1800 Ladies. Age to 50 - 79.
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- Xenia Desni was born on 19 January 1894 in Kiev, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Der Turm des Schweigens (1925), Der Meister der Welt (1927) and Erzherzog Johann (1929). She died on 27 May 1962 in Roquefort-les-Pins, France.Ukraine. Fance.
1894 - 1962. (68).
32 credits, 1921-1940. - 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.Australia. USA.
1891 - 1946. (54).
Credits : 1914-1947.- Actress
- Soundtrack
A mining engineer's daughter, blond, blue-eyed Betty Compson began in show business playing the violin in a Salt Lake City vaudeville establishment for $15 a week. Following that, she went on tour, accompanied by her mother, with an act called 'The Vagabond Violinist'. Aged eighteen, she appeared on the Alexander Pantages Theatre Circuit, again doing her violin solo vaudeville routine, and was spotted there by comedy producer Al Christie. Christie quickly changed her stage name from Eleanor to Betty. For the next few years, she turned out a steady stream of one-reel and two-reel slapstick comedies, frequently paired with Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle.
In 1919, Betty was signed by writer-director George Loane Tucker to co-star opposite Lon Chaney as Rose in The Miracle Man (1919). The film was a huge critical and financial success and established Betty Compson as a major star at Paramount (under contract from 1921 to 1925). One of the more highly paid performers of the silent screen, her weekly earnings exceeded $5000 a week at the peak of her career. She came to own a fleet of luxury limousines and was able to move from a bungalow in the hills overlooking Hollywood to an expensive mansion on Hollywood Boulevard. From 1921, Betty also owned her own production company. She went on to make several films in England between 1923 and 1924 for the director Graham Cutts.
During the late 1920's, Betty appeared in a variety of dramatic and comedic roles. She received good reviews acting opposite George Bancroft as a waterfront prostitute in The Docks of New York (1928), and was even nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of a carnival girl in The Barker (1928). She gave a touching performance in The Great Gabbo (1929), directed by her then husband James Cruze, as the assistant of a demented ventriloquist (Erich von Stroheim), with whom she is unhappily in love. That same year, she appeared in RKO's first sound film, Street Girl (1929), and was briefly under contract to that studio, cast in so-called 'women's pictures' such as The Lady Refuses (1931) and Three Who Loved (1931).
The stature of her roles began to diminish from the mid 1930s, though she continued to act in character parts until 1948.
Betty's personal fortunes also declined. This came about primarily as a result of her marital contract to the alcoholic Cruze, whom she had divorced in 1929. For several years, Cruze had failed to pay his income tax and Betty (linked financially to Cruze) ended up being sued by the federal government to the tune of $150,000. This forced her to sell her Hollywood villa, her cars and her antiques.
In later years, Betty Compson developed her own cosmetics label and ran a business in California producing personalized ashtrays for the hospitality industry.USA
1897 - 1974. (77).
222 credits, 1915-1954.- Adele Sandrock was born on 19 August 1863 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. She was an actress, known for Helen of Troy (1924), Op hoop van zegen (1924) and Die Försterchristl (1931). She died on 30 August 1937 in Berlin, Germany.Netherlands. Germany.
1863 - 1937. (74).
164 credits, 1911-1940. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Raquel Meller was born in Tarazona, Zaragoza, Aragón (Spain) from a very poor family. Since her parents could not afford her education she was sent to live with an aunt who was a nun at a convent. At age 12 she returned with her parents who were then residing in Barcelona and shortly after began working as a seamstress in a shop that catered to many show business personalities. In 1907 she left the shop to start singing "cuplés" ("couplets") using the name "La Bella Raquel". Although these songs were considered indecent and were initially performed in venues attended by men only, Raquel with her beauty and charismatic presence raised the "cuplé" genre to a more respectable art making it acceptable to families. After a love affair with a German named Moeller, Raquel adopted his last name changing it to Meller to make it sound Spanish.
The quality of her voice was a source of debate, but for her fans and theater-goers in general Meller could do no wrong. "Raquel Meller is a genius." exclaimed at one point Sarah Bernhardt. Songs such as "La Violetera", "El Relicario", "Flor de Te", "Mimosa", "Flor del Mal", etc., became standards thanks to her interpretation. She was the first Spanish popular singer to succeed in Europe and the Americas including the United States where her recordings enjoyed great popularity and her live concerts in 1926 broke box-office records in the most important American cities. At the height of her popularity she endorsed several products as well as backing many articles named after her from dolls, to perfume, all of which supplemented her already high income making her one of the wealthiest women in the world.
She was also a hit on the big screen, starring in important films such as_Violettes impériales (1923)_and Carmen (1926). Meller filmed mostly in France but in 1927 she starred in a short sound feature for Movietone Fox in New York in which she sang four of her hits. Charles Chaplin, a big Meller fan, offered her the part of Josephine de Beauharnais in a film he was planning based on life of Napoleon Bonaparte but Raquel could not find time for the project. A few years later Chaplin wanted her for the part of the blind girl in _City Lights (1931)_but Raquel was now involved in a play written especially for her by Maurice Rostand in which she could achieve her dream of becoming a serious stage actress in a respectable Paris theater. Chaplin replaced her with Virginia Cherrill but he kept Raquel's theme "La Violetera" in the film music score taking credit for its composition which resulted in a law suit by the song's composer Jose Padilla.
Raquel continued performing and was a big draw in vaudeville circuits well into the 1940s. Her private life was followed with great interest by the media and the public. She was imperious, ruthless (especially with the competition), lovable, funny, temperamental, generous, witty and totally egomaniac. Her love life was not as turbulent as many believed but among her many admirers there were royalty, heads of state, intellectuals, painters and assorted VIPs. In 1919 she married celebrated Guatemalan journalist diplomat Enrique Gomez Carrillo and adopted a baby girl in Buenos Aires naming her Elena. However after a couple of years of honeymoon bliss came a collision of both temperaments and they divorced in 1922. She had another short lived marriage in 1940 this time to a French businessman named Edmond Sayac and they were together long enough to adopt a baby boy whom they named Jordi Enric.
By then Raquel Meller's career was over, only to surface again in 1957 in the wake of Sara Montiel's box-office success in the films_El último cuplé (1957)_ and_La violetera (1958)_,in which Montiel revived Raquel's greatest hits. As with other rivals in the past, Meller became Montiel's nemesis, but by then a new generation that simply did not know her just plain ignored her. She attempted several comebacks but all were critical and commercial failures. Bitterly, she retired and stayed out of the public eye until her death in Barcelona on July 26, 1962. A plan to film her story starring Sara Montiel (of course) was foiled by Meller's relatives, but some of her story made it to the big screen anyway in Montiel's vehicle La reina del Chantecler (1962).
Most of Raquel's recordings, considered lost for years, have been trickling out on CDs. However her films remain unedited in home video formats and are seldom shown in silent films revivals or festivals. Raquel Meller has been the subject of many books and articles in Europe. There are streets named after her in France and Spain, while her statue commands a plaza with her name in Barcelona. It is inexcusable that film preservationists and the cinemateques of France, Spain and the United States have shown little or no interest in Meller's filmography. Without these films it is impossible to assess Raquel's personal charisma which was the source of her enormous success and fame.Spain
1888 - 1962, (74).
credits, 1919-2001.- Guadalupe Muñoz Sampedro was born on 15 February 1896 in Madrid, Spain. She was an actress, known for Esclava te doy (1976), Los chicos con las chicas (1967) and Es peligroso asomarse al exterior (1946). She was married to Manuel Soto. She died on 4 December 1975 in Madrid, Spain.Spain.
1896 - 1975. (79).
81 credits, 1940-1976. - Camila Quiroga was born on 19 March 1891 in Chajarí, Entre Ríos, Argentina. She was an actress, known for North Wind (1937), Mariano Moreno y la revolución de Mayo (1915) and Resaca (1916). She was married to Héctor Quiroga. She died on 28 February 1948 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Argentina
1891 - 1948. (56).
Credits, 1915-1941. - Julia Lajos was born on 24 February 1895 in Villagarcía de Campos, Valladolid, Spain. She was an actress, known for The Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks (1944), Don Juan (1950) and La revoltosa (1950). She died on 21 June 1963 in Madrid, Spain.Spain.
1895 - 1963. (68).
52 credits, 1926-1957. - Lea Conti was born on 20 November 1883 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Su nombre es mujer (1940), El alma de un tango (1945) and El cantar de mis penas (1941). She died on 31 October 1957 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Argentina
1883 - 1957. (73).
Credits, 1917-1952. - Angelina Pagano was born on 3 December 1888 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Casa de muñecas (1943), Madame Bovary (1947) and Historia del 900 (1949). She died on 9 June 1962 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Argentina
1888 - 1962. (73).
Credits, 1917-1949. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Ann Codee was born on 5 March 1890 in Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. She was an actress, known for Kiss Me Kate (1953), So Dark the Night (1946) and Can-Can (1960). She was married to Frank Orth. She died on 18 May 1961 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.Belgium. USA.
1890 - 1961. (71).
98 credits, 1928-1960.- Sigrid Holmquist was born on 21 February 1899 in Borås, Västra Götalands län, Sweden. She was an actress, known for The Light That Failed (1923), The Early Bird (1925) and The Men Women Love (1926). She was married to Anthony Cirici. She died on 9 July 1970 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.Sweden. Australia.
1899 - 1970, (71). - Writer
- Soundtrack
Edith Sitwell was born on 7 September 1887 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Pacific 13 (1956), Camera Three (1955) and About Religion (1956). She died on 9 December 1964 in London, England, UK.UK.
1898 - 1964. (77).
13 credits, 1927-2014. Writer, soundtrack, self.- Gabriela Zapolska was born on 30 March 1857 in Podhajce, Galicia, Austrian Empire [now Pidhaytsi, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine]. She was a writer, known for Sezonowa milosc (1918), O czym sie nie mówi (1924) and O czym sie nie mówi... (1939). She was married to Stanislaw Janowski and Konstanty Sniezko-Blocki. She died on 17 December 1921 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine].Ukraine.
1857 - 1921. (64).
18 Writing Credits, 1912-2015. - Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
In a career that covered six decades, Constance Collier evolved into one of Broadway and London's finest tragediennes during the first half of the 1900s. While the regal, dark-featured beauty who bore classic Romanesque features enjoyed a transcontinental career like a number of her contemporaries, her theatre success did not encourage an enviable film career. It wasn't until her senior years that Constance engaged in a number of well-regarded supporting performances on screen. Later respect also came as one of Hollywood's premiere drama and voice coaches.
She was born Laura Constance Hardie in Windsor, Berkshire on January 22, 1878, the only child of Auguste Cheetham and Eliza Georgina (Collier) Hardie, both minor professional actors. Young Constance made her stage debut at the age of three as a fairy in a production of "A Midsummer Nights Dream" and the die was cast. By age 6 she was appearing with famed actor/manager Wilson Barrett in "The Silver King". An early break occurred in her teens (1893) when the tall, under-aged beauty was given consent by her parents to become a member of the famed George Edwardes-Hall "Gaiety Girls" dance troupe. Groomed extensively in singing, dancing and elocution, she managed to stand out among those others in the chorus line and went on to featured status in two of Edwardes-Hall's biggest hits, "A Gaiety Girl" and "The Shop Girl" (both 1894).
Legit ingénue roles in "Her Advocate", "Tommy Atkins" and "The Sign of the Cross" followed. Just after the turn of the century (1901) she was invited to join the theatre company of the esteemed Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who had been searching for a comparably tall leading lady to play opposite him. She remained with his company at His Majesty's Theatre for six years where she built up a formidable classical resumé. Alongside Sir Herbert in such plays as "Ulysses", "The Eternal City" and "Nero", Constance also proved a fine Shakespearean with her Olivia, Viola, Portia, Mistress Ford and Cleopatra at the top of the list. She also made a noteworthy Nancy Sykes in "Oliver Twist" which she toured extensively both here and abroad. During this time (1905), she married British-born actor Julian L'Estrange and together they became an internationally respected stage couple.
Ms. Collier made a successful American stage debut in 1908 with "Samson" at the Garrick Theatre in New York opposite well-known American actor/playwright William Gillette, thereby placing herself solidly among the most popular and respected actresses of the day. Among her subsequent Broadway offerings were "Israel" (1909), "Trelawney of the Wells" (1911), "Oliver Twist" (1912), "Othello" (1915) and "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (1917).
Sir Herbert and Constance both appeared as extras in the silent D.W. Griffith classic Intolerance (1916). While still in the U.S., he filmed Macbeth (1916) with Constance as his Lady Macbeth. Not only was the Shakespearean film poorly received but her starring appearances in two other silents released earlier that year, The Tongues of Men (1916) and The Code of Marcia Gray (1916), were also overlooked.
Tragedy struck in October of 1918. She and her husband, L'Estrange, had begun a Broadway run together of "The Ideal Husband" only a month earlier. During the run he contracted the deadly Spanish influenza which had spread worldwide and died of pneumonia at the untimely age of 40. The grief-stricken actress finished the play's run into November then returned to England where she appeared in the films The Impossible Woman (1919), Bleak House (1920) and The Bohemian Girl (1922). Among her London theatre successes were "Our Betters" (1923) at the Globe Theatre, which ran for over twelve months, and "Hamlet" wherein she played Queen Gertrude opposite John Barrymore's Great Dane (1925) at the Haymarket Theatre. Constance also moved into writing and penned her own play "Forever", which was based on the George L. Du Maurier novel "Peter Ibbetson". She then co-wrote with actor/friend Ivor Novello the play "The Rat" (1924), in which Novello starred and which Collier produced.
The advent of sound provided the exciting opportunity for the eloquent Collier to work in the U.S., but not necessarily as an actress. By helping established silent film stars transition into talkies, she became Hollywood's foremost drama and voice coach. Finding less and less time for stage work, she directed a Broadway production of "Camille" in 1931. She did, however, manage to appear in productions of "Peter Ibbetson" (1931), which she also staged, "Dinner at Eight (1932) and "Hay Fever" (1933) all in New York. Her final Broadway curtain call was taken as Madame Bernardi in "Aries Is Rising" (1939) at New York's Golden Theatre.
In later years, she continued to coach (among her students were Marilyn Monroe) and write, but she also found time to return to the large screen in a dozen or so films, usually providing stately support. She appeared in a range of movies from the Shirley Temple vehicle Wee Willie Winkie (1937) to the film noir piece The Dark Corner (1946). Better known roles during this period include those in Stage Door (1937), playing, quite appropriately and amusingly, the resident drama coach, An Ideal Husband (1947), excellent as Lady Markby, and Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948). Her last film was Whirlpool (1950).
Constance Collier died of natural causes in New York on April 25, 1955, and left behind her 1929 memoirs "Harlequinade". She had no children.UK. USA.
1878 - 1955. (77).
39 credits, 1916-1949.- Actress
- Art Department
Born Tsuru Kawakami, Tsuru emigrated to the U.S. in 1903 with her aunt and uncle, who were in the theater business. She found work on stage before moving to film. She worked in L.A., then moved to San Francisco and New York before returning to California. At a time when even in her home country female leads were non-existent, she garnered top billing in a series of films by Thomas H. Ince, who had seen her on stage in L.A., including 1913's "The Oath of Tsuru San". She met her future husband Sessue Hayakawa on the set of O Mimi San (1914). They married in 1914 and went on to star together several times. She retired from acting 10 years later to raise her adopted children and only returned once, which was just prior to her death. This last performance was her sole speaking role.Japan.
1892 - 1961. (69).
44 credits, 1913-1960.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Musidora was a French actress, film director, and writer. She is particularly remembered for portraying the vamp villainess Irma Vep in the crime serial film "Les Vampires" (1915-1916) and the gang leader Diana Monti/Marie Verdier in the revenge-themed film serial film "Judex" (1917). Her screen persona depicted her with "heavily kohled dark eyes, somewhat sinister make-up, pale skin and exotic wardrobes". Her characters were among the most popular femmes fatales of their era.
Musidora's real name was Jeanne Roques. She was born in a Parisian family of artists. Her father was the composer Jacques Roques, while her mother was the painter Adèle Clémence Porche. Musidora started an acting career in her teen years, and made her film debut in 1914. She took the stage name Musidora, naming herself after a character of that name in the novels of Théophile Gautier. The name means "gift of the Muses".
Early in her film career, Musidora collaborated with the film director Louis Feuillade. He was a pioneer in the development of the crime thriller as distinct genre. By playing villainesses, Musidora became one of the most famous French actresses of the 1910s. But she also found some success as a film director and a film producer. She directed 10 films between the late 1910s and the early 1920s, though only two of them have survived. Two of her films were adaptations of the novels of Colette (1873-1954). The novelist happened to be a personal friend of Musidora, and was willing to help with the screenplays for the adaptations.
Musidora's acting career ended by 1926, but she continued working as a writer and film producer until the early 1950s. In her old age, she worked in the ticket booth of the Cinémathèque Française. In 1957, Musidora died in Paris. She was buried in the Cimetière de Bois-le-Roi.France
1889 - 1957, (68).
82 credits, 1918-1926.- Kate Lester was born on 12 June 1857 in Souldham Trope, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Gay Lord Quex (1919) and His Royal Highness (1918). She died on 12 October 1924 in Hollywood, California, USA.UK. USA.
1857 - 1924. (67).
80 credits, 1916-1925. - Orfilia Rico was born on 5 April 1874 in Montevideo, Uruguay. She was an actress, known for Hasta después de muerta (1916) and Nobleza gaucha (1915). She died on 10 October 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Uraguay.
1874 - 1936. (62).
Credits: 1915-1916. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Antonie Nedosinská was born on 26 June 1885 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Fidlovacka (1930), Jedna z miliónu (1935) and Vdavky Nanynky Kulichovy (1938). She was married to Jirí Nedosinský. She died on 17 July 1950 in Podebrady, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].Czech Republic.
1885 - 1950. (65).
93 credits, 1916-1947.- Actress
- Director
Diana Karenne was born in 1888 in Kiev, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. She was an actress and director, known for Redenzione (1919), Marie Antoinette - Das Leben einer Königin (1922) and Rasputins Liebesabenteuer (1928). She died on 14 October 1940 in Aachen, Germany.Russian Empire. Germany.
1888 - 1940. (52).
45 credits, 1916-1940.
10 director Credits.- Cissy Fitzgerald was born on 20 June 1873 in Blean, Kent, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Patricia Gets Her Man (1937), The Painted Angel (1929) and Flirtation (1934). She was married to Osmund Mark Tucker. She died on 10 May 1941 in Ovingdean, Sussex, England, UK.UK
1873 - 1941. (67).
73 credits, 1896-1937. - Gertrud Arnold was born on 3 March 1873 in Stolp, Pomerania, Germany [now Slupsk, Pomorskie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924), Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (1924) and Ein Kindesherz (1914). She was married to Heinrich Brandt. She died on 11 January 1931 in Berlin, Germany.Poland. Germany.
1873 - 1931. (57).
22 credits, 1914-1930. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Popular star in Hollywood for two decades through 1936, Marie Prevost began as a Mack Sennett "Bathing Beauty" in 1917, later starring in dozens of light comedies. But not long into the sound era, she encountered problems with her burgeoning weight, to the jeopardy of her career. Her self-remedy resulted ultimately in her starving to death.
Marie Prevost was born Mary Bickford Dunn in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, on November 8, 1898. She broke into films when she was 18 years old in Unto Those Who Sin (1916). Finding work in films was difficult in the early days, just as it is today. Marie found herself doing odd jobs until 1917, when she made another film, Secrets of a Beauty Parlor (1917). After filming was completed, Marie found herself unemployed again and went back to scraping around for a living. She kept going to casting calls, but it wasn't until 1919 when she landed a role in Uncle Tom Without a Cabin (1919). Finally, in 1921, movie moguls discovered her talent and began casting her in a number of roles. She appeared in four films that year and an additional six in 1922. Marie seemed to be on a roll. She stayed busy through the balance of the 1920s in a number of films, mostly comedies. As a matter of fact, she would continue making films until 1933, when her appeal began to fade. She made no films in 1934 and precious few after that. With the advent of sound her thick New England accent didn't lend itself well to the "demon microphone", despite her beauty. Her depression about her career--or lack of it--drove her to alcohol, and she died on January 23, 1937, in Hollywood, of a combination of alcoholism and malnutrition, virtually broke and living in a dilapidated apartment. She never saw the release, in 1938, of her final film appearance: Ten Laps to Go (1936). She was 38 years old.Canada
1898 - 1937. (38).- Actress
- Writer
Gertrude McCoy was born on 30 June 1890 in Sugar Valley, Georgia, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Nelson (1926), Through Turbulent Waters (1915) and The Blue Bird (1918). She was married to Duncan McRae. She died on 17 July 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.2nd group. USA.
USA.
1890 - 1967. (77).
162 credits, 1913-1926.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jessie Ralph was a sailor's daughter, who first came to the stage at the age of 16, performing with a stock company in either Boston, Massachusetts, or Providence, Rhode Island (accounts differ). The year was 1880, and it took Jessie another 26 years to make her debut on the Great White Way in "The Kreutzer Sonata". Already a seasoned actress, she enjoying third billing. Her screen career started with one and two reelers as early as 1915, but her proper entry into Hollywood did not come about until 1933.
For more than 20 years, plump, down-to-earth Jessie made her reputation as a character actress on Broadway playing an assortment of nurses, maids and aunts. She was used in musicals by George M. Cohan and acted in Shakespearean roles, from "Twelfth Night" to "Romeo and Juliet". She was nurse to Jane Cowl's Juliet in the 1923 play which ran for an unprecedented 174 performances and co-starred Eva Le Gallienne and Katharine Cornell (amazing, when considering that the star was already 39 years old!). Like other successful actresses of the stage, Jessie was brought to Hollywood to reprise a Broadway hit role, in this case her Aunt Minnie in Child of Manhattan (1933).
After half a lifetime in the theatre, Jessie's sojourn in Hollywood was relatively brief but marked by a series of memorable performances. She was the definitive incarnation of the endearing nurse Peggotty in David Copperfield (1935) and played Greta Garbo's loyal maid Nanine in Camille (1936). She was the matriarch of the Whiteoaks of Jalna (1935), an adaptable society matron in San Francisco (1936) and harridan of a mother-in-law to W.C. Fields, Hermisillo Brunch, in The Bank Dick (1940). Whether in comedy or drama, as a Chinese aunt in both stage and screen versions of The Good Earth (1937), or a kindly sorceress in The Blue Bird (1940), Jessie gave consistently good value for money. The New York Times review of October 12, 1935, wrote of her performance in I Live My Life (1935): "Jessie Ralph as the tyrannical head of the family, proves again that she is the best of the screen grandmothers".
Jessie retired from acting in 1941 after having a leg amputated and died three years later.USA
1864 - 1944. (76).
57 credits, 1915-1941.- Billie West was born on 5 August 1891 in Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for The Wolf Man (1915), A Man's Prerogative (1915) and Should She Obey? (1917). She was married to Frank Bennett. She died on 7 June 1967 in Plainfield, New Jersey, USA.USA
1891 - 1967. (75).
80 credits, 1912-1917. - Wanda Siemaszkowa was born on 30 December 1867 in Lipowa, Poland, Russian Empire [now Lipova, Belarus]. She was an actress, known for Za zaslona (1938), O czym sie nie mówi (1924) and Milosc za zycie. Symfonia ludzkosci (1924). She died on 6 August 1947 in Zarnowiec, Podkarpackie, Poland.Belarus. Poland.
1867 - 1947, (79).
credits, 1924-1938. - Writer
- Additional Crew
Born in Manchester, England on November 24 1849, Frances Eliza Hodgson was the eldest daughter in a family of two boys and three girls. After her father's death when she was three years old, the Hodgsdons experienced severe financial difficulties. As a young girl, she would scrawl little stories on sheets of old notebooks, as she was unable to afford proper writing materials. In 1865 the family moved to Tennessee where they lived in a log cabin and the teenage Frances set up a little school. She began submitting stories to women's magazines and in a time when most women did not have careers, Frances Eliza Hodgsdon was a literary success. In 1873 she married Dr. Swan Burnett and they had two sons -- Lionel, born 1874, and Vivian, born 1876 -- but the marriage was not a happy one. Her younger son, Vivian, clamoured for something for little boys to read, so Frances wrote "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and modeled the main character after him. In 1890 tragedy struck when her eldest son, Lionel, died of influenza. Frances and Swan separated and finally divorced in 1898, and she went on to remarry Stephen Townshend. Frances moved to Long Island, New York in 1901 and there began to write her two most famous stories -- "A Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden", inspired by her poor childhood and her love for gardening. She became rather eccentric in her old age, but delighted in her grandchildren. Frances Hodgson Burnett died on 29 October 1924.USA.
1849 - 1924. (74).
62 writing credits, 1913-2015.- Actress
- Writer
Born Bessie Harrison in Santa Barbara in 1890. Her father Edgar Thomas Harrison was a musician. Bessie starred in at least 200 melodrama, action westerns and crime films. In the 1910 she was visiting the Selig Film studios with a party of friends, when a director saw and liked her red hair because he said it would photograph a beautiful black, so he offered her a minor role, she had no formal training on stage, as did many early film actors, she was talented and soon rose to be one of Selig's most popular stars. Her first major role as a leading actress was under the direction of Francis Boggs in 'The Sheriff of Tuolomne' starring Tom Mix in 1911. Bessie will be perhaps be best remembered as Helen Chester in 'The Spoilers' directed by Colin Campbell with co-star William Farnum in 1914 and as Virginia Carvel in 'The Crisis' based in Winston Churchill's sprawling novel, co-starring George Fawcett and Matt Snyder, Bessie remained with selig until 1918. She was last seen in a supporting role as Ada Tremaine in John Ince's 'The Girl of Gold' starring Florence Vidor and Malcolm McGregor for the Regal Film Co in 1925. She returned to the screen in the 1930's as a extra. Bessie reportedly had a terrible argument with her mother Claribel, walked out of her Hollywood home, and was never seen or heard from again. Her brother Elbert spent years searching for her but was unsuccessful.Bessie married at 19 to Selig film producer Charles Eyton they divorced in 1915. She died from congestive heart failure in 1965 age 74.USA.
1890 - 1965. (74).
185 credits, 1911-1925.- Originally a schoolteacher, Mary Maurice caught the acting bug and joined the Pittsburgh (PA) Stock Company in 1868. After a long and distinguished stage career she signed with Vitagraph and made her film debut in 1909. She appeared in almost 150 films for the company, and played mothers or grandmothers in so many of them that she got the nickname "Grand Old Lady of the Films". She stayed with Vitagraph until shortly before her death in 1918.USA
1844 - 1918. (78).
Credits, 1909-1918. - Gertrude Robinson was born on 7 October 1890 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Feud and the Turkey (1908), What the Daisy Said (1910) and Good for Evil (1913). She was married to Walter Robinson and James Kirkwood. She died on 19 March 1962 in Hollywood, California, USA.USA.
1890 - 1962. (71).
186 credits, 1908-1925. - Director
- Writer
- Actress
Lois Weber, who had been a street-corner evangelist before entering motion pictures in 1905, became the first American woman movie director of note, and a major one at that. Herbert Blaché, the husband of Frenchwoman Alice Guy, the first woman to direct a motion picture (and arguably, the first director of either gender to helm a fictional narrative film), cast her in the lead of "Hypocrites" (1908). Weber first got behind the camera on A Heroine of '76 (1911), a silent that was co-directed by pioneering American director Edwin S. Porter and actor Phillips Smalley, who played George Washington. She also starred in the picture.
In 1914, a year in which she helmed 27 movies, Weber co-directed William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1914) with Smalley, who also played Shylock, making her the first woman to direct a feature-length film in the US. (Jeanie Macpherson, who would play a major role in cinema as Cecil B. DeMille's favorite screenwriter, also acted in the film).
In the spirit of her evangelism, she began directing, writing and then producing films of social import, dealing with such themes as abortion, alcoholism, birth control, drug addiction and prostitution. By 1916 she had established herself as the top director at Universal Film Manufacturing (now Universal Studios), the top studio in America at the time, making her the highest-paid director in the world. The following year she formed Lois Weber Productions.
She directed over 100 films, but her production company went bankrupt in the 1920s as her career faltered. She did not make the transition to sound, although she did make one talkie, White Heat (1934), in 1934.USA.
1879 - 1939. (60).
137 Director credits, 1911-1934.
118 Writing Credits.
104 acting credits.
19 Producer credits.- Julia Swayne Gordon was born on 29 October 1878 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for My Lady's Slipper (1916), You Can't Fool Your Wife (1923) and The Painted World (1919). She was married to Hugh Thomas Swayne. She died on 28 May 1933 in Los Angeles, California, USA.USA.
1878 - 1933. (54).
229 credits : 1908-1933. - Teresa Boetti Valvassura was born in 1851 in Saluzzo, Piedmont, Italy. She was an actress, known for Lea (1916), La pupilla riaccesa (1916) and Saluto italico (1918). She was married to Ernesto Valvassura. She died on 10 March 1930 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.Italy.
1851 - 1930. (79).
Credits : 1916-1918. - Thérèse Kolb was born on 19 January 1856 in Altkirch, Haut-Rhin, France. She was an actress, known for La femme rêvée (1929), Dans l'ombre du harem (1928) and L'île d'amour (1928). She died on 19 August 1935 in Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France.France.
1856 - 1935. (79).
Credits : 1912-1935. - Actress
- Director
- Writer
Elsie Jane Wilson was born on 7 November 1885 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She was an actress and director, known for Oliver Twist (1916), Bound on the Wheel (1915) and Beauty in Chains (1918). She was married to Rupert Julian. She died on 16 January 1965 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Australia. UK.
1885 - 1965. (79).
51 credits, 1914-1920.- Elsa Ratassepp was born on 7 March 1893 in Raadi, Tartumaa, Estonia. She was an actress, known for Libahunt (1968), Vallatud kurvid (1959) and Jäljed (1963). She died on 4 May 1972 in Tartu, Estonia.Estonia
1893 - 1972. (79).
Credits, 1963-1968. - Actress
- Director
Renée Carl was born on 10 June 1875 in Fontenay-le-Comte, Vendée, France. She was an actress and director, known for Severo Torelli (1914), Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine (1913) and Fantômas: The Dead Man Who Killed (1913). She died on 31 July 1954 in Paris, France.France
1875 - 1954. (79).
205 credits, 1907-1937, Actress, director.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Raised by a single mother, she grew up in a poor home at Fleminggatan in Stockholm. She was working extra in a small shop for sewing materials and the owner encouraged her acting dreams. In 1905 she was accepted to accompany the Anna Lundberg travelling theatre company around Sweden. This led to small roles at theatres both in Helsinki and Stockholm. In 1910 she became a student for the famous song teacher Raymond von zur Mühlen in London. During the years before and under WWI her fame grew and she got major roles in operettas by Emmerich Kálmán and Franz Lehár. Until the mid 1920s she was the queen of the operettas, performing in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. But finally she had had enough and was vying for more dramatic parts. Finding work was not so easy though and she spent a lot of time in England, performing for smaller audiences with singing and guitar playing. Her dramatic breakthrough did not come until 1937 when she met director Per Lindberg who gives her the chance to tour around Sweden with Bertolt Brecht's The Three-penny-opera. When Bertolt Brecht escaped from The Third Reich and moved to Sweden, he wrote Mother Courage for her. In 1948 she starred in 'Me and My Gal' with Nils Poppe at Södra Teatern in Stockholm. During the 1950s she was employed by Malmö Stadsteater together with Ingmar Bergman. Bergman also gave her some minor but good roles in his movies, most notably as the old Mrs. Armfelt in Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) and as Granny Vogler in The Magician (1958).Sweden.
1890 - 1968. (78).
67 credits, 1927-1968.- Margit Barnay was born on 5 April 1896 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Die Eidechse (1919), Die siebtente Nacht (1922) and Aus den Akten einer anständigen Frau (1921). She died on 11 January 1974 in Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany.Germany.
1896 - 1974. (77).
47 credits, 1919-1927. - Linda Pini was born on 2 November 1893 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. She was an actress, known for Cavalleria rusticana (1916), L'illusione (1917) and La cicala (1919). She died on 27 October 1971 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.Italy.
1893 - 1971. (77).
34 credits, 1916-1943. - Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Erna Morena was born on 24 April 1885 in Wörth am Main, Bavaria, Germany. She was an actress and writer, known for Das Tagebuch einer Verlorenen (1918), Colomba (1918) and Lulu (1917). She was married to Wilhelm Herzog. She died on 20 July 1962 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.Germany.
1885 - 1962. (77).
108 credits, 1913-1951.- Blanca Podestá was born on 6 July 1889 in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Tierra baja (1912), Manuelita Rosas (1925) and Sendas cruzadas (1942). She died on 17 May 1967 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Argentina
1889 - 1967. (77).
Credits, 1909-1942. - Conchita de Moraes was born on 27 September 1885 in Santiago, Cuba. She was an actress, known for Amor de Perdição (1914), Bonequinha de Seda (1936) and Pureza (1940). She was married to Atila Moraes. She died on 9 October 1962 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Brazil.
1885 - 1962. (77).
Credits : 1914-1953. - Josefine Dora was born on 13 November 1867 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for Arme Eva Maria (1916), The Doll (1919) and The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927). She was married to Richard Schultz, Arthur Weinschenk and Georg Worlitsch. She died on 28 May 1944 in Kühlungsborn, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.Austria. Germany.
1867 - 1944. (76).
130 credits, 1913-1944. - Mary Cleo Tarlarini was born on 22 April 1878 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. She was an actress, known for La Gioconda (1912), For the Queen's Honor (1913) and Estremo convegno (1915). She died on 22 October 1954 in Tivoli, Lazio, Italy.Italy.
1878 - 1954. (76).
133 credits, 1909-1940. - Johanne Krum-Hunderup was born on 2 February 1853. She was an actress, known for Prinsessens Hjerte (1916), Kærlighedslængsel (1916) and Spejlets Spaadom (1916). She died on 24 September 1929.Denmark.
1853 - 1929. (76).
49 credits, 1912-1919. - Hildur Carlberg was born on 20 December 1843 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. She was an actress, known for The Parson's Widow (1920), Ingmarssönerna (1919) and The Outlaw and His Wife (1918). She died on 27 August 1920 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.Sweden
1843 - 2930. (76).
Credits, 1917-1920. - Julie Henriksen was born on 29 November 1872 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Livets baal (1912), Spiritisten (1916) and Anna fra Æbeltoft (1911). She died on 21 March 1949.Denmark
1872 - 1949. (76).
54 credits, 1909-1922. - Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Mabel Constanduros was born on 29 March 1880 in London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for David Copperfield (1956), Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective (1953) and My Ain Folk (1945). She was married to Athanasius Constanduros. She died on 8 February 1957 in Chichester, Sussex, England, UK.UK.
1880 - 1957. (76).
17 acting credits, 1929-1956.
14 writing credits
2 soundtrack credits.- Kaoru Futaba was born on 7 October 1871 in Kanda, Tokyo, Japan. She was an actress, known for Renbo kouta (1929), Haru hiraku (1928) and Reijin (1930). She died on 22 January 1948.Japan.
1871 - 1948. (76).
55 credits, 1915-1946. - Trude Hesterberg was born on 2 May 1892 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for A Blonde Dream (1932), Corinna Schmidt (1951) and Fridericus Rex - 1. Teil: Sturm und Drang (1922). She was married to Fritz Schönherr. She died on 31 August 1967 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany.Germany. West Germany.
1892 - 1967. (75).
96 credits, 1912-1965.
3 self credits, 1958-1966. - As the daughter of popular Danish People's Theatre actress Julie Møller, Petrine Sonne debuted in 1892 as Madam Stabel in Henrik Hertz' Audiensen, when she jumped in as a duplicate during her mother's illness. From 1900, she was employed at various Copenhagen theatres until in 1927, she returned to Folketeatret, where she acted until her death. Her last role here was as the cook in K. Simonov's Heaven is Blue and the Grass Green, performed in the 1945-46 season. Her specialty was comic minor characters and character roles. Sonne was loved by the audience for her whimsical playing, and thus, like her mother, she became an important member of the People's Theatre. At the Folketeatret, it was told that Sonne always preferred small roles, because they were easy to learn and as an added benefit of such minor roles, she was able to go home again with the tram from Nørrevold to her home in Pile Allé before the transfer ticket expired. Sonne appeared in popular Danish silent films and in 1925, she starred in the great Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer's film, You Must Honor Your Wife. She wove hermelin as a pastime. Sonne appeared in about forty Danish films in the first half of the twentieth century and received the Danish Royal Medal of Honour in gold in 1942.Denmark
1870 - 1946. (75).
110 credits, 1907-1946. - Kitty Kirwan was born on 11 March 1875 in Dublin, Ireland. She was an actress, known for Odd Man Out (1947), The Edge of the World (1937) and Floodtide (1949). She died in April 1954 in Honiton, Devon, England, UK.Ireland. Australia.
1875 - 1951. (75).
Credits, 1937-1949. - Otília Amorim was born on 13 November 1894 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was an actress, known for Alma Sertaneja (1919), A Vida do Barão do Rio Branco (1912) and Ubirajara (1919). She died in 1970 in São Paulo, Brazil.Brazil.
1894 - 1970. (75).
Credits, 1910-1919. - Chouko Iida was born in 1897, in the old downtown of Tokyo, Asakusa.After dropping out of high school and working as a clerk at the Matsuzakaya Department Store, she joined the Nakamura Matsugoro Acting Company. In 1922, Iida entered Shochiku Kamata Productions. Her acting was soon recognized by a director at Shouchiku and she went on to debut in Shinyuku Tsuma (The Dying Wife). She then appeared in Gamaguchi (A Purse) and Goikenmuyo (Useless Opinions) in collaboration with Jun Arai. After her marriage to Hideaki Mohara, a cameraman, she played the principal role in a number of films of Godokoro Hiranosuke: Okame (The Turtle), Ukiyoeburo (The Bath of the Floating World), Onna to Umaretakaranya (Because I Was Born to Be a Woman). She later co-starred with Takeshi Sakamoto in Dekigokoro (Acting on Impulse), Ukigusa Monogatari and Tokyo no yado (A Japanese Inn in Tokyo) the successful series of films by Yasujiro Ozu. Iida received the Jujo Murasaki award in 1963, and the Tanho award fourth prize in 1967. She died in 1972, of lung cancer at the age of 75.Japan.
1897 - 1972. (75).
210 credits, 1923-1970. - Ada Dondini was born on 18 March 1883 in Cosenza, Calabria, Italy. She was an actress, known for Malombra (1942), Piccolo mondo antico (1941) and Circo equestre Za-bum (1944). She died on 3 January 1958 in Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy.Spain.
1883 - 1958. (74).
48 credits, 1916-1954. - Fanny Schiller was born on 5 September 1901 in Mexico, D.F., Mexico. She was an actress, known for Cantaclaro (1946), La mujer que yo amé (1950) and Santa (1943). She was married to Manuel Sánchez Navarro. She died on 26 September 1971 in Mexico D.F., Mexico.Mexico.
1897 - 1971. (74).
221 credits, 1926-1971. - Yoshiko Kawada was born on 17 October 1895 in Niigata, Japan. She was an actress, known for Yôfu gonin onna - Dai sanpen: Sempatsu Oyoshi (1926), Hiramekû yaiba (1926) and Sora no kanata e (1928). She died on 24 March 1970.Japan.
1895 - 1970. (74).
86 credits, 1920-1946. - Mrs. Wong Wing was born on 10 January 1875 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Dangerous Paradise (1930), Where East Is East (1929) and Mr. Wu (1927). She died on 12 March 1942 in Los Angeles, California, USA.China. USA.
1892 - 1966. (73).
Credits : 1925-1937. - Agnes Lorentzen was born on 21 February 1874 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Den glade løjtnant (1912), Unjustly Accused (1913) and Manegens stjerne (1912). She was married to Aage Lorentzen. She died on 23 December 1947.Denmark
1874 - 1947. (73).
52 credits, 1909-1922. - Jenny Marba was born on 18 May 1869 in Vilna, Russian Empire [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. She was an actress, known for Gentlemen-Gauner (1920), Der gefesselte Polo (1929) and Othello (1918). She died on 1 November 1942 in Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia [now Terezín, Czech Republic].Luthuania. Czech Republic.
1869 - 1942. (72).
30 credits, 1916-1928. - Helena Makowska was born on 2 March 1893 in Krivoy Rog, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire [now Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Hamlet (1917), The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and Der Schuß im Pavillon (1925). She was married to Botteril, Julian Makowski and Karl Falckenberg. She died on 22 August 1964 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.Ukraine. Italy.
1893 - 1964. (71).
61 credits, 1911-1958. - Athanasia Moustaka was a Greek actress with a significant theatrical career until the mid-60s. She was distinguished for her modest ethos, indomitable hard work and exemplary professional conscientiousness. She is the daughter of the actor and trouper Dionysios Plessas. In 1913, at the age of 14, she debuted on stage and until 1918 she had collaborated with the troupes of Kyveli and Marika Kotopouli. From 1921 to 1925 she collaborated with the Veakis-Nezer troupe and in 1931 she was hired by the newly established National Theater, where she remained until 1950. In 1926 she lost her husband Konstantinos Moustakas (1883-1926), also an actor, well-known at the time for the role of "Leontari" in Timos Depasta's comedy "Tziotiko Ravaisi". In 1951 she collaborated with Dimitris Rontiris, in 1952-1953 with the Lambetis-Pappas-Horn troupe and from 1953 until her death in 1968 she collaborated again with the National Theater. During her 55 years of complete devotion to theater, Moustaka played countless roles. She emerged as a character actress in a number of works, from light Greek and foreign comedies to tragedies, where she played "nurses" and "maids" with admirable success. In the 1950s and 1960s, she increased her appearances on the big screen, where she adapted her acting skills with characteristic ease. Prominent roles in films include O methystakas (1950) & The Counterfeit Coin (1955) by Giorgos Tzavellas, The Shepherd's Daughter (1955) by Dimis Dadiras, Astero (1959) by Dinos Dimopoulos, A Neighborhood Named 'The Dream' (1961) by Alekos Alexandrakis and Lost Happiness (1966) by Pavlos Tasios, which was also her last appearance on the screen. She debuted on the big screen in 1929 in Dimitris Gaziadis' melodrama The Port of Tears (1929), alongside Aimilios Veakis. Athanasia Moustaka died on July 13, 1968, at the age of 69. Her funeral took place the next day at the 3rd Cemetery of Athens, attended by well-known actors of the time, such as Eleni Hatziargyri, Mary Aroni, Vaso Manolidou, Nikos Tzogias and Rita Myrat. Angelos Terzakis said goodbye to Athanasia Moustaka on behalf of the National Theater and Miranta Myrat on behalf of the Hellenic Actors' Union. Eulogy was delivered by the historian of the modern Greek theater, Giannis Sideris.Greece.
1898 - 1970. (71).
23 credits, 1929-1966. - Tekla Trapszo was born on 23 September 1873 in Kalisz, Poland, Russian Empire [now Kalisz, Wielkopolskie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Mocny czlowiek (1929), Pod Twoja obrone (1933) and Wiatr od morza (1930). She died on 27 October 1944 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.Poland
1873 - 1944. (71).
20 credits, 1911-1939. - Yekaterina Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya was one of Russian theatre's most prolific actresses who survived three Russian revolutions and three wars and performed over 400 roles on stage and in film.
She was born Ekaterina Pavlovna Korchagina on December 23, 1874, in Kostroma, north of Moscow, Russian Empire. Her parents were professional actors, and young Ekaterina Korchagina performed on stage together with her parents, as a child. In 1887 she began her professional career as an actress under the stage name Olgina. At that time she worked with touring troupes, as well, as with permanent troupes of local theatre companies in Arkhangelsk, Mogilev, Tula, Tambov and other Russian cities. In 1883, at age 19, she married a fellow actor Vladimir Aleksandrovsky.
In 1904 she moved to the capital of Russia, St. Petersburg, where she had more chances for her studies, as well, as her acting career. From 1904 - 1907 she was a permanent member of the troupe at Komissarzhevky Theatre in St. Petersburg, then was a permanent member of the troupe at Society of Arts and Literature in St. Petersburg, and also worked with various other tropes in St. Petersburg. From 1915 until the end of her life in 1951, Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya was a permanent member of the troupe at the legendary Aleksandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg (now The Pushkin Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia). She was best known for her stage performances as Lisa in A. Ostrovsky's play 'Groza' (aka... The Storm), and as Snegurochka in 'Snegurochka (aka... The Snowgirl), among her other memorable stage performances.
She made her film debut in the Soviet silent film Komediantka (1923), but there is also a record in her letters that she actually made her film debut in silent films by producer/director Aleksandr Khanzhonkov who initially invited her in his film after seeing her in a stage play during the 1900s, but soon Khanzhonkov changed his mind and said that she is not made for movies, however some of her scenes had been shot, albeit all of her early film scenes had been lost during the turbulent times of the Russian revolution and the Civil War. Her later career in the Soviet Union was highlighted by such film roles as Ulita in period film House of Greed (1934), based on the novel 'Gospoda Golovlevy' by writer Saltykov-Shchedrin, and as Mother Samoylova in _Mother and Sons (1938)_, by directors Mikhail Doller and Vsevolod Pudovkin.
Yekaterina Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya was designated People's Artist of the USSR in 1936. She was awarded the State Prize of the USSR for her works on stage in 1943. She also received numerous awards and decorations for her contribution to the art of theatre and film, including the Order of Lenin (twice), and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. She also made acclaimed radio performances of classic Russian plays during the 1940s. She died on January 15, 1951, and was laid to rest in Tikhvinskoe Cemetery of Aleksander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, Russia.Russia
1874 - 1951, (76). - Matilde Serao was born on 7 March 1856 in Patras, Greece. She was a writer, known for Via delle cinque lune (1942), Temi il leone (1919) and A Levágott kéz (1920). She was married to Edoardo Scarfoglio. She died on 25 July 1927 in Naples, Campania, Italy.Greece. Italy.
1856 - 1927. (71).
Writing Credits, 1916-1977. - Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Beatrice DeMille was born on 30 January 1853 in Liverpool, England, UK. She was a writer and assistant director, known for The Heir to the Hoorah (1916), The Devil-Stone (1917) and Unconquered (1917). She was married to Henry C. DeMille. She died on 8 October 1923 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.UK. USA.
1853 - 1923. (70).
12 writing credits, 1916-1917.- Actress
- Director
Adrienne Solser was born on 18 February 1873 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. She was an actress and director, known for Bet trekt de 100.000 (1926), Bet zit in de penarie (1927) and Bet de koningin van de Jordaan (1924). She was married to Neuman Wittkorver, Louis Joseph Boesnach and Salomon D'Oliveira. She died on 29 November 1943 in Doetinchem, Gelderland, Netherlands.Netherlands.
1873 - 1943. (70).
14 acting credits, 1921-1943.
3 director credits, 1924-1927.- Ferike Boros was born on 2 August 1880 in Nagyvárad, Austria-Hungary [now Oradea, Romania]. She was an actress, known for The Light That Failed (1939), Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) and Bachelor Mother (1939). She died on 16 January 1951 in Hollywood, California, USA.Romania. USA.
1880-1951. (70).
52 credits, 1918-1949. - Consuelo Segarra was born in November 1870 in Madrid, Spain. She was an actress, known for Don Juan Tenorio (1937), The Call of the Blood (1934) and Luponini de Chicago (1935). She was married to Alfredo Macias Carrillo and Emilio Banuet Guerra. She died on 28 April 1946 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico.Mexico.
1875 - 1946. (70).
52 credits, 1933-1947. - Chitose Hayashi was born on 22 August 1892 in Tokyo, Japan. She was an actress, known for Mirai-ka: Zengo-hen (1933), Yama koishi (1920) and Arupusu no hana (1920). She died on 21 August 1962.Japan.
1892 - 1962. (69).
47 credits, 1920-1941. - Lina Cavalieri was born on 25 December 1874 in Viterbo, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress, known for Manon Lescaut (1914), The Eternal Temptress (1917) and The Two Brides (1919). She was married to Lucien Muratore, Robert W. Chanler, Giovanni Campari and Aleksandr Beriatinskij. She died on 7 February 1944 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.Italy.
1874 - 1944. (69).
Credits : 1914-1920. - The Countess of Pardo Bazan was the first female university professor in Spanish history. At the Madrid University, she gave courses in modern literature. She also introduced French naturalism in Spain with the creation of her major novel _Los Pazos de Ulloa_. With over 20 novels and numerous short stories, Emilia Pardo Bazan is considered one of Spain's greatest 'cuentitas'.Spain.
1851 - 1921. (69).
Writing Credits, 1947-1985. - Ouida was born on 1 January 1839 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Under Two Flags (1936), Two Little Wooden Shoes (1920) and Flames of Desire (1924). She died on 25 January 1908 in Viareggio, Italy.
- Sara Nobre was born on 3 May 1896 in Lisbon, Portugal. She was an actress, known for Cala a Boca, Etelvina (1958), Amor de Perdição (1914) and Somos Dois (1950). She died in 1966 in Brazil.Brazil.
1896 - 1966. (69).
Credits : 1914-1965. - Actress
- Art Department
- Production Manager
Karin Swanström was born on 13 June 1873 in Norrköping, Östergötlands län, Sweden. She was an actress and production manager, known for June Night (1940), Kalle Utter (1925) and Flickan i frack (1926). She was married to Stellan Claësson. She died on 5 July 1942 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.Sweden
1873 - 1942. (69).
76 credits, 1921-1942:
50 acting credits
14 art department credits.
6 Director credits.
2 assistant director credits
4 producer credits.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Eiko Miyoshi was born on 8 April 1894 in Tokyo, Japan. She was an actress, known for The Hidden Fortress (1958), No Regrets for Our Youth (1946) and Ikiru (1952). She died on 28 July 1963.Japan
1894 - 1963. (69).
Credits, 1941-1959.- Betty Nansen was born on March 19, 1873. Primarily a stage actress, Betty entered films when she was 36 years old. Her first was in 1909, but she was destined to make only six films total during her career with five of those coming in 1915. After ANNA KARENINA, Betty left films. She died four days before her 70th birthday on March 15, 1943.Denmark
1873 - 1943. (69).
16 credits, 1913-1919. - Maria Forescu was born on January 15, 1875 in Czernowitz, Bukovina, Austria-Hungary [now Chernivtsi, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Peer Gynt (1919), Peer Gynt - 2. Teil: Peer Gynts Wanderjahre und Tod (1919) and He or I (1930). She was married to Harry Piel. She died on October 28, 1947 in Berlin, Germany.Ukraine. Germany.
1875 - 1943. (68).
125 credits, 1913-1933. - Camilla von Hollay was born on 11 July 1899 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. She was an actress, known for Aphrodite (1918), Anastasia, die falsche Zarentochter (1928) and Eleven Who Were Loyal (1926). She was married to Jenõ Szatmári. She died on 9 February 1967 in Budapest, Hungary.Hungary.
1899 - 1967. (67).
55 credits, 1917-1930. - Yoshie Nakagawa was born on 10 February 1886 in Tokyo, Japan. She was an actress, known for A Page of Madness (1926), Dokuso (1931) and The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939). She died on 7 April 1953.Japan.
1886 - 1953. (67).
50 credits, 1921-1939. - Mathilde Sussin was born on 21 September 1876 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for Die Buddenbrooks (1923), Frühlingserwachen (1929) and The Blue from the Sky (1932). She died on 2 August 1943 in Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia [now Terezín, Czech Republic].Austria. Czech Republic.
1876 - 1943. (66).
34 credits, 1916-1932. - Actress
- Writer
Suzanne Marwille was born on 11 July 1895 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress and writer, known for Devce z Podskalí (1922), Ircin románek I. (1921) and Ircin románek II. (1921). She was married to Martin Fric, Gustav Schullenbauera and Frantisek Hess. She died on 14 January 1962 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].Czech Republic.
1895 - 1962. (66).
44 credits, 1918-1938.
8 writing credits.- Hansi Arnstaedt was born on 8 December 1878 in Dresden, Germany. She was an actress, known for The Beggar Student (1931), The Divine Jetta (1937) and Love Must Be Understood (1933). She died on 8 May 1945 in Berlin, Germany.Germany.
1878 - 1945. (66).
44 credits, 1913-1943. - Carolina Invernizio was born on 28 March 1851 in Voghera, Lombardy, Italy. She was a writer, known for Il nano rosso (1917), Satanella (1919) and Piccoli martiri (1917). She died on 27 November 1916 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.Italy.
1851 - 1916. (65).
20 writing credits, 1917-1975. - Actress
- Producer
- Director
Althought most of her career was before the cameras, Mimí Derba is better remembered as the first woman director in Mexico (and perhaps in Latin America). On 1917, when Mexican screens were filled by italian melodramas of "divas", Derba organized one of the very first Mexican production companies: Azteca Films. Practically without previous experience on screen, the actress produced, wrote and performed in two box-office hits: Alma de sacrificio (1917) and En defensa propia (1917). The success of those films persuated her to take the director's chair in Tigresa, La (1917). There's a legend that Azteca Films was a cover-up for General Pablo González, a minister in the cabinet of President Venustiano Carranza and Derba's lover in those years. González was accused of being the mastermind behind a famous gang of robbers called La Banda del Automóvil Gris (The Grey Car Gang) whose assaults were very famous in the Mexico City of 1915. Those events inspired the famous Mexican episodic film Automóvil Gris, El (1919). The mysterious of the source of the incoming money for producing Derba's films was never discovered, but it is certain that, after the scandal of involving González with the gang, activities ceased on Azteca Films and the career of the first woman Mexican director was over. Derba continued acting and made a strong career as a supporting actress in a great number of famous Mexican films. One of her most notorious roles was the bitter grandmother of Evita Muñoz 'Chachita' in Ustedes los ricos (1947).Mexico
1888 - 1953. (65).
72 credits, 1917-1954.- Nobuko Satsuki was born on 13 February 1894 in Saitama, Japan. She was an actress, known for Yotsuya kaidan (1925), Takahashi Oden - Zempen (1926) and Takahashi Oden - Kôhen (1926). She died on 21 July 1959.Japan.
1894 - 1959. (65).
54 credits, 1921-1938. - Tsetsilia Tsutsunava was born on 22 May 1892 in Ozurgeti, Russia [now Georgia]. She was an actress, known for Sami sitsotskhle (1924), Arshaula (1935) and Qristine (1916). She died on 4 September 1956 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia].Georgia. Republic of Georgia.
1892 - 1956. (64).
Credits : 1916-1954. - Felisa Mary was born on 7 March 1892 in Bilbao, Spain. She was an actress, known for Se llamaba Carlos Gardel (1949), La pequeña señora de Pérez (1944) and Papá tiene novia (1941). She was married to Mary, Arseno. She died on 23 August 1956 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Argentina.
1892 - 1956. (64).
43 credits, 1939-1956. - Carmen Cartellieri was born on 28 June 1891 in Prossnitz, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Prostejov, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for The Hands of Orlac (1924), Parema - Das Wesen aus der Sternenwelt (1922) and Kettös álarc alatt (1918). She died on 17 October 1953 in Vienna, Austria.Czech Republic. Austria.
1891 - 1953, (62).
43 credits, 1918-1929. - Lupe Inclán was born in 1895 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She was an actress, known for Allá en el Rancho Grande (1949), Capullito de alhelí (1945) and Lluvia roja (1950). She died on 25 June 1956 in Mexico D.F., Mexico.Mexico.
1895 - 1956. (61).
62 credits, 1941-1957. - Sakai Yoneko was famous for playing the part of strong-willed female characters for which her striking facial features made her ideal. Born in 1898 in Tokyo, she moved into acting at an early age, appearing in George Bernard Show's famous play Umadorobo when she was only twelve. She had a harsh experience at the Geijutsu company where she was treated badly by Matsui Sumako, but she rose above this and in 1920 joined Nikkatsu. She costarred in Tanaka Eizo's films Asahi Sasumae and Nagareyuku Onna, and later played mature roles in Tabino Onna Geinin and Aino Mibojin with Umemura Yoko. Sakai became the leading actress in Nikkatsu samurai films such as Omitsu to Seizaburo under director Murata Minoru, and she is particularly remembered for the role Okinu in the film Kutsukake Tokijiro in which she costarred with Okochi Denjiro. She died in 1958 after a long and successful film career.Japan.
1898 - 1958. (59).
88 credits, 1920-1938. - Elisa Severi was born on 6 April 1872 in Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was an actress, known for Redenzione (1919), Circe moderna (1914) and La contessa Fedra (1914). She died on 26 August 1930 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.Italy.
1872 - 1930. (58).
20 credits, 1913-1921. - Ingeborg Rasmussen was born on 18 October 1868. She was an actress, known for Guldgossen (1912), The Nun (1911) and Den hvide Slavehandels sidste Offer (1911). She died on 4 October 1926.Denmark
1868 - 1926, (57).
24 credits, 1910-1912. - Sarah Duhamel was born on 21 March 1873 in Rouen, Seine-Inférieure [now Seine-Maritime], France. She was an actress, known for Les mystères de Paris (1922), Rosalie n'a pas le choléra (1911) and Le jour de l'an de Rosalie (1911). She died on 15 April 1926 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France.France
1873 - 1926. (53).
62 credits, 1911-1922. - Actress
- Writer
Lina Salten was born on 1 February 1890 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. She was an actress and writer, known for Cornelie Arendt (1920), Zimmer Nummer sieben (1917) and Die Glocken der Katharinenkirche (1918). She died on 15 January 1943 in Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Malopolskie, Poland.Germany. Poland.
1890 - 1943. (52).
25 credits, 1916-1923.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Maria Jacobini was born on 17 February 1892 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress and writer, known for Bohème - Künstlerliebe (1923), Joan of Arc (1913) and Maman Colibri (1929). She was married to Gennaro Righelli. She died on 20 November 1944 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.Italy
1892 - 1944. (52).
101 credits, 1910-1944.- Writer
- Actress
Catalina D'Erzell was born on 29 June 1897 in Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico. She was a writer and actress, known for La razón de la culpa (1943), Alejandra (1942) and En defensa propia (1917). She died on 3 January 1950 in Mexico, D.F., Mexico.Mexico.
1897 - 1950. (52).
Credits : 1917-1939.