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- Actress
- Writer
Florence Barker was born on November 22, 1891 in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Norman Barker, was a farmer and she had four siblings. When she was a teenager she began acting with stock companies. She fell in love with actor Joe De Grasse, who was 18 years her senior; they moved in together and he helped guide her career. In 1908 she made her film debut in D.W. Griffith's "An Awful Moment." Over the next three years she appeared in more than 50 films, including "The Course of True Love," "The Diamond Star," and "The Newlyweds" with Mary Pickford. She became one of the first American actresses to make films in Europe. About acting she said "I love the work and would advise any actress to make a try for the pictures. The work is arduous to be sure. No one ever attained success unless it was accomplished by close and concerted application." The talented young actress was signed by Powers Players in 1912. She was given leading roles in the comedies "Her Yesterday" and "The Petticoat Detective." Her performances got good reviews and her future seemed bright. She also wrote the script for her 1912 comedy "Priscilla's Comedy." While visiting her mother in early 1913 she became ill. Tragically, on February 15, 1913 she died from pneumonia at only 21 years old. She was cremated and her ashes were buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.- Actor
- Writer
Elmer Booth was born on 9 December 1882 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for His Auto's Maiden Trip (1912), Why He Gave Up (1911) and Abe Gets Even with Father (1911). He was married to Irene Outtrim. He died on 16 June 1915 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Frank Hallack was born on 29 November 1890 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for An Evil of the Slums (1914), A Seaside Samaritan (1913) and The Unhappy Pair (1913). He died on 21 September 1918 in Illinois, USA.
- Myrtle Gonzalez was born on 28 September 1891 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Level (1914), The Little Sheriff (1914) and The Chalice of Courage (1915). She was married to Allen Watt and J. Parks Jones. She died on 22 October 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Eunice Woodruff was born on 12 December 1910 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Virtuous Sinners (1919), The Lady of Red Butte (1919) and Vive la France! (1918). She died on 15 July 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Master Breezy Reeves Jr, born Reeves Barnes Eason, also billed as "Breezy" Eason Jr, was born in California in 1914, son of actor/film director B. (William) Reeves Eason and actress Jimsy Mayo. Handsome, cute blonde boy who starred in mostly westerns from the age of two. He was known as 'Universal's Littlest Cowboy' until he was hit by a truck at the age of six while riding his bike to a music lesson near his home at 6200 Fountain Avenue in Los Angeles. He never regained consciousness and died of his injuries after surgery at California Hospital.
- Frances Burnham was born on 19 April 1895 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Love Thief (1916), Who's Your Servant? (1920) and The Price Woman Pays (1919). She was married to Noble Warren Sheldon. She died on 10 July 1924 in Monrovia, California, USA.
- Baby Corrigan was born on 4 November 1915 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Her Soul's Song (1916). She died on 27 December 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Virginia Richdale Kerrigan was born on 4 November 1915 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Good and Evil (1916). She died on 27 December 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Esther Lea Yarnell was a socialist, teacher and poet who was politically active in the labor movement in Los Angeles during the first two decades of the 20th century.
Yarnell was born in Los Angeles on June 10, 1885, although various sources list her birth year as 1880. She was the daughter of Jesse Yarnell and Susan Caystile.
She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1903 and worked as a teacher in the Los Angeles School District.
Closely associated with socialist and author Upton Sinclair and his wife, Mary Craig Sinclair, Yarnell often spoke at socialist meetings and conventions. She wrote for several leftist publications, most notably the Los Angeles-based The Western Comrade, The New Justice and The Los Angeles Citizen. She also had her poems published in The New Justice.
She appeared in one film, the pro-labor, socialist-themed "From Dawn to Dusk" (1913).
Darnell died on May 30, 1925, in Los Angeles. - Texas Aber was born on 18 June 1919 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Texas was an actor, known for How High Is Up? (1927). Texas died on 22 December 1927 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
G.E. Marygold was born on 13 March 1898 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 6 February 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Mack Fluker was born on 22 April 1903 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Win That Girl (1928), The Bath Between (1928) and The Helpless Helper (1927). He died on 28 April 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Bill Spence was born on 9 June 1906 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He died on 30 May 1929 in Speedway, Indiana, USA.
- Teddy Tetzlaff was one of the best-known American racing car drivers of the early 20th century, and he held several different speed records at one time or another. In 1914, Tetzlaff set a world speed record of over 142 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and once in a race at Corona, California Tetzlaff turned in what at the time was the fastest lap speed in the USA. Tetzlaff also twice briefly held the one-lap qualifying record at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but he was never able to win the Indy 500. He drove in the race four times, with his best finish being second place in 1912. Tetzlaff was featured in The Speed Kings (1913) with Mabel Normand.
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Julia Crawford Ivers was born on 3 October 1867 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for A Son of Erin (1916), The White Flower (1923) and The Majesty of the Law (1915). She died on 8 May 1930 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Diane Ellis was born Jeanne Diane Ellis on December 20, 1909 in Los Angeles, California. He father Walter Ellis was a butcher. After her mother died Diane was raised by her grandparents. She attended Virgil Junior High and Fairfax High School. The beautiful blonde got a job working as a secretary at the Film Research Bureau. A director saw her and offered her a role in the 1927 comedy Is Zat So? (she was billed as Dione Ellis). Then she appeared in the films Happiness Ahead and The Leatherneck. Her performances got good reviews and her future seemed bright. Diane was signed by Pathe Studios and costarred with Carole Lombard in High Voltage.
When Pathe decided not to renew her contract she went to New York City and appeared in the Broadway show Nine-Fifteen Review. She also had a supporting role in the 1930 comedy Laughter starring Nancy Carroll. Sadly it would be her final film. On October 15, 1930 Diane married Stephen C. Millet, a wealthy businessman, in Paris, France The couple decided to go on an extended honeymoon around the world. In early December they were in Madras, India when Diane came down with an infection. According to her grandmother she had an operation in Madras. Tragically she died on December 15, 1930 at the young age of twenty. She was cremated and her ashes were taken to Millet family estate in Milford, England. - Joseph Bennett was born on 28 August 1894 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Marked Cards (1918), After the Fog (1930) and Won in the Clouds (1928). He died on 3 December 1931 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- A lifetime Angeleno, Robert C. Owens was the grandson of Mrs. Biddy Mason, a slave from Missouri, who in 1856, successfully petitioned the California state Supreme Court for freedom for her and her family. Owens, her oldest grandchild, started as a farmer and rancher and the owner of his father's livery stable in on Spring Street in Los Angeles. By 1900, he had built on the real estate holdings of his father and grandmother to the extent that he listed himself in the city directories as a "capitalist," with his net worth estimated at a quarter million dollars.
- Paisley Noon was born in 1897 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Bad Luck Harry (1926). He died on 27 March 1932 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actor
Otto Gottell was born on 5 December 1916 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 15 January 1933 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Young "Sunny Jim" McKeen was featured in 39 "Newlyweds and Their Baby" shorts in the late 1920s, then went on to make a series of six sound shorts on his own. A very blond little boy, he was a contemporary of the child actors such as Allen 'Farina' Hoskins and Jackie Cooper, Davey Lee and Shirley Temple. He died of blood poisoning in 1933, at the age of 8.
- Solly Smith was born on 6 March 1871 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He died on 28 August 1933 in Culver City, California, USA.
- Seymour Kupper was born on 31 October 1915 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Painted Faces (1929). He died on 25 June 1934 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Billy Schuler was born on 26 May 1919 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Mother Knows Best (1928), School Begins (1928) and Boxing Gloves (1929). He died on 18 October 1934 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
Janet Currie was born on December 29, 1909 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her grandfather, Andrew Currie, had once been the Mayor of Shreveport. Janet attended Byrd high school and was crowned "Miss Shreveport" at the age of eighteen. While visiting New York City with her mother she auditioned for Earl Carroll's Sketchbook. The beautiful redhead was offered a part in the show. Then she appeared in the hit Broadway musical Once In A Lifetime. A talent scout saw her on stage and offered her a contract at MGM in 1930. She was supposed have a role in the film Sidewalks Of New York but producers said her Southern accent was too thick. Janet briefly worked as a stand-in for Nancy Carroll while she took elocution lessons.
In 1931 she appeared as a chorus girl in the musical Flying High. That same year she impulsively eloped with her childhood sweetheart Ben James. She decided to give up her acting career and the couple moved to Kansas City, Missouri. After just a year of marriage they separated and she returned to Hollywood. Janet landed a role in the Three Stooges comedy Meet The Baron. Soon after she began experiencing health problems and was diagnosed with Ulcerative colitis. In December of 1934 she underwent an operation but there were complications. Sadly she died on December 20, 1934 at the young age of twenty-four. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.- Odel Conley was born on 17 November 1913 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926). He was married to Lyda May Muse. He died on 6 May 1935 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Stubby Stubblefield was born on 28 December 1909 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Crowd Roars (1932) and Throttle Pushers (1933). He died on 30 May 1935 in Speedway, Indiana, USA.
- Al Cooke was born on 26 September 1880 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Defenders of the Law (1931), One Minute to Play (1926) and A Small Town Idol (1921). He died on 6 July 1935 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- Baby Spofford was born on 10 December 1915 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Jim Bludso (1917) and The House Built Upon Sand (1916). He died on 29 September 1935 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Additional Crew
Alan Hurst was born on 8 June 1930 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Alan died on 15 January 1937 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Katherine Grant was born on May 1, 1904 in Los Angeles, California. Her parents divorced and her father passed away in 1921. At the age of eighteen she won the Miss Los Angeles beauty contest and competed in the Miss America pageant. Katherine worked as a professional dancer and to make extra money she posed nude for an art study project. She made her film debut in the comedy short Saturday Morning and was offered a contract with Hal Roach. In 1923 she appeared in more than a dozen films including A Man About Town and Frozen Hearts. As her career took off the photographer who had taken her nude photos started to extort her. Katherine reported the man to the police and the scandalous photos did not hurt career. By 1925 she had become one of Hal Roach's favorite comedy vamps and he signed her to a new five year contract. Katherine worked with Oliver Hardy in Wild Papa and with Charley Chase in The Uneasy Three.She and Charley also performed in a vaudeville act together.
Unfortunately Katherine struggled with her weight and went on starvation diets to stay thin. On December 8, 1925, she was the victim of a hit-and-run accident. Doctors told her to take a break from acting but she returned to work a few days later. In the Spring of 1926 Katherine suffered a nervous breakdown on the set and was put in a sanitarium. Newspaper reports blamed the breakdown on her extreme dieting. Sadly Katherine would never make another film. Her health continued to get worse and she started suffering from dementia. Eventually she was sent to to Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino where she would live the rest of her life. Katherine died on April 2, 1937 from pulmonary tuberculosis. She was only thirty-two years old. Katherine was buried in an unmarked grave at Evergreen cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Fans of the late actress honored her with a marked headstone, in a special ceremony, on August 27, 2016. - Animation Department
Elmer Wait was born on 11 September 1913 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is known for Porky the Wrestler (1937) and Porky's Garden (1937). He died on 20 July 1937.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
- Director
James Dugan was born on 19 May 1898 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an assistant director and actor, known for Her Summer Hero (1928), The Desert Pirate (1927) and A Blind Bargain (1922). He died on 5 August 1937 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Actress
Genevieve Phillips was born Edith Genevieve Phillips born on February 8, 1913 in Los Angeles, California. Genevieve decided she wanted to be an actress at a young age. After graduating from Beverly Hills high school she enrolled in drama school. Then she moved to New York City and began working in the theater. In 1933 the beautiful brunette made her film debut in the musical My Weakness. The following year she toured with the show Everybody On Deck. She was signed by Paramount in 1935 and given bit parts in the films One Hour Late and Collegiate.
Unfortunately her career quickly stalled and she started suffering from depression. Genevieve lived with her parents on South Maple Drive in Los Angeles. On March 18, 1938 she went into her bedroom and shot herself in the head. Her close friend, Denny Beach, found her unconscious body and she was taken to the hospital. Tragically she died later that evening at the young age of twenty-five. She was cremated and buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.- As an adult, Ince performed motorcycle stunts for the movie industry. A millionaire in his own right, he also raced in Speedway and Class C Motorcycle competitions in Southern California, San Francisco and Sacramento, just for the thrills. He died in a motorcycle crash at the 1938 Oakland 200-Mile National, on the 61st lap of the race. Racing on a JAP motorcycle. Ince was coming out of a banked turn at the notorious Oakland Speedway, alongside racer Armando Magri, when he suddenly flew off the bike and hit a guard rail post.
One report said that Ince's bike tangled with another racer's. But Ernie Magri, Armando's brother attended the race and saw the accident. He said that Ince hit a bad groove on the track. "On warm afternoons, the top of the banked curves would sweat oil, which then oozed down onto the track's lower sections, making some parts slippery while others buckled-up. You had to find the right groove, and stay in it," said Magri. "That track was flat out dangerous."
Ince died in Fairmant Hospital hours after the accident. He left behind a 19-year old wife, Barbara Ann. - Actress
- Additional Crew
Mary Wong was born on 11 March 1910 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Good Earth (1937). She died on 15 July 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Gus Meins was born on 6 March 1893 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Kelly the Second (1936), Earl of Puddlestone (1940) and His Exciting Night (1938). He was married to Mary Berge Lewis. He died on 1 August 1940 in La Crescenta, California, USA.- Tisdale Justin Dow was born in Los Angeles, California. He was the son of Wilbur Olen Dow Sr., a real estate developer and Irene Eladist Bowen and the oldest of five children. He left Los Angeles to attend Adelphi College in Long Island, New York. While there, he majored in art, winning a gold medal in drawing in 1911. A number of his cartoons appeared in the Los Angeles Herald Newspaper. Shortly after, he began his stage career. This lasted two years before switching to silent films with Kalem Studios in New York. He appeared in several Alice Joyce films such as "The Vanderhoff Affair", "The Swamp Fox", "The Plains of Abraham" and "The Barefoot Boy". He typically portrayed foreign characters in supporting roles owing to his black hair. He later became a studio manager in Jacksonville, Florida for Kalem Film Co. He died in Oakland, California. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in East Los Angeles. He was the uncle of Olympian Bowen Stassforth.
- Marguerite Nichols was born on 3 August 1892 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Dust (1916), The Torch Bearer (1916) and Youth's Endearing Charm (1916). She was married to Hal Roach. She died on 17 March 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Percy Morris was born on 16 March 1879 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and assistant director. He died on 23 April 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Camera and Electrical Department
Al Roberts was born on 11 October 1902 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was married to Peggy Shannon, Olive Esther White and Viola Mabel McIntyre. He died on 30 May 1941 in North Hollywood, California, USA.- Bernard Niemeyer was born on 10 November 1895 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Little Samaritan (1917), A Disenchantment (1914) and Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten (1992). He died on 18 October 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
Howard Hickey was born on 10 August 1895 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 4 March 1942 in San Fernando, California, USA.- David Kerwin was born on 4 October 1916 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Arizona Kid (1939). He died on 28 July 1942.
- Actor
Leon Farey was born on 22 March 1882 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 18 April 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Although his career was short-lived, McPhail was fortunate enough to have appeared in some of the finest musicals and operettas of the late 30s. Jeanette MacDonald took an early interest in this handsome baritone, when he performed in the chorus of San Francisco and other of her pictures. The studio signed him on at nineteen as the back-up for Nelson Eddy in The Girl of the Golden West (1938), although McPhail did not get screen time. His career flared briefly in 1939 and 1940, when he appeared with MacDonald, Judy Garland, Eleanor Powell and future wife Betty Jaynes in a series of musical pictures. Although the studio groomed him as the next Nelson Eddy, it failed to recognize the changing interests of the moviegoing public, who tired of his style of singing. His marriage failed, and he took to drink. Roles dried up, and after an earlier suicide attempt, McPhail succeeded in poisoning himself on December 6, 1944.- Actor
Roy Smith was born on 30 October 1889 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 12 December 1944 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Pete the Dog was born as Pal. He was known for Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925), Bear Shooters (1930), The First Seven Years (1930), and Dog Heaven(1930). He of course is best known for playing Spanky's dog in The Little Rascalls. He died on January 28, 1946 in Los Angeles, Californians, USA.
- Cornelius Johnson was born on 28 August 1913 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He died on 15 February 1946.