girls waiting for an audition. She was hired on the spot. She knew a host of stars from stage and screen because many had been her sidekicks in the chorus line. She also knew actors Malcom St. Clair and Ben Lyons, and director Allan Dwan. She met Rudolph Valentino at Club Lido four days before his death, where she was dining with future husband (1926) Thomas Purcell. Valentino signed Purcell's ukulele, the 138th signature on the instrument, and it was the last thing Valentino ever signed. In 1925 Ray went to Palm Beach, Florida and secured minor riles in several movies. She appeared with Olive Borden, Marie Dressler and Neil Hamilton in The Joy Girl, a Fox production. She first served in the movies as an extra in 1921. Virginia said that her mail sometimes was mixed up with that Kathryn Ray, who was just a year younger and was also from East St. Louis. Kathryn was also a Follies girl and later worked for Earl Carroll's Vanities. Kathryn became a Gotham sensation when she appeared nude on stage while sitting on a giant pendulum that swung back and forth.