Saturday, November 3, 2012

Miss Carol Dempster



When I think about Carol Dempster, I think about the girl that no one liked. Which, that isn't exactly true, but Lillian Gish didn't like her...and that is saying something.


Carol Dempster was born in Duluth, Minnesota on December 9, 1901. Her father's name was John, and her mother's name was Carrie. Carol also joined an older brother named Howard. (There is also an older sister named Ethel and an older brother named Dan listed in the 1900 census but are not listed in the 1920 census. So, I am not sure if they passed away or were old enough to get married and move away).

When she was just 15 years old, Carol appeared on screen for the first time in 1916's Intolerance. It was also the beginning of the relationship/partnership that she had with famed director D.W. Griffith.

Carol quickly became a favorite of Griffith's, both on screen and on. This did not sit well with the other "Griffith girls," Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh, and Miriam Cooper. They felt that the way Carol acted was somehow mocking the way they acting. Oh, cat fight!


Her most famous role that she was actually billed for was in Isn't Life Wonderful in 1924. The film was not a big success when it first came out, but it is now considered one of Griffith's best works.

She had a pretty good run in the silents. She didn't make a huge splash like her rival Lillian Gish, but she did appear alongside such big names as John Barrymore, William Powell, and W.C. Fields.

All but two of her almost 20 films were directed by D.W. Griffith. One of her non-Griffith works was 1922's version of Sherlock Holmes.

Carol book ended her film career, and by that I mean she started with a Griffith film and she ended with a Griffith film. Her last screen appearance was in 1926's The Sorrows of Satan with Adolphe Menjou and Lya De Putti.


Carol Dempster passed away on February 1, 1991 in La Jolla, California.

She was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Gledale, California.

Carol was married once, to banker Edwin Larson in 1929. They never had children and remained married until his death in 1978.

Perhaps what she is more famous for now is her affair with D.W. Griffith. He first saw her when she was a dancer for the Ruth St. Denis Dancing School.  He soon provided her with dancing and acting lessons to help groom his latest find for the big screen. Apparently, he once asked her to marry him, but she refused. There was quite a big age difference, but that didn't seem to be a problem. D.W. was borderline obsessed with her. The romance must have fizzled in the mid 1920s because she retired from films and then got married. Oh! Did I mention that he was already married when this affair happened? Yeah...


According to an old film magazine from 1920, Carol enjoyed driving her car, all kinds of sports, and riding horses.

She must have enjoyed speeding in said car because in a 1928 news article, it is written that Carole was involved in a car accident that left her hospitalized with deep cuts. They were saying that it may prevent her from being in films again. Guess they were right.


"I just never think about my days in pictures. I am always surprised that anyone remembers me. It was so long ago. So many of my movies were so sad. Maybe my fans would like to know that in real life Carol Dempster had a happy ending." ~~ Carol Dempster

5 comments:

  1. I did not think that Lilian Gish disliked anyone...except for maybe, Bette Davis:) This was interesting and leaves me wanting to know more

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  2. Hi Jessica,
    Hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving. I found this book you would like, "The Blue Book of the Screen (1923)". It contains info on some of your favorite silent actors/actresses,like Buster Keaton (pg 126). Here is the link: http://archive.org/stream/bluebookofscreen00unse#page/n0/mode/1up

    Enjoy!
    Theresa

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  3. DEAR JESSICA HI IT IS EUGENE.I LOVED THE ESSAY ON CAROL!I HAVE ONLY SEEN HER IN TWO MOVIES "WAY DOWN EAST" AND "TRUE HEART SUSIE".I DO WANT TO SEE MORE!I AM TIRED OF HER BEING TRASHED! I BELIEVE THAT LILLIAN GISH,MAE MARSH,BEBE DANIELS,AND LOIS WILSON WERE JUST JEALOUS OF CAROL AND FELT THREATENED BY HER AND THE ATTENTION D.W. GRIFFITH GAVE TO HER.ALL FOUR OF THEM(GISH,DANIELS,MARSH,AND WILSON)SAID CAROL WAS SHARP,ETC..I WOULD BE SHARP TOO IF PEOPLE BAD MOUTHED ME LIKE THAT TOO.I BELIEVE CAROL WAS SHARP WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE JEALOUS AND LOOKED DOWN ON HER.I READ ABOUT CAROL IN "WHATEVER BECAME OF VOLUME 2"SHE SOUNDED LIKE A NICE AND HUMBLE LADY.I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THERE WAS NOT TO LIKE ABOUT HER.MAE MARSH I HEARD PLAYED A CRUEL JOKE ON HER.ALL FOUR OF THOSE ACTRESSES DISGUST ME REGARDING THEIR TREATMENT AND SOUR GRAPE ATTITUDE OF CAROL

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  4. According to biographers, Griffith set the girls against each other, believing it would impassion their acting--and also, perhaps, because he was a tad strange. She may have been better suited to more elegant, mature roles but Griffith liked to direct his women in girlish, skip-about roles. I'm glad she got away.

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    Replies
    1. I am not surprised that a director would do that.

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