Miss Dorothy Dwan

If you combine Clara Bow, Shirley Temple, and Betty Boop, you would get Dorothy Dwan...well, in my opinion that is. Dorothy is perhaps more well known for marriage to silent screen comedian, Larry Semon, rather than her own film career, but she was oh so adorable in her own right and was one of the first to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, so she deserves a mention.

Dorothy Dwan was born Dorothy Bell Ilgenfritz (got that?) on April 26, 1906 in Sedalia, Missouri. She was the only child born to Charles and Nancy Ilgenfritz.

Her family eventually made their way to Pennsylvania where Dorothy went to school. Now, how she got her start in films, I do not know, but I do know that she began appearing in films during the 1920s.

Dorothy's first film was 1922's The Silent Vow with a bunch of people's names I don't recognize. Her next film appearance was two years later in an uncredited role, but alongside such big names as Bessie Love, Blanche Sweet, Lucille Ricksen, and Warner Baxter.

In the year 1925, Dorothy became Dorothy, from Oz that is. Her co-stars in this film included Oliver Hardy as the Tin Man (or Woodsman) and Larry Semon as the Scarecrow. The film was popular, but there was a problem with distribution that caused the film not to be shown in as many theatres as it should have been. The theatres had booked the film and were ready to go, but the company the film was made through had juts declared bankruptcy, so a lot were left empty handed.

She made her last screen appearance in 1930 in the film The Fighting Legion. 

Dorothy Dwan passed away on March 17, 1981 in Ventura, California. I do not know where she is buried.

Little Miss Dorothy was married three times. Her first marriage was to a man named Fred Buckels, but I am not sure when. I do know that they did in fact divorce, but again, not sure of the date. Her second marriage was in 1925, to film comedian Larry Semon. The two met while filming The Wizard of Oz and married right before the film was released. The marriage was a happy one, even Larry's mental state was on the decline. I have read that the two had a daughter together named Virginia, but in Dorothy's bios, it only lists her son from her last marriage, so I don't really know the truth on that. Sadly, Larry passed away in October of 1928 from pneumonia after only being married to Dorothy for three years. There was a bit of mystery surrounding his death, and some people even thought it was a hoax! For one thing, Dorothy never got to see her husband's body because it was quickly whisked away to be cremated. The funeral was very, very private and no one knows what happened to Semon's ashes. Dorothy would state until her death that she still had no idea what really happened to her husband or how he really died. Ugh, just awful. Can you imagine?

Dorothy and Larry Semon

Dorothy's third and final marriage was to an oil company executive named Paul Boggs Jr in 1930. The two had a son named Paul in 1931, but unfortunately they divorced in 1935.

In the middle of filming a picture with Tom Mix in 1927, Dorothy's stunt double, Ethel Hall, was killed on set when the boat she was in capsized into the river and she struck her head on a rock. She died on the way to the hospital.  

Director Allan Dwan is not a relative of Dorothy's. Dorothy took his last name as her stage name because she admired his work. 

In her spare time, she enjoyed speed boating, golf, swimming, and listening to music. 

A 1931 article in the Milwaukee Journal compared Dorothy's looks to those of Tallulah Bankhead. I guess I can see it...

She was good friends with Gloria Swanson.

Miss Marie Walcamp

We are taking a bit of a sad detour and discuss the life and career of Marie Walcamp. I used to get her and Florence Lawrence mixed up because they were both early silent film stars who looked quite a lot alike, and both ended their own lives. For me, looking at pictures of these stars and seeing them on film, they seem like perfect and beautiful people from another era. It seems almost unbelievable to think of them has having real problems and such terrible inner demons that would drive them to suicide. But, alas. I have said it once before, and I am saying it again, I am here to make sure these amazing people are never forgotten even though they left the screen years and years ago.

Marie Walcamp was born on July 27, 1894 in Dennison, Ohio to Arnold and Mary Walcamp. She joined brother, Harry, who was 13 years older.

Marie started getting the itch to perform while still in school, so she left school to head out to New York to pursue an acting career. She made her first film appearance in 1913 in the film The Werewolf.

She stayed off the screen for two years and reappeared again in 1915. The following year she appeared in four more films and as the years progressed, she kept appearing in more and more until she had over 100 films on her resume.

One of her most famous films was in the 1916 anti-abortion film, Where Are My Children? The film also stared Tyrone Power Sr. This is one of the few of Marie's films that is not considered lost.

In 1918, Marie stared in the film The Lion's Claws. In the film, she had to battle a lion, and apparently not enough safety precautions were taken because the lion suddenly lashed out at Marie. She wore the scars from the incident for the rest of her life.

Her last film appearance was in 1927. From what I can gather, her declining career was not her fault but rather the studios who just didn't put her into any roles.

On November 17, 1936, Marie Walcamp decided to end her own life by taking an overdose of medication. She was only 42 years old. She was cremated and her ashes were given to her family.

Marie was married once, to actor Harland Tucker in 1920. They remained married until her death. They never had children.

Miss Mary Brian

One of my favorite movies from the silent era is 1924's Peter Pan. The amazing cast included Betty Bronson, Esther Ralston, Anna May Wong, Ernest Torrance, and as Wendy Darling, Mary Brian. She looked the part of the sweet and demure older sister and mother figure in Neverland. This movie is definitely one to put on your must see list.

Mary Brian was born Louise Byrdie Dantzler (has a nice ring, doesn't it?) on February 17, 1906 in Corsicana, Texas. She was the second child born to Taurrence and Louise Dantzler. Brother, Taurrence Jr. was three years older than Mary.

A month after her birth, Mary's father died. As a result, her mother took the kids to Dallas to live with her parents. The family stayed there until the early 1920s when they moved out to California.

Mary's first ambitions were towards illustrating, but her goal took a backseat when she caught a big break while appearing in a beauty contest. One of the judges was movie star Esther Ralston, the woman who would later go on to play her mother in Peter Pan. Mary didn't win the contest, but she was singled out by Esther who wanted the 16 year old Mary to be tested for the role of Wendy Darling.

While almost every young screen starlet of the day was tested for the part of Wendy Darling, the director was really wanting an unknown, so it all seemed to be a case of fate when Mary walked in to his door. Mary got the role, a new stage name, two years subtracted from her age (18 sounded too old for the role), and a film contract.

In 1926, Mary was named a WAMPAS Baby Star along with such beauties as Joan Crawford, Janet Gaynor, and Mary Astor.

Her film career at first was a lot like Mary Pickford's in that even though she kept getting older, her film roles were that of a young innocent girl. Sadly, most of these films are considered lost.

Unlike many of her silent star friends, Mary transitioned into the talkies pretty effortlessly. Although she didn't become a huge star, it wasn't like her career completely bombed either. Case in point, her first talking picture was The Virginian in 1929 with Gary Cooper. Can't beat having him as a co-star!

In 1932, her long term contract with Paramount ended, and instead of signing with a new studio, she decided to go unsigned and just do whatever pictures she felt the strongest about. She also began appearing on stage.

When she was done with working in films, she moved on to the fairly new medium of television, playing a mother role in the series Meet Corliss Archer. She also went back to painting, her first love.

Mary Brian passed away on December 30, 2002 in Del Mar, California.

She was buried at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills.

Mary was married twice. Her first husband was a magazine illustrator named Jon Whitcomb who she married in 1941...for six weeks. I don't know what happened between them but it must have been bad and it must of been quick. In fact, her friends didn't even know what happened because she never talked about it. She was quoted in a Florida newspaper a few days before her marriage saying, "I'm so excited I can hardly talk! I don't even know who will perform the ceremony!"

Her second marriage was much happier and lasted much longer. In 1947, she married the film editor George Tomasini and they remained married until his death in 1964. Neither marriage produced children.

Mary also had some pretty famous boyfriends during her days in Hollywood. She briefly dated Jack Pickford and was even engaged to Cary Grant and Dick Powell (at different times, of course).

During WWII, she went overseas to entertain the troops.

She remained close friends with her Peter Pan co-stars, Betty Bronson and Esther Ralston for the rest of their lives. She was also good friends with her husband's frequent collaborator, Alfred Hitchcock.

"Getting into pictures was hard enough. But that was easy compared with living down Wendy. People spoke of me as that 'little girl.' But the years have remedied the fault, and Hollywood at last realizes that I am grown up. Talking pictures had much to do with the changed impression." ~~ Mary Brian, Reading Eagle - July 19, 1930

Miss Hope Hampton

When I think of Hope Hampton, I picture pearls, furs, diamonds, and just all out glamour. Part of that could be her name, it just sounds like the name of a fabulous, rich woman.  I also just read a quote from movie star Hope Emerson, talking about how she sometimes got confused with two other actresses, Faye Emerson and Hope Hampton. Hope Emerson was known for her comedic quips like this, "If I had their looks and Hope's money, I'd be leading a Technicolor life for love, instead of working in a Technicolor picture for dough." (This quote is from the book I am currently reading called Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry. It is a really good book so far, filled with mini biographies. I am currently in the middle of Rita Hayworth's).

Hope Hampton was born Mae Elizabeth Hampton on February 19, 1897 in Houston, Texas (although I have also read Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was her birthplace).

I can't find anything about her early life, which is really annoying to me. I do know that she got her start in the motion picture industry after winning a beauty contest in Philadelphia. It was after this win that she began appearing as an extra in films. Technically, her first film was one called Woman in 1918 with a bunch of people whose names I don't recognize. But, her first time credited on screen was in 1920's A Modern Salome with Agnes Ayres.

Most screen actresses at that time were given a special nickname, and they were usually positive. But, Hope earned the nickname "Hopeless Hampton" because a lot of people thought that she couldn't act. That didn't seem to matter though, considering who she was married to at the time...

Hope met director Jules Brulatour early in her career, and it was a match made in heaven. Not only did she find the man to complete her personal life, he also helped with her professional life. She appeared in several of Brulatour's films, so it doesn't seem like her acting, or lack thereof, was that big a deal.

Brulatour was an infamous player (yes, I am using that word). He had previously had a pretty public affair with another silent film star, Dorothy Gibson, who was actually more famous for being a Titanic survivor than a screen star. Brulatour's wife filed for divorce after finding out that her husband was cheating, and eventually, he married his mistress. The marriage didn't last though and he was soon divorced for the second time. However, he was still legally married to Gibson when he began romancing Hope.

When Brulatour's divorce from Dorothy Gibson was finalized, he and Hope were finally able to get married on August 22, 1923. It seems that his third time was a charm because they remained married until his death in 1946.  Apparently there are rumors that the relationship produced a child around 1920, but the paternity of the child, or what happened to it, was never publicly confirmed.

With the coming of talking pictures, it seems as though Hope had had enough of the movies, so she decided to retire. A few years later she did appear in one talkie, that was of course directed by Jules Brulatour, The Road to Reno (1938).

Hope's idea of retirement was not to sit and home and relax. Instead, she decided to turn her talents to the opera. She apparently toured with the Met in various operas, but apparently the archives are lacking documentation of this. (Second hand info, I haven't looked).

Along with opera career, she also seemed to be quite the social butterfly. Her friends and neighbors called her "Duchess of Park Avenue" because she was always out and about at various social events.

Hope Hampton passed away on January 23, 1982 in New York City. I have no idea where she is buried unfortunately. I don't even know where Brulatour is buried!

Some say that Hope was the model for Susan Alexander in Citizen Kane. But, this is just like the Norma Desmond/Sunset Blvd. argument, where there are various people who the characters are rumored to be modeled after.

Her favorite color seems to have been blue since most of clothes (rumored to have over 5000 dresses) were some shade of blue.

She loved to go out dancing later in life, and was even voted "Miss Twist" of 1962 at the Peppermint  Lounge in New York. Go Hope!

There apparently was once a strange incidence at the Brulatour home late one night in 1939. An intruder broke into the home and then shot Brulatour. He was only wounded, but he refused to identify the person who had almost killed him, even going as far as saying that he had accidentally shot himself...in the head...and then got rid of the gun...Yeah, you can guess why the police were more than just a little suspicious of his story.

After her husband's death, Hope had her own crime drama of her own, first when some of her jewelry and furs were stolen from her home. When questioned about who could have possibly broken in, her response was, "I know they're not married and are lone operators because they left dozens of nylon stockings they would have taken for their girls." I love that quote.

Her second bit of crime drama was in August of 1960 when her butler, Charles Mourey, was found shot to death on the side of the road in Miami. I don't know if the murder was ever solved, but it looks like they started off the investigation in some good ole fashioned bigotry style according to an article in the Miami News: "Although they have questioned hundreds of homosexuals and individuals who prey on homosexuals..." Oh, good lord. They also call him a "dapper French butler," in the first sentence of the article. Really cunning. Interesting to note too is that Mr. Mourey had also worked for General George Patton during the war.

"Glamour is finished. I don't want my picture in the papers next to a girl with jeans on." ~~ Hope Hampton

Hope is one of the actresses to appear in this AMAZING color film clip from Kodak in 1922.

Miss Priscilla Bonner

Priscilla is one of only a handful of stars that I knew about before I became head over heels in love with silent films. I had first read about her in the book "What Ever Happened To..." by Richard Lamparski. There are quite a few books in this series and they are all great reads, very fun, so check them out if you can! I remember seeing the picture of Priscilla and her sister and reading the biography about her. It was only a short while later that I saw her playing Clara Bow's friend and roommate in It.

Priscilla Bonner was born on February 17, 1899 in Washington, D.C. She was the oldest child born to John and Mable Bonner, followed shortly after by brothers Albert and Perry, and sister, Marjorie. 

She made her film debut in 1920 in the MGM film Homer Comes Home. She was soon appearing in films with such big names as Lon Chaney and Colleen Moore. 

In 1925, Priscilla caused some waves in Hollywood when she sued Warner Bros. studio for having been fired from the film The Sea Beast. The film was a starring vehicle for John Barrymore and apparently he wanted Priscilla out and his new love, Dolores Costello, in the role instead. Amazingly enough (for that time) Priscilla won the case, and a nice big check to boot. She also received a written apology from Barrymore himself. I wonder what it said...

The trial didn't seem to slow her stride though because a few years later she was appearing in films with some lovely flapper stars like Olive Borden and Clara Bow. She made her last film appearance in 1929.

Priscilla Bonner passed away on February 21, 1996 in Los Angeles. 

She was buried at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills.

Priscilla was married twice. She married Allen Wynes Alexander in 1922, but divorced him in 1926. Her last husband was Dr. E Bertrand Woolfan in 1928. They remained married until his death in 1962. Neither marriage produced any children.

She never appeared in a talking picture. She chose her personal life over a movie career. Her film retirement came right after her marriage to Dr. Woolfan. I also read somewhere that she suffered an injury to her eye right around the same time and that also could have been why she chose to retire then.

Later in life, Priscilla and her sister Marjorie were both widowed and childless, so they decided to live together in an apartment. 

I should also note that Marjorie Bonner was also a film actress, but as she put it, "I lacked Priscilla's ambition. Acting was never a serious thing with me. I'm not a bit sorry. I never missed pictures." It seems that she was more famous for being the wife of author, Malcolm Lowry.

Marjorie and Priscilla Bonner

"My voice was fine (for talkies). But my husband did not want me in pictures. I never stopped missing it though. There's no substitute for that kind of attention. But I made an agreement and I kept it." ~~ Priscilla Bonner

Miss Margarita Fischer

 

Time for another February birthday celebration!

Margarita Fischer was born on February 12, 1886 in Missouri Valley, Iowa. She was the second daughter born to John and Kate Ficher. Her sister, Katherine, was two years older than her.

Judging from a 1900 Census record, the family was either upper class or upper middle class because they had two servants. Also good to note that Margarita's name is listed as 'Margarette,' so that very well could be her birth name. I have also read conflicting accounts as to the way her last name was spelled at birth. Some places say she was just born 'Fischer,' while others claim she was born 'Ficher' and changed the spelling of it during WWII, or that she removed the 's' from her original name...I am not sure which account is the accurate one, sorry. I also wanted to mention that while I read she had an older sister named Katherine, I also found that she had a younger sister named, Dorothy who later worked as an actress under a different name. Again...no clue.

She began her acting career early, working on stage as a child for various touring companies. Her father soon realized how popular his lively daughter was and he set up the Margarita Fischer Stock Company which toured along the west coast for years.

While touring in her own stock company, she began appearing in films in the new film town of Hollywood.  Her first screen appearance was in a 1910 short called There, Little Girl, Don't Cry. For about five years, that was all she appeared in...shorts. It wasn't until 1915 that she appeared in her first feature called The Quest.

The character she is most well known for is that of Eliza in the 1927 version of Uncle Tom's Cabin. What was so interesting (well, now it is) is that Eliza is an African American slave girl and Margarita was white. Playing black face wasn't a big deal back in the early teens and twenties, it was actually a form of entertainment. Can you imagine her playing that role nowadays?

What is interesting is that her most famous picture was also her last picture. Her career may have been short in years, but not in work. She had appeared in over 90 films! The girl needed a breather. She kept busy in her personal life though and also worked and traveled for various charities.

Margarita Fischer passed away on March 11, 1975 in Encinitas, California.

She was interred at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California.

Margarita was only married once, in 1911 to actor and later director, Harry Pollard. They remained married until his death in 1934. The couple never had children.

In 1914, Photoplay magazine held a contest asking who the public thought was the most popular star in America, and Margarita was the winner! She beat out such big names like Mary Pickford and Mabel Normand!

She appeared nude in the 1916 film, The Pearl of Paradise.

According to a 1920 article from Photoplay, Margarita was only five feet tall, had copper colored hair, and gray eyes. She also enjoyed driving and working in her victory garden.

Her niece, Kathie Fischer, also appeared in some early silent films. Kathie later donated a bunch of silent film archival material to the Wichita State University to help keep the memory of her Aunt Margarita and Uncle Harry Pollard alive. Please visit the website here.

Miss Anita Stewart

I need to take a break from fixing up older entries because it can be very time consuming and finicky and, yeah...need a break. So, what better way than to give my mind a workout and look at another beauty from the silent screen. Especially when said starlet was born 118 years ago today. So, let us meet the lovely Anita Stewart.

Anita Stewart was born Anna May Stewart on February 7, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother's name was Marsha, and her father's name was William. She joined sister, Lucille, and brother, George.

While she was in high school, she began to get very interested in acting and it was around this age that she began work as an extra in various films at the Vitagraph studio. And as she got older, she became more recognizable and loved by the movie audiences.

Her first billed appearance was in 1911 in the film Prejudice of Pierre Marie. She was billed by her birth name at that time. She also appeared under the name 'Anita Stuart' at one point, but I am not sure if that was a choice on her part or an error on the film maker's part.  She started using the name 'Anita Stewart' around 1913.

One of her biggest hits was during her first year appearing on film which is quite extraordinary. She appeared in A Tale of Two Cities with such big names as Mabel Normand, Norma Talmadge, and John Bunny.

Anita finally left Vitagraph in 1918 and went to sign with the fairly new man in town, Louis B. Mayer. She did have some conditions though  to make her leave her home studio, she wanted her own production company. She got her way, which seems out of character for Mayer who was a bit of a control freak. There is also speculation that the real reason he got Anita was because he offered her an enormous amount of money...that sounds like the L.B. we know!

In the early 1920s she worked as the producer of some of her films including Rose o' the Sea in 1921 with Kate Lester. Her last silent film was in 1928's Sisters of Eve.

For some reason, Anita's talents didn't transfer well into the era of the talkies. The only talkie film she appeared in was a musical short in 1932 called The Hollywood Handicap (appropriate title, eh?). Alas, her glory days were behind her.

Anita Stewart passed away on May 4, 1961 in Los Angeles. Her sister, Lucille, found her unconcious at her home and called 911 to assist her in waking up Anita, but they were unsuccessful. It was later determined that she died of a heart attack.

She was interred at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California.

Anita was married twice. Her first marriage was in 1917 to a man named Rudolph Cameron, who was also an actor at Vitagraph. They two divorced in 1928. Her second marriage was to George Peabody Converse in 1929. They divorced in 1946. Neither marriage produced children.

Her sister, Lucille, was also an actress during the silent era. She was married to director Ralph Ince from 1921 to 1925. Their brother, George also worked as an actor, but after being confined to the bed after a drunken fight with then brother-in-law, Ralph Ince, his career went downhill. Anita helped take care of him until his death in 1945.

On April 14, 1941, Anita and her then husband, George Converse hosted the wedding of Jimmy Roosevelt, son of Franklin and Eleanor, to Romelle Schneider. Apparently the couple could not get married in a Catholic church because Jimmy Roosevelt had gone through a divorce the previous year.

"Dear Mr. Editor: Here I come with three good rousing cheers for Anita Stewart, Queen of the Movies, the best and most beautiful actress the screen possesses in my opinion...I have seen many very popular actresses, each very good in her own way, but give me Anita Stewart, my screen heroine, in preference to any of them. I will close wishing Anita the greatest success a movie fan can. I remain, Anita's Fifteen-year-old Admirer." ~~ The Toronto World - April 13, 1916 [this was from a number of letters written to the newspaper in response to their "World's Moving Picture Popularity Contest]