Miss Faith Bacon

Faith Bacon only appeared in one film. She was never a huge star, but rather an infamous one who was known for appearing nude on stage. I have been seeing her pictures more and more and felt the need to read up more about her and to share her story with all of you. She was a truly beautiful woman who just found herself getting into one case of bad luck after another.

She was in the Ziegfeld Follies though, and you know how much I love Ziegfeld girls!

Faith Bacon was born Frances Yvonne Bacon on July 19, 1910 in Los Angeles, California. She was the only child of Francis and Charmion Bacon. The couple divorced when Faith was still a child, so she was raising mainly by her mother.

In a goofy twist (because there always has to be one) I have read of many people referring to Charmion/Char Bacon as being Faith's sister, and not her mother. The problem with this is that no one can seem to find a mother's name. One theory is that Char Bacon (seriously?) was trying to get work as an actress too and tried to play off that she was in fact's Faith sister and not her mother. Who knows...

During her teens and early twenties, Faith worked as an artist's model and eventually headed to Paris where her career really started to take off. Faith had never had any dance training and never really expressed interest in dancing at all, but she was just drawn to the burlesque shows that were popular in Paris at the time. One of her first jobs was dancing in Maurice Chevalier's revue.

In the 1920's, she returned to the US and appeared in various Broadway productions, most famously in the Earl Carroll's Vanities. 

During this time it was illegal to dance on stage nude. You could be nude on stage, but you could not move. So, to skirt around these laws Faith would dance around with bubbles, flowers, and most famously, fans. One of their more creative ways of evading the law was to use the stage lights to "paint" clothes on Faith. Needless to say, these ruses didn't keep them safe for long.

In 1930, the New Amsterdam Theatre was raided and Faith, Earl Carroll, and various other cast and crew members were arrested for performing in an indecent show. Faith told the police that she never really appeared nude on stage. She told them she actually had on a gauzy material that only gave the illusion she was nude. Was this true or just a way to escape jail? I don't know, but either way, they were released and the charges were dropped. The scare did cause them to tone down the show a smidgen though.

The following year, Faith was in THE revue, The Ziegfeld Follies. Joining her that year were Follies favorites Nora Bayes, Katherine Burke, Ruth Etting, Gladys Glad, Mitzi Mayfair, Grace Moore, Helen Morgan, and Harry Richman. (Seriously, can you tell I love the Follies?) She stayed with the Follies from June 1931 until November of that year. 

After her Follies appearance, things quieted down a bit for Faith. She wasn't appearing in  big shows anymore and her career seemed to be at a standstill. That is, until 1938 when she was back in the papers again, but it wasn't because of rave reviews. Faith was suing fellow burlesque dancer, Sally Rand for $375,000 claiming that she had stolen her fan dance routine. Sally scoffed at the notion and remarked that the fan dance had been done years and years before them and that no one really had a right to it. I can't find a result of the lawsuit, but I am guessing it was thrown out.

Around the same time as the Sally Rand lawsuit, Faith appeared in her only film, Prison Train. This was not a big feature by any means and it was just another reminder that her career was going down hill.

The 1940's and 50's had her appearing in a few stage shows here and there, but nothing really stuck. She kept searching for her next big break and was coming up empty handed, until finally no one would hire her. 

Faith Bacon passed away on September 26, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois. Earlier that day she had been walking up her hotel's stair well when she suddenly opened up a window and jumped. She fell two floors and landed on the roof of the saloon next door. Her roommate, Ruth Bishop, tried to grab Faith's skirt to prevent her from jumping, but she managed to wrestle out of her grasp. Faith died later at the hospital of a fractured skull and multiple internal injuries. 

She had attempted suicide a few years earlier by overdosing on sleeping pills. Ruth Bishop claimed that had been terribly depressed and yearning for a job right up until her death. 

Her body was claimed by the American Guild of Variety Artists who paid for her funeral and burial at Wunder's Cemetery in Chicago. 

Faith was married to song writer Sandford Hunt Dickinson at the time of her death. I am not sure when they married, but they were estranged when she passed away. I have read on a few genealogy sites that Faith was married previously to a man named Fenton William Perkins but I can't find any more information than that. 

Sally Rand was not the only person to be sued by Faith. Oh no, she seemed to be sue happy (probably in part to not being able to keep a job and because she was said to be very difficult to work with). In 1936, she sued a theater company she was with for $100,000 in damages after she fell through a glass drum she was standing on during a performance of Temptation. She was badly cut all over her legs and thighs because, well, she was nude! She later settled out of court for $5,000 and then turned around and bought herself a diamond with her winnings. Of course.

Her next 'victim' was a carnival owner who she claimed put tacks on the stage she was supposed to stand. She lost this case.

During the height of her fame she was billed as, "America's Most Beautiful Dancer."

"I'm an artist and she [Sally Rand] is a business woman. My dance was one of ethereal beauty. It really was. And that woman turned it into an animated French postcard...Of course the fan dance should include nothing but the fans. When I do it, I wear only talcum powder...That woman dances the fan dance with high heels. Imagine! All she does is walk around and let people gawk. It breaks my heart to see my art treated like that." ~~ Faith Bacon to The Pittsburgh Press - October 11, 1930

"I do not dance in complete nude as the police censor said. I wouldn't unless I knew everyone in the audience was an artist who would see only the aesthetic beauties of such a dance." ~~ Faith Bacon, in court after the New Amsterdam Theatre raid - 1930

"Fan dancing? I hate it. I have always wanted to be an obstetrician. I love babies." ~~ Faith Bacon to the Sheboygan Press - September 11, 1937

Silent Gossip!

I love reading movie magazines from the silent era. I read gossip magazines now, but I don't give a damn about most of the people profiled. But, reading gossip about silent film stars? Oh, I am there!

I was digging through some Photoplay magazines from the 1920's and wanted to share some of the tidbits I found from their gossip column. 

Oooh la la!

• We asked little Mary Brian recently if she's been falling in love, or doing anything exciting, recently. "No," she naively answered. "But I might, if you wish, for publicity."

• A woman was visiting the Jack Gilbert set of "The Cossacks." She was thrilled at the fish drying, the Turkish costumes, etc., but amazed to watch them so realistically flogging Jack Gilbert. When the rescue party dashed forward, one of them accidently shot off a gun behind her. She jumped and cried: "It's alright, you can kill me now. I have seen Jack Gilbert working."

• Clara Bow went to Yosemite National Park for a vacation recently, and celebrated by getting lost and falling in a pool of water in hunting her way back to camp. Every ranger in the district was sent on a frenzied hunt for her. But they all missed her, and she came staggering home alone. What we want to know is how any man could ever miss finding Clara!

• Mary Philbin admits to excitement because a famous Hollywood fortune teller said she was to play in another Von Stroheim picture.

• At least Olive Borden has one consolation along with thast broken contract which has caused so much Hollywood gossip. George O'Brien has been rushing her madly since his return from Europe. But it is nothing serious, Olive insists, and proves it by letting him to to a buffet supper given by Virginia Valli in his honor.

• Waddles is dead. She is survived by her best friend and severest critic, Louise Fazenda. Twelve years ago Louise and Waddles, the Mack Sennett trained druck, crashed the studio gates together. You remember the pair in many comedies, don't you? Long ago Louise retired Waddles on a pension of good food and comfortable lodgings. Waddles lived in the back yard of the comedienne's Wilshire home, and although she was not young when she entered pictures, Louise had come to regard her as a permanent fixture. Now she is gone and Louise mourns her loss.

• Buster Keaton tried a personal appearance tour of prominent picture houses but quit in his second week at a Pittsburgh theater. He was doing a Salome burlesque which proved too strenuous.

• Charming candor on the part of Mae Murray's husband. David Mdivani was arrested for speeding recently in Santa Monica. When the judge asked him his occupation, Mdivani answered simply, "husband."

• Lita Grey-Chaplin and her stage-door Johnny, Mr. Roy D'Arcy. In spite of a heavy settlement from Charlie, Lita has gone on a vaudeville tour. It costs money to build a big house in Beverly Hills. Roy is waiting for one of those leisurely California divorce decrees to ask Lita to become the second Mrs. D'Arcy.

• It is rumored that two hearts have been caught on the rebound. The return of Eddie Sutherland to the Paramount fold to wield the megaphone in the next Bebe Daniels picture is not entirely a business arrangement. Bebe, whose engagement to Jack Pickford seems at an end, and Eddie, who recently received his divorce from Louise Brooks, have been seen frequently together and the wise ones say that Eddie may assume more definite directorial duties in a matrimonial way. 

• Merna and Mrs. Kennedy, and Lita Grey Chaplin and Mrs. Grey all live in the same apartment house but neither couple knows that the other is there! What a problem the landlady must have keeping this tragic information from the various mothers and daughters. You remember it was Lita who introduced Merna to Charlie. 

• A reunion that cut off the revenue of the telephone company. When Lupe Velez was on tour, Gary Cooper spent most of his salary on telephone calls. And he paced the platform of the railway station for two hours before her train was due. That's love. 

• Josephine Dunn returned to MGM, after having been loaned to Fox, in a radiant mood. "The grandest thing happened. They tell me over there that I have sex appeal."

• We start many style in Hollywood. Now a new method for expressing loyalty. Nick Stuart has a new sports car. One door bears Nick's initials and the other carries the initials of Sue Carol. What could be nicer?

Carla Laemmle

As many of you know, last week we lost one of the few remaining links we have to the silent film era. Carla Laemmle passed away at the age of 104 years old. She was a beautiful young lady who shared wonderful stories about her time in Hollywood and rubbing elbows with such big names as Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney. One of my favorite stories is when she talked about seeing Bela with scratch marks and when asked what they were from, he just went "Clara! Clara!" (as in Bow!) I love reading/hearing stuff like this.

Carla may not have had a huge career in Hollywood but she deserves to be remembered as a beautiful link to a beautiful era. 

Carla Laemmle was born Rebecca Isabelle Laemmle on October 20, 1909 in Chicago, Illinois. 

She was the only child born to Joseph and Carrie Laemmle. Joseph, who worked in real estate, was the older brother of Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Studios. Joseph was married previously and had a son, Edward, who was 22 years old when his half sister was born. Edward eventually became a film director.

Joseph received a postcard from his brother, Carl inviting him and his family out to California. The family eventually settled near the Universal Studios back lot which gave young Carla a chance to see various films being made, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame starring Lon Chaney.

Carla made her film debut as a ballerina in Lon Chaney's The Phantom of the Opera. Mary Philbin, the leading lady of the film would become one of Carla's closest friends. 

Even though Carla didn't become a huge star she did appear in some of the most well known pictures during the silent era. In 1927, she appeared in TWO versions of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The first was with Vivian and Rosetta Duncan in Topsy and Eva and after was the version starring Margarita Fischer. Two years later she appeared as a dancer in the smash hit talkie, Broadway Melody with Bessie Love and Anita Page. (I love that movie!)

The film that she is probably the best known for is 1929's Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. Carla appeared as a coach passenger who uttered the first lines of the film.

In 1939, Carla decided to take a hiatus from the screen and what a hiatus it was! She didn't appear in another film again until 2001! She was acting all the way up until this year in low budget horror films, a few of which featured Tyrone Power Jr. (who is really Tyrone Power IV)

Carla Laemmle passed away on June 12, 2014 in her sleep.

She was buried at the Home of Peace Memorial Park in Los Angeles along with her uncle Carl, aunt Recha, and cousin Carl Jr. 

It seems that the Laemmles had some strong genes. Carla's mother, Carrie died in 1962 at the age of 91, and her father, Joseph, died in 1929 at the age of 76!

Carla never married, but she did have a long term relationship with actor Ray Cannon.

Early during her career she used the stage name 'Beth Laemmle.' 

"I had the privilege of speaking the first lines of dialogue in the first talking supernatural thriller!" ~~ Carla Laemmle

Rest in peace, beautiful lady.

Miss Helen Ferguson

I love this picture. I had to double check the first time I saw it to make sure that it actually was of her and from that period because it looks like a picture you would see of a girl today. She is so beautiful and vibrant looking, it just makes for a lovely portrait of her. I think she was absolutely adorable and while reading about her, I found out that she was also a lovely lady on the inside...with a hint of scandal.

Intrigued? Let's start!

Helen Ferguson was born on July 23, 1900 in Decatur, Illinois. (I have seen her birth year range from 1892 until 1902) She was the eldest daughter of Fred, who worked in retail, and Emilie. Her sister, Catherine was born three years later. Fred and Emilie would later divorce.

She received a great education at an school of fine arts in Chicago and would later use what she learned there to work briefly as a stenographer and a newspaper reporter.

There was a bit of confusion as to when Helen really began acting in films but I believe I have it narrowed down. She began doing stunt work in films around the age of 12 or 13, but was not credited in her work.

Her first film would be 1917's Max Wants a Divorce.

Helen would continue appearing in action flicks and westerns so she could keep showing off her daring stunt work. Two of her frequent western costars were cowboy actors Hoot Gibson and Buck Jones. It was while working with the latter that she really gained movie audience's attention.

In 1922, the WAMPAS Baby Stars ran it's first campaign and Helen was one of the ladies chosen that year along with Lila Lee, Bessie Love, and Colleen Moore. Not bad!

She did make a few talkies, but since she wasn't a huge star in the silents her popularity just plateaued. Her last film appearance was in an uncredited role 1934's Kid Millions starring Eddie Cantor.

Helen was just tired of acting in films and also wanted to concentrate on her personal life. She went back to her first love, the stage but found little success there. After that, she decided to go to work behind the scenes, working as a publicity agent for such big names as Loretta Young, Robert Taylor, Jeanette MacDonald, Barbara Stanwyck, and Pat O'Brien. This is where she really found her niche. She was famous for being very crafty at keeping newspaper reporters from nagging at her clients.

Helen Ferguson passed away on March 14, 1977 in Clearwater, Florida.

She was buried at Forest Lawn-Glendale in California.


Helen was married twice. Her first husband was the actor William Russell. The two met on the set and dated for about six years before finally tying the knot in 1925. Sadly, four years later, William Russell died of pneumonia. Helen was devastated, telling reporters that she didn't see the point in doing anything anymore.

Helen and William Russell

 

BUT, she bucked up eventually and went on to marry a banker named Richard Hargreaves, the man who helped her settle her first husband's estate. Apparently, Russell told Helen that she should marry Hargreaves and that he was a good catch. Well, there ya go! The couple remained married until Helen was once again made a widow in 1941. Neither marriage produced children.

So, ready for some salacious gossip? Of course you are! Supposedly Helen had a long term affair with her client and best friend Barbara Stanwyck. The relationship was said to have lasted for over 30 years, even when both were married. Seems like most of the women from that time had a bisexual label added to them.

Vola Vale, Patsy Ruth Miller, Gloria Hope, Mildred Davis, Helen, May McAvoy, Lois Wilson, and Lillian Rich

Helen counted fellow actresses Helene Chadwick, Mildred Davis, Lois Wilson, and May McAvoy among her closest friends. She, along with Mildred Davis, were both bridesmaids at May McAvoy's wedding.

In 1925, she had a nose job to fix a large bump on the bridge of her nose. I never really noticed the change in before and after photos until I saw a picture of her profile in a newspaper and then it was plain as day.

One of the best stories I have heard in awhile concerns Helen and actor Ben Lyon. Helen went to a movie theater in New York with her friend Lois Wilson, who had a role in the film that was showing. Helen was approached by a man with a beard who grabbed her arm and would not let go. She thought it was an overzealous fan, so when he wouldn't let go, she socked him right in the jaw! It was after the man was knocked to the ground that he finally told her his identity. It was Ben Lyon, her friend and fellow actor! Ben had recently grown a beard for an upcoming movie and apparently his whiskers were one heck of a disguise. Helen of course apologized to him but said he was the one to blame!

Helen considered being late to set one of the worst things an actor could do. She would consider it a huge embarrassment to keep a director waiting on set. You hear that, Lindsay Lohan?

"The only reason I wanted to get into movies was to be able to buy my mother a brass bed. I'll bet no other actress can make that claim." ~~ Helen Ferguson - Miami News - September 8, 1973

[to a Picture Play contest winner who won the chance to spend a day with the actress] "To Ethel Sands - who knows me 'as is,' without make-up 'n' pretense - just Helen Ferguson." ~~ Helen Ferguson - January 1923

Miss Rhea Mitchell

Now to a young lady that is virtually forgotten by movie fans today. In fact, I haven't even known about her for very long! 

Rhea Mitchell was born on December 10, 1890 in Portland, Oregon. She was the only child born to Willis, a shipping clerk, and his wife, Lillie. 

Along with his duties as a shipping clerk, Willie also spent his time working for local theatres as a stage hand. Rhea sometimes accompanied him and it is probably here where she got bitten by the acting bug. Although, she didn't begin acting on stage until she was around the age of seventeen. 

She joined a theatre stock company and eventually went out tour with them along the west coast performing in cities like San Francisco and Vancouver. It was in the latter city that she was spotted by a movie scout. 

Rhea's first credited film role was in 1913's A Frontier Wife. She reportedly appeared in a short called The Hidden Trail the year prior, but was not credited. 

Rhea and Richard Bennett

She was mostly cast in Westerns, most likely because they were churned out a mile a minute in those days. Gotta have a leading lady! One of her most frequent costars was cowboy actor, William S. Hart. 

Rhea made a brief splash in films, enough to get her noticed by fans, but she never made it to movie stardom. Her movie career last for roughly 40 years with over 100 titles under her belt. Her later years were spent appearing in hit films, but only in small or uncredited roles. Two of these said films were In the Good Ole Summertime (1949) and Annie Get Your Gun (1950). I am gonna have to go back and watch both of these with an eagle eye and try and spot Rhea!

Her last film appearance was as a townswoman in 1952's The Member of the Wedding which starred the glorious Ethel Waters. After this film, Rhea decided it was time to retire from Hollywood. She eventually got a job as a manager in a large house which had been divided up in apartments. 

On September 16, 1957, Sonnie Hartford Jr., a janitor who worked in the apartment building where Rhea lived, went to her home in order to pay her back $30 that she had loaned him. He later told police that he made a comment to Rhea that could have been taken as obscene and she threatened to tell the building manager. Sonnie said he couldn't have her getting him fired so he grabbed her by the throat and began strangling her. He then grabbed a blue silk cord from her bathrobe and began strangling her with that until she was still. After he saw she was dead, he ran out of the building.

At around 9 am the next morning, the reality company in charge of the apartment building received an anonymous phone call from a man. "Miss Mitchell is dead," is all he said before hanging up. It was soon after that Rhea's body was discovered on the floor of her dressing room. 

The police, friends, and family were at a loss as to who might have down this to Rhea. The police first thought that maybe it was connected to a string of other homicides in the area, but then they administered a lie detector test to Sonnie Hartford Jr. He failed. At first, he denied having anything to do with the murder until he finally recanted and described what had happened. He also mentioned that she was a really nice woman, and he wasn't sure exactly why he had gone so far and killed her. 

Hartford went to trial but I am not sure what the verdict was or what he was sentenced to. Which is very annoying.

Rhea Mitchell is TECHNICALLY interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, however, she had an odd clause in her will that stipulated that she was not to have a final resting place. So, she has been lying in a receiving vault for over 50 years. Strange, huh?

She never married or had children. 

She was nicknamed "Ginger" and was referred to as such in most if not all of the newspaper articles I found about her death. During her silent movie days, she was nicknamed the "Little Stunt Girl" because she was always willing to perform dangerous and daring stunts. 

She was friends with Anna Q. Nilsson and May McAvoy, who both tried to help the police try and figure out who could have killed Rhea.

"Just for once, I wish they'd let me romp around in comedy and curls - not brick-in-the-hat and pie-in-the-eye comedy, but bright, sunshiney roles. But, they never will." ~~ Rhea Mitchell in Photoplay - April 1918

Who art thou?

One of the purposes of this blog is to make sure that the wonderful actors and actresses of the silent film era are not forgotten. Some of their films may be lost, but as long as we keep sharing pictures and stories about them, we can do our best to keep them alive a hundred years later.

Which brings me to a big pet peeve of mine. I hate when I see a mislabeled picture of a silent star, or one where they aren't even named at all. I actually woke up in the middle of the night to argue with someone about a picture that was supposedly of Evelyn Nesbit. I could not seem to stress enough that the girl in the picture was NOT Evelyn and it drove me nuts that they would not believe me. My own fault for getting so worked up, but anyway...

I have been guilty on a couple of occasions of posting a picture of a silent film star I wasn't totally familiar with and it ended up not being them at all. Cases that come to mind are Helen Holmes and Elsie Mackay, mainly because there were other actresses or personalities from that time with the same names. However, I quickly remedy the situation because like I said, it is a pet peeve of mine to mislabel a picture.

The place I see this happening the most is on Pinterest. Now, Pinterest is a great site to find wonderful and sometimes rarely seen pictures of silent film stars. It is also the place where people mislabel the holy hell out of the pictures. I could spend all day fixing the tags on these pictures, but I have not yet gone completely insane (yet).

Here are some examples. See if you can guess the CORRECT name of the star in the picture. (If not, no worries...I put the answers at the bottom!)

I love this picture! But, sadly, this lovely lady is NOT Dolores Costello.

I normally despise colorized pictures, but this one isn't too bad. However, it is NOT Bessie Love.

How someone thought this was Clara Bow is beyond me.

A photograph taken by Alfred Cheney Johnston, the best! This however is NOT Billie Dove as the photo was captioned.

Someone was WAY off when they labeled her as being Theda Bara.

No excuse for mislabeling a picture with the actress's autograph on it! This is NOT Lottie Pickford.

No one can seem to get this gal's name right! This is NOT a picture of Mae Murray.

I have seen this picture numerous times with claiming that is Clara Bow in the picture. It is NOT Clara Bow. I actually do not know who this gal is, I just know it is NOT the It Girl.

A gentleman among us! However, he is NOT Ramon Novarro.

This is NOT America's Sweetheart, Mary Pickford.

And last but not least, this is one glamorous looking lady.  However, she is NOT Lupe Velez.

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Answers
1. Madge Bellamy
2. Anita Page
3. Theda Bara
4. Ruth Etting
5. Myrna Loy
6. Corinne Griffith
7. Madge Bellamy
8. Mystery Girl
9. Francis X. Bushman
10. Marion Davies
11. Katy Jurado