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John Keats (31 October 1795 - 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, although his poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. They were indifferently received in his lifetime, but his fame grew rapidly after his death. By the end of the century, he was placed in the canon of English literature, strongly influencing many writers of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; the Encyclopædia Britannica of 1888 called one ode "one of the final masterpieces". Jorge Luis Borges named his first encounter with Keats an experience he felt all his life. Keats had a style "heavily loaded with sensuality's", notably in the series of odes. Typically of the Romantics, he accentuated extreme emotion through natural imagery. Today his poems and letters remain among the most popular and analyzed in English literature - in particular "Ode to a Nightingale", "Ode on a Grecian Urn", "Sleep and Poetry" and the sonnet "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer".Died of tuberculosis in Rome, Italy.
1795-1821 (25 years old)- Writer
- Soundtrack
Born to noble parents (his father Sergei was a retired major, and his mother, Nadezhda, was the granddaughter of an ennobled Ethiopian general) on the 26th of May, 1799 in Moscow, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin became involved with a liberal underground revolutionary group that saw him exiled to the Caucasus.
He spent most of his time there writing poetry and novels. In 1826 Pushkin was pardoned by the Tsar and allowed to return home after six years of exile. He married Natalia Goncharova, whose coquettish behavior led to her husband challenging an admirer of hers to a duel in January 1837. Though both were wounded, only Pushkin died two days later from his injuries.Died in a duel in St. Petersburg, Russia.
1799-1837 (37 years old)- Juliusz Slowacki (French: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 - 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature - a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of modern Polish drama. His works often feature elements of Slavic pagan traditions, Polish history, mysticism and orientalist. His style includes the employment of neologisms and irony. His primary genre was the drama, but he also wrote lyric poetry. His most popular works include the dramas Kordian and Balladyna and the poems Beniowski, Testament Maj and Anhelli.Died in Paris, France.
1809-1849 (39 years old) - Nikolai (Mykola) Gogol was a Russian humorist, dramatist, and novelist of Ukrainian origin. His ancestors were bearing the name of Gogol-Janovsky and claimed belonging to the upper class Polish Szlachta. Gogol's father, a Ukrainian writer living on his old family estate, had five other children. He died when the Gogol was 15. Young Gogol was fond of the drama class at his high school in Nezhin, Ukraine. He was strongly influenced by his religious mother, as well as by the enchanting beauty of the Ukrainian folklore. He also called himself a "free Cossac".
At age 18 Gogol moved to St. Petersburg, became a student, and later a professor of history at the St. Petersburg University. His short stories, set in St. Petersburg, became a success. His play "Revizor" (1836, The Inspector General) had its premiere in St. Petersburg attended by the Tzar Nickolai I. But it also made him many powerful enemies who hated his satire on the corrupt Russian society. It was his friend Alexander Pushkin who suggested to him the subject for "Revizor". Pushkin also suggested the main idea of "The Dead Souls" (1842), a bitter satirical story of a crook, who was buying the names of dead surfs from various greedy landlords, for a tax-evasion scheme. In his other famous story "Shinel" (1842, The Overcoat) a poor clerk is intimidated both by thieves and by the government. Gogol's discontent against the slavery and social injustices in Russia caused him trouble. He escaped to Europe for 12 years, returning to Russia briefly to publish the 1st part of "The Dead Souls".
His religious beliefs were used by the State-controlled Orthodox Church to place guilt on him and to cause interruption of his literary work. In 1848 he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After his return to Russia, he settled in Moscow, where he fell under the control of the fanatical Orthodox priest, Konstantinovskii, who demanded that Gogol quit writing and destroy the manuscript of the 2nd part of "The Dead Souls". Torn by his inner conflict with guilt and being under the pressure from the fanatical priest, Gogol burned his manuscript. He died nine days later in pain without having any food during his last days. In the 1931 excavation of his tomb, his body was found lying face down, which caused suspicion that Gogol was buried alive.
His style involves the elements of the fantastic and grotesque, with the taste for the macabre and absurd, following the tradition of E.T.A. Hoffmann. Fyodor Dostoevsky proclaimed, "We all came out from under his Overcoat", referring to Gogol's influence on Russian writers. Sometimes compared with Franz Kafka, Gogol had such followers, as Yevgeni Zamyatin, Vladimir Nabokov, and Mikhail A. Bulgakov.Died of self-inflicted starvation in Moscow, Russia.
1809-1852 (42 years old) - Charlotte was born 1816, the third of the six children of Patrick Brontë, an Anglican clergyman, and his wife Maria Branwell Brontë. After their mother's death in 1821, Charlotte and her sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, were sent to Cowan Bridge Clergy Daughters' School, which Charlotte would later immortalize as the brutal Lowood school in "Jane Eyre". Conditions at the school were so bad that both Maria and Elizabeth became ill with consumption (tuberculosis) which killed them in 1825. Charlotte was very close to her surviving siblings, Anne Brontë, Branwell, and Emily Brontë. The children invented the imaginary kingdoms of Angria and Gondal, and spent much of their childhood writing poetry and stories about their make-believe realms. In 1846 the three sisters published a collected work of their poetry called, appropriately enough, "Poems", and in 1847 Charlotte published her most famous book, "Jane Eyre", under a male pseudonym, Currer Bell. Charlotte lost her remaining siblings within a brief time -- Branwell from alcoholism and Emily from consumption, both in 1848; Anne also from consumption in 1849. Charlotte was devastated, and became a lifelong hypochondriac. She resided in London, where she made the acquaintance and admiration of William Makepeace Thackeray. In 1854, she married Reverend A. B. Nicholls, curate of Haworth, against her father's wishes. Charlotte found she was pregnant not long after her marriage, and it was felt she would have a difficult pregnancy due to previous ill-health. She died on 31 March 1855.Died of pneumonia in Haworth, England.
1816-1855 (38 years old) - Bozena Nemcová was a Czech writer of the final phase of the Czech National Revival movement. Her image is featured on the 500 CZK denomination of the Ceská koruna. According to the dating up to now accepted by the majority of Czech authors, Bozena Nemcová was born in 1820 as Barbara Pankel (or Barbora Panklová according to the usual Czech name-giving for women) in Vienna as a daughter of Johann Pankel from Lower Austria and Teresie Novotná, a maid of Bohemian origin. In her childhood she lived near the small town of Ratiborice, where her grandmother Magdalena Novotná played an important part in her life. Nemcová would later write her most famous novel with the main character inspired by her grandmother.Died of cancer in Prague, Austria [now Czech Republic].
1820-1862 (41 years old) - Soundtrack
Ethelbert Nevin was born on 25 November 1862 in Edgeworth, Pennsylvania, USA. He died on 17 February 1901 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.Died in New Haven, Connecticut.
1862-1901 (38 years old)- Creston Clarke was born on 20 August 1865 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for The Battle of Ballots (1915). He was married to Adelaide Prince. He died on 21 March 1910 in Asheville, North Carolina, USA.Died of tuberculosis in Asheville, North Carolina.
1865-1910 (44 years old) - Mace Greenleaf began as a stage actor starring and supporting in many popular plays, perhaps his best known roles was as Herbert, the King's Forrester in 'The Prisoner of Zenda' in the 1890's and in 1898 played Mr. Hunston in Sir Arthur Wing Pinero's play 'Trelawny of the Wells' at the Lyceum Theatre in New York, other Broadway performances was in 'The Pride of Jennico' with James K. Hackett at the Citerion Theatre in 1900 and played Myrtle May's lover in 'The Parish Priest'. Over the first decade of the new century played starring roles in stock companies all over America, he returned to Broadway in 1905 to play the Prince of Wales in the romantic musical 'Edmond Burke'. In 1911 he joined the film industry where he would star in at least 20 drama movies, making his debut in The Golden Rule (1911) co-starring James Kirkwood at the Reliance Film Co. He is perhaps best known as Dr. Earl Headley in Alice Guy Blache's Falling Leaves (1912) for the Solax Film Co in 1912. His last film before his sudden death from pneumonia age 38 was in The Girl in the Arm-Chair (1912) with Blanche Cornwall. In 1906 Mace married Lucy Banning in Santa Ana, California, Lucy came from a very wealthy family they owned Catalina Island, she left Mace in 1910 for the son of prominent judge, Mace divorced his beautiful wife on the ground of desertion, Lucy was known as something of a free spirit and often scandalized 'polite society' with the number of men in her life.Died of typhoid pneumonia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1872-1912 (39 years old) - Actress
- Writer
Florence Barker was born on November 22, 1891 in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Norman Barker, was a farmer and she had four siblings. When she was a teenager she began acting with stock companies. She fell in love with actor Joe De Grasse, who was 18 years her senior; they moved in together and he helped guide her career. In 1908 she made her film debut in D.W. Griffith's "An Awful Moment." Over the next three years she appeared in more than 50 films, including "The Course of True Love," "The Diamond Star," and "The Newlyweds" with Mary Pickford. She became one of the first American actresses to make films in Europe. About acting she said "I love the work and would advise any actress to make a try for the pictures. The work is arduous to be sure. No one ever attained success unless it was accomplished by close and concerted application." The talented young actress was signed by Powers Players in 1912. She was given leading roles in the comedies "Her Yesterday" and "The Petticoat Detective." Her performances got good reviews and her future seemed bright. She also wrote the script for her 1912 comedy "Priscilla's Comedy." While visiting her mother in early 1913 she became ill. Tragically, on February 15, 1913 she died from pneumonia at only 21 years old. She was cremated and her ashes were buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.Died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California.
1891-1913 (21 years old)- John R Cumpson was born in Buffalo, New York, one of the youngest in a large family. His father was a blacksmith. In 1887, John R Cumpson was listed in a Buffalo City Directory as a bank clerk, and in the 1890 census as a bookkeeper. He apparently soon set aside ledgers and took up a career in acting. By 1901, he had moved to New York City and had a role on in a drama at the 14th Street Theater, "Upstate New York." By 1905 he was acting in silent film shorts, and by 1908 he was working with D.W. Griffith (who was then just at the beginning of his own career). He most often worked as a comedic character. He played Mr. Jones opposite Florence Lawrence in a series about a hapless couple. He created the role of "Bumptious" for the Edison Studios, and was under contract to Carl Laemmle's company when he died of cardiac dilatation at the age of 46.Died of pneumonia and diabetes in New York, New York.
1866-1913 (46 years old) - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Arthur V. Johnson was born on 2 February 1876 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Beloved Adventurer (1914), Annie Rowley's Fortune (1913) and The Adventures of Dollie (1908). He was married to Maude Webb. He died on 17 January 1916 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.Died of tuberculosis in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1876-1916 (39 years old)- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Mace was a dentist from Erie, Pennsylvania who at one point did some stage stock work for Mack Sennett. Heading west, he worked for Carl Laemmle and Thomas H. Ince before settling back with Sennett. After achieving success as the Chief of the Keystone Kops, he quit Sennett and opened his own company, trying to develop films around his old "One-Round O'Brien" character. After that didn't work out as he planned, Mace moved to Apollo Films. That was also a failure, and he later formed his own company, the Fred Mace Feature Film Company. Unfortunately, the company folded, and Mace returned to Sennett. By that time, however, his popularity had wained, and Mace received few roles over the next two years. He was ultimately found dead in a New York City hotel room, reportedly of a stroke.Died of a stroke in New York, New York.
1878-1917 (38 years old)- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Young Danish Valdemar tried to make a success in the theatre when he first appeared on Casino Teater in 1901. He never succeeded on the stage - his voice didn't sound right! But notices were otherwise kind to him.
Psilander was good-looking, charming and exuding a certain joie-de-vivre. He soon abandoned his plans of becoming an opera singer, preferring the new medium of motion pictures in 1910.
Soon he became a raving hit all over Europe (especially Russia - but never USA) and his exorbitant salary made him the most successful actor at Nordisk Film. In an international vox populi he would even out-shine Asta Nielsen, Henny Porten, Max Linder and other stars.
Psilander believed in having fun. The enormous amounts of money (pre-income tax) he made, was spent on a care-free way of life with friends and colleagues. Marrying actress Edith Buemann (1879-1968) in 1911 made no change to his bon-vivant lifestyle. When they separated in 1916 - after long periods of separations - the marriage settlement made her a very wealthy divorcée and she would always speak and write affectionately of Valdemar until she died - even after four marriages. During this only marriage and after the divorce, he was associated with actress Gudrun Houlberg. They appeared together in "Klovnen", 1917.
During the end of 1916 his salary demands were so outrageous that Nordisk Film had to let him go. He was tired of the same old material and he wanted to form his own production company. After having hired actors, actresses, directors and writers - it all suddenly came to a halt.
He died in his suite at Bristol Hotel, Copenhagen, at the age of 32 - at the pinnacle of his career.
To this very day rumors will insist that Psilander took his own life. In 1917 Nordisk Film would suppress the fact that he HAD died, afraid that the truth might hurt ticket sales.
However, records have shown that Psilander had a severe heart condition involving a lot of medication. Combining this with a stressful career as a burgeoning producer ultimately resulted in a brain hemorrhage.
But like so many others his early death made him even more popular all over Europe.
A notable theater/film colleague had this to say about Psilander: He had a wonderful physique and a splendid face. He was a great charmer and a ladies hero, but his talent was mediocre if not ordinary.
Clara Wieth (1883-1975) - who appeared with him in 11 films - had this to say of Psilander: In front of the camera he would just prance around "putting on airs", but he did it so splendidly with a keen knowledge of camera technique that it was truly believable.Died of brain hemorrhage in Copenhagen, Denmark.
1884-1917 (32 years old)- J. Frank Burke was born on 22 April 1867 in Hartland, Vermont, USA. He was an actor, known for The Iced Bullet (1917), Madcap Madge (1917) and The Italian (1915). He died on 23 January 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died of arteriosclerosis in Los Angeles, California.
1867-1918 (50 years old) - Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph Kaufman was born in 1882 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was a director and actor, known for A Woman Went Forth (1915), The Traveling Salesman (1916) and Shirley Kaye (1917). He was married to Ethel Clayton. He died on 1 February 1918 in New York City, New York, USA.Died of influenza in New York, New York.
1882-1918 (36 years old)- Actor
- Writer
Vernon Castle and his wife Irene Castle were the best known ballroom dancers of the early 20th Century. Beginning about 1914 they operated several clubs and studios in the New York City area, toured the country dancing, and were able to charge as much as a thousand dollars an hour for lessons.
From 1906 through 1913 he appeared in nine Broadway musicals: "The Sunshine Girl", "The Lady of the Slipper", "The Hen-Pecks", "The Summer Widowers", "Old Dutch", "The Midnight Sons", "The Mimic World", "The Girl Behind the Counter", and "About Town." In 1914, he appeared with Irene in the Irving Berlin musical "Watch Your Step." Vernon (as a military flying instructor) was killed in an airplane accident shortly before the end or World War I.
Vernon and Irene were the subjects of the movie The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939).Died in a plane crash in Fort Worth, Texas.
1887-1918 (30 years old)- Thomas V. Emory was born in 1883. He was an actor, known for The Price He Paid (1914). He died on 18 March 1921 in New York City, New York, USA.Died of pneumonia in New York, New York.
1883-1921 (38 years old) - Florence Deshon born to Samuel and Florence C. Danks of Austrian and English descent. She began as a stage actress and appeared opposite Mary Boland in 'My Lady's Dress and in the comedy 'Seven Chances' prior to making her screen debut in 1915's 'The Beloved Vagabond' directed by Edward Jose for Pathe, Florence starred in 24 silent melodrama and crime movies but perhaps her best known was 'The Desired Woman' directed by Paul Scardon and co-starring Harry T. Morey for the Vitagraph Film Company in 1918 and her final film as Sally McTurk in John Francis Dillon's 'The Roof Tree' with William Russell for the Fox Film Co in 1921. She moved to Greenwich Village, New York in hope to resume her film career but on the 4th February she was found unconscious on the third floor of her apartment building, a window was open in her bedroom but illuminating gas flowed from a opened jet, a newspaperwoman, Minnie Morris, found Deshon, an Ambulance took her to Hospital, but attempts to revive her were unsuccessful, she died the following afternoon, adding that the only mystery was why 'with the apartment especially wired for electricity, Miss Deshon should have used the single gas jet in the room and forgotten to turn it off, some say she had no reason to kill herself and that her death was accidental, the New York Medical Examiner concluded her death was accidental but rumors persisted that she might have committed suicide because of grief.Died of illuminant-gas poisoning in New York, New York.
1893-1922 (28 years old) - Actor
- Producer
- Director
One of the first black superstars of popular entertainment, Egbert Austin Williams, although born in the Bahamas, was raised largely in California. Nursing show business aspirations early on, he teamed with boyhood friend George Walker to form a highly successful vaudeville act, which continued until the ravages of syphilis brought about Walker's retirement and premature death in 1909. Two years later, Williams joined the Ziegfeld Follies and experienced perhaps his greatest fame as one of its' star comedians until his death. Although he played the (then) typical stereotype of the slow-witted, dialect-spouting black, and had to wear burnt cork to disguise his true ethnicity, he still managed to project an elan and style that was all his own, gently mocking the various stereotypes even as he was playing them. His recordings on American Columbia records were best-sellers in their time. An intelligent, articulate man privately, he was bitterly disappointed in a society that could applaud him onstage, yet still treat him like a second-class citizen off stage. Although he lived at one of the city's top hotels during his years in New York, he always had to ride the service elevator to his suite rather than come in by the main entrance. Ill health in his last years, primarily hypertension and lung trouble, brought about his early death at the age of only 47, while he was still a headliner. Long and happily married, he and his wife had no children but raised a niece and nephew.Died of pneumonia and heart disease in New York, New York.
1874-1922 (47 years old)- Writer
Czech author Jaroslav Hasek was born in 1883 in Prague, Bohemia (now Czech Republic), which at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father was an alcoholic schoolteacher who was constantly moving the family in search of better paying jobs, and died when Jaroslav was 13. The youngster apprenticed himself to a druggist at 15, but decided that wasn't for him and eventually attended business school. He briefly worked as a bank clerk before taking up a career as a freelance writer and journalist.
In 1907 he became involved in the anarchist movement, which brought him to the attention of the Austrian secret police, resulting in his being arrested and imprisoned several times for his political activities. That same year he met a young woman named Jarmila Mayerova, and the two decided to get married. However, her parents did not approve of him--especially his politics--and would not sanction their marriage. Hasek resolved to distance himself from his political activities and concentrate on his writing in order to win her parents' approval, but when he was arrested for vandalizing an Austrian flag, her parents moved her from Prague far out into the country, hoping that the distance would eventually break up the couple. It didn't work, though, and the two were married in 1910. Unfortunately, it didn't work out and she moved back with her parents in less than a year.
In 1914, on the outbreak of World War I, Hasek was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army and sent to the Russian front. He was captured by the Russians in 1915 and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp, where he contracted typhus, but he eventually recovered. At the camp he was recruited into an outfit called The Czech Legion, a unit put together by the Russians consisting of Czech POWs who agreed to fight the Austrians. At the end of the war he left the Czech Legion but joined the Red Army, mainly as a recruiter and propagandist. In 1920 he remarried, although he was still technically married to Jarmila.
In 1920 he returned to Prague, but his health had severely deteriorated and he was grossly overweight. He began working on a book of his that had originally been published in 1912, called "The Good Soldier Schweik and Other Strange Stories", about the adventures of a good-natured but not particularly bright soldier named Schweik who looked on his army time as basically a lark. He now began to rewrite and add new chapters to the book, giving it a somewhat darker tone due to his own wartime experiences, but his health kept getting worse and he wound up dictating the new chapters to an assistant because he could not actually perform the physical task of writing. He died of heart failure in the Czech village of Lipnice on Jan. 23, 1923. His final work, now called "The Good Soldier Schweik", has become a classic in European literature, and has been successfully adapted on stage and in film many times.Died of heart failure in Lipnice nad Sázavou, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
1883-1923 (39 years old)- Ethel Lloyd was born on 23 March 1886 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Ransom (1916), A Florida Enchantment (1914) and Beauty Unadorned (1913). She was married to Lloyd Hamilton. She died on 12 January 1923 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.Died in Brooklyn, New York.
1886-1923 (36 years old) - Actor
- Director
- Writer
The son of writer-theater producer-director-actor Hal Reid, Wallace was on stage by the age of four in the act with his parents. He spent most of his early years, not on the stage, but in private schools where he excelled in music and athletics. In 1910, his father went to the Chicago studio of "Selig Polyscope Company" and Wallace decided that he wanted to be a cameraman. However, with his athletic good looks, he was often put in front of the camera instead of behind - a situation that he disliked. His first film before the camera was The Phoenix (1910), where he played the role of the young reporter. Wallace preferred to be a cameraman, a writer, a director - anything but an actor. He took his fathers play "The Confession" to Vitagraph where he wanted to write and direct the film. Wallace ended up also acting in it. Starting with bit parts in various films, Wallace was eventually cast as the leading man to Florence Turner in numerous films. Wallace next moved on to "Reliance" where he acted, but also wrote screenplays. His next big move was to Hollywood, where he was hired by Universal director Otis Turner, as assistant director, second cameraman, gopher and scenario writer. It was what he was looking for, but he ended up back in front of the camera. At 20, Reid was an unknown assistant director. In 1913, Wallace married Dorothy Davenport, one of the stars that he both directed and starred with. Although only 17, Dorothy had spent a number of years on the stage before heading to the silver screen. The roles that Wallace played were getting bigger and bigger, but after appearing in over 100 films, he took a salary cut and a small part to work with D.W. Griffith on his milestone film The Birth of a Nation (1915). It was after this film that Jesse L. Lasky signed Wallace to a contract with "Famous Players" and he became a big star, but his dreams of directing and writing ended. An alcoholic for years, this situation worsened. His first film for "Famous Players" was The Chorus Lady (1915). Wallace went on to star in a series of pictures in which he represented all that was best of the ideal American. He had parts in over 60 more pictures including Intolerance (1916) and The Squaw Man's Son (1917). But it was the daredevil auto movies that he was most popular at. Flashing cars, dangerous roads and sometimes a race with a speeding locomotive thrilled and scared the public. His auto pictures included The Roaring Road (1919), Excuse My Dust (1920) and Double Speed (1920). When the U.S. entered World War I, Wallace was 25, six foot one and a crack shot. Even though he wanted to enlist, pressure was exerted on him not to. He was the rock on which "Famous Players" was built and his loss would have materially effect the company. He had a newborn son and was the sole support for his wife, his son, his mother, her mother, his father and also had to consider his status as a matinée idol.
He did volunteer his time to selling Liberty bonds and often opened his house to veterans. His films were financial successes, but in his personal life, he spent money like water. Wallace was a star who was worked continuously by the studio but disaster struck on a film site in Oregon. While making the film The Valley of the Giants (1919), Wallace was involved in a train crash and his injuries prevented him from finishing the film. Unwilling to stop the film, the studio sent the company doctor up to Oregon with a supply of morphine so that he would continue working and not feel the pain of his injury. After the picture was finished, he was needed to begin another so the studio kept supplying Wallace with morphine and he became hooked. Coupled with the alcohol, Wallace never had a chance and by 1922, he started entering a succession of hospitals and sanitariums as his health faded. Making his last film for the studio, Thirty Days (1922), Wallace was barely able to stand, let alone act. He died at the sanitarium, in Dorothy's arms, on the 18th day of January 1923 at the age of only 31. Wallace was the third major Paramount personality to be involved in scandal in 1922.Died of influenza in Los Angeles, California.
1891-1923 (31 years old)- Sidney Mason was born on 26 September 1886 in Paterson, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for Orphan Sally (1922), The Good-Bad Wife (1920) and The Seven Sisters (1915). He was married to Marie Mason (née Van). He died on 1 March 1923 in New York City, New York, USA.Died in New York, New York.
1886-1923 (37 years old) - The beautiful Lillian Drew was born in Chicago in 1886. Lillian became a highly popular musical comedy theatre star from the mid 1900's, often appearing with her husband actor E.H. Calvert. Later Lillian a gorgeous brunette starred in more than 90 drama and comedy films and became known as Lily of the Essanay, she made her first film playing the role of Edith Towne in 'The Broken Heart' with Ruth Stonehouse in 1913, she perhaps best remembered as Elvira in 'The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket' co-starring Gloria Swanson in 1915. In 1920 she suffered a nervous breakdown and appeared in only one more movie 'Children of Jazz' directed by Jerome Storm and starring Ricardo Cortez at Famous Players Film Co in 1923. At the time of her death in February 1924 she was recovering from both a car crash and a difficult breakup with her husband. Lily dead in Chicago age 38 from veronal poisoning, the death was eventually ruled an accidentDied of veronal poisoning in Chicago, Illinois.
1883-1924 (41 years old) - Actor
- Director
Billy Armstrong was born on 14 January 1891 in Bristol, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for The Bank (1915), Up in Alf's Place (1919) and Down on the Farm (1920). He was married to Marion Parker. He died on 1 March 1924 in Sunland, California, USA.Died of tuberculosis in Sunland, California.
1891-1924 (33 years old)- Pell Trenton was born on 29 August 1883 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Fair and Warmer (1919), The Joyous Liar (1919) and The Adventurer (1917). He died on 3 March 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died of pulmonary tuberculosis in Los Angeles, California.
1883-1924 (40 years old) - Barney Bernard was born on 17 August 1876 in Rochester, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Potash and Perlmutter (1923), Phantom Fortunes (1916) and A Prince in a Pawnshop (1916). He was married to Rose Francis. He died on 21 March 1924 in New York City, New York, USA.Died of bronchial pneumonia in New York, New York.
1876-1924 (47 years old) - Shorty Hamilton was born on 9 September 1879 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Denny from Ireland (1918), It Happened Out West (1923) and The Snail (1918). He was married to Ethel Spurgint (actress). He died on 7 March 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died in a car crash in Los Angeles, California.
1879-1925 (45 years old) - Lucille Ricksen was born Ingeborg Erickson in Chicago, Illinois on August 22, 1910. She worked a child model and made her film debut at age 5. Her parents separated and her mother took her to Hollywood in 1920, and 10-year-old Lucille was offered a contract with Samuel Goldwyn and starred in a series of short films. She often had to work long hours but she always said she was having fun. In 1922 she starred opposite Marie Prevost in "The Married Flapper." The following year she was given a starring role in the drama "The Rendezvous"; although she was only 13, the studio lied that she was actually 16. The press called her "the youngest leading lady in movies". Lucille developed a close relationship with producer Sydney Chaplin (brother of Charlie Chaplin), who was 25 years her senior. She became one of Hollywood's busiest starlets and was chosen as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars.
In 1924 Ricksen made 10 films, including "Vanity's Price," "The Galloping Fish," and "The Valley Of The Wolf." Unfortunately, the 14-year-old started to suffer from exhaustion and malnutrition. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis and became bedfast. Her mother kept a bedside vigil, but the stress brought on a fatal heart attack. Following her mother's death, Lucille was looked after by family friends including actress Lois Wilson. During one of her conscious moments Lucille said "Mother wouldn't want me--die--Mother said--Wonderful future--Going to do big things--Won't die! I won't!" But on March 13, 1925, she passed away from complications of tuberculosis, still at only 14 years old. There were rumors that her death had actually been caused by a botched abortion. Lucille was cremated and she was buried with her mother at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California. Her final film, "The Denial," came out 10 days after her death.Died of tuberculosis in Los Angeles, California.
1910-1925 (14 years old) - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Dan Russell was born James Charles Dunn in England in 1875. His family moved to the United States when he was a child. He started his career in vaudeville with his wife Blanche O'Neill, He left her in for seventeen year old actress Marjorie Ray. They were married in 1909 and had a son, James E Dunn, that December. Tragically the baby died when he was five months old. Dan was hired by LK-O studios in 1915 and became a popular comedian. He made at least six films with his wife Marjorie Ray. Unfortunately by 1921 the couple had divorced. Dan died in March of 1925 following an ulcer operation in Texas.Died in Dallas, Texas.
1875-1925 (49 years old)- Actress
- Writer
Barbara La Marr was born in Yakima, Washington, on July 28, 1896, as Reatha Watson. Her childhood was mostly uneventful, mainly because Yakima--today a medium-sized city with a population of over 50, 000-wasn't exactly a beehive of activity. Her parents eventually moved to the Los Angeles area, where she began to explore the show business lifestyle in whatever form she could. Barbara loved the L.A. way of living and was forced to grow up fast. She was still Reatha at the time, but her arrest for dancing in burlesque while still a teen caused her to change her name to Barbara La Marr to avoid being associated with her past. Her passion was dancing and writing, but the powers-that-be in the movie industry thought she was meant for other things--her dazzling beauty captured the imagination of all who came across her path. Moving to New York, she was ultimately lured into the film world, her first picture being Harriet and the Piper (1920). She was still going by her married name of Barbara Deely (already working to shed her fourth husband) and was being dubbed "The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful." The next year she appeared in The Three Musketeers (1921) and Desperate Trails (1921). That same year, her role as Claudine Dupree in The Nut (1921) sent Barbara into super-stardom. Hordes of fans flocked to theaters to see this beautiful actress in movies such as Arabian Love (1922), Trifling Women (1922), Domestic Relations (1922) and The Prisoner of Zenda (1922) whose beauty kept them enthralled. In 1923, she kept up her frenzied filming pace with such pictures as Poor Men's Wives (1923), The Brass Bottle (1923) and Souls for Sale (1923). The public adored her, as evidenced by the volumes of fan mail she received, but Barbara was more interested in the late-night partying she was involved with. The combination of alcohol and drugs was, clearly, beginning to wear her down. She made four films in 1924 and three in 1925. Her last picture was The Girl from Montmartre (1926). On February 2, 1926, Barbara died of tuberculosis in Altadena, California. Her demise was, no doubt, brought about by her constant late-night partying. She had lived a lifetime and had made 30 films, but was only 29 when she died.Died of tuberculosis and nephritis in Altadena, California.
1896-1926 (29 years old)- Actress
Cécile Guyon was born on 4 December 1890 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for Sapho (1912), Les filles du saltimbanque (1912) and L'enfant prodigue (1916). She was married to Henri Bosc. She died on 29 January 1927 in Paris, France.Died in Paris, France.
1890-1927 (36 years old)- Emily Stevens was born in New York, New York on February 27, 1882. Her father was Robert E. Stevens, a stage director and who later co-directed a film in 1919 called OUT OF THE FOG. Emily, herself, began her career as a stage actress and at the age of 33 appeared for the first on celluloid in the film CORA where she had the lead role. Later that year Emily played a dual role in THE HOUSE OF TEARS. Because of the fact she started at an older age, Emily's services were not in high demand by the movie executives or the movie public. Her final film was 1920's THE PLACE OF THE HONEYMOONS when she was 38. On January 2, 1928, Emily died of a heart attack, in the city of her birth. She was 46 years old.Died of an overdose of sedatives in New York, New York.
1882-1928 (45 years old) - Claude France was born on 9 March 1893 in Emden, Germany. She was an actress, known for Le père Goriot (1921), Le bossu (1925) and Le berceau de dieu (1926). She died on 3 January 1928 in Paris, France.Died of a suicide by gas inhalation in Paris, France.
1893-1928 (34 years old) - Marc McDermott was born Marcus Patrick McDermott in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, on July 24, 1871. His father Patrick James McDermott and mother Annie Massey McDermott were born in Ireland, and Marc later became an English citizen when he moved to London. His younger sister May, was born in Australia in 1881. He received his early education at a Jesuit school in Sydney. When Marc was 15, his father died suddenly. To support his mother and little sister, Marc joined a small local theater company. A year later, he was discovered by the famous Shakespearean actor George Rignold and made his first appearance on the stage in Sydney. He stayed with the company for several years, learning his craft. When Rignold's company departed for London, Marc quickly caught the eye of Charles Frohman, a New York agent and producer, whose clients included Mrs. Patrick Campbell, the first lady of the London stage. Tall with thick auburn hair and dark brown eyes, Marc cut an impressive figure. Mrs. Pat, as she was called, chose the 20-year-old to be her leading man. The company sailed to the US and landed in New York, where he played opposite her as Sir George Orreyed in "The Second Mrs. Tanqeray." The company returned to London, where he was hired by Frohman to play "Sherlock Holmes" in London for two years. For the next several years, Marc became a celebrated West End actor. In 1906, he accepted Frohman's offer to sail to New York and join the company of the great classical actor Richard Mansfield. He toured the US for several years, and in 1909 was approached by Charles Brabin, a fellow stage actor (and soon to be director) who was working at Thomas Edison's film studio in the Bronx. Marc was quickly hired to appear as a featured player, replacing Maurice Costello, who had moved to Vitagraph. His first film was Les Misérables (1909), followed by Lochinvar (1909) (Lochinvar was released first but he filmed "Les Miserables" prior to it). From 1909 through the summer of 1916, he starred in over 140 films for Edison, appearing frequently in popular early film magazines like Photoplay, Motion Picture, and Moving Picture World, voted as one of the most popular leading men during these years. In 1911, Marc costarred with Mary Fuller in Edison's first popular series "What Ever Happened to Mary?" Another favorite leading lady of Marc's was Miriam Nesbitt, who was eight years his senior. Their on-screen romance soon grew into a real-life love affair. On April 7, 1914, Marc made film history when he appeared in the first-ever "chapter" series; each chapter was a complete story in and of itself. The 10-chapter series was titled The Man Who Disappeared (1914), and was filmed on location in New York and New Jersey. Each printed chapter story was featured in "Popular Magazine" as each filmed chapter simultaneously appeared on the screen. As Marc told "Motion Picture" writer Gladys Roosevelt, he did all his own stunts, including driving an automobile into the icy East River, fighting a villain on top of a NYC skyscraper that was actually being built at the time, and being handcuffed to the railroad tracks. On April 20, 1916, Marc and Miriam married in Leonia, New Jersey. By this time, he had made more than 140 films. Later that year, Marc left the Edison Studio to join his best friends Charles Brabin and Ashley Miller at the Vitagraph Studio, where he starred in a number of films. In 1918, Marc moved to Fox Films in New York to star with Theda Bara in "Kathleen Mavourneen," directed by Charles Brabin, who would soon marry his star. Marc left Fox in 1920 to freelance, appearing with Norma Talmadge in "The New Moon." He then costarred with Estelle Taylor in "While New York Sleeps," with Brabin working as both writer and director. Another director friend from his Vitagraph days, John Robertson, directed him in "Footlights" (1921) with Elsie Ferguson. In 1922, his marriage began to unravel when Miriam discovered some love letters to actress Helen Gilmore and filed for a separation. The New York Times reported that he was arrested on August 11 and held in Ludlow Street Jail until he was released after paying $5,000 in bail. Marc left to visit his older brother's family, who had settled in Lowell, Massachusetts. After appearing in a vaudeville skit, he boarded a train in Boston and headed to Hollywood. Marc immediately went to work for Fox Films in "Hoodman Blind" directed by John Ford. At Warner Bros., he appeared in "Lucretia Lombard" with Irene Rich, Monte Blue, and Norma Shearer, which was produced by Harry Rapf. Marc next appeared with Florence Lawrence, the Biograph Girl, in "The Satin Girl." When M-G-M was formed in 1924, Marc was contracted to appear in their very first film, "He Who Gets Slapped." The cast included Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, and John Gilbert. Mary Pickford, an old friend from his New York days, cast him in "Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall" as Sir Malcolm Vernon. Another director friend, Marshall "Micky" Neilan, directed. Marc was in high demand at different studios for the next two years: "In Every Woman's Life" and "Siege" both with Virginia Valli; "This Woman" with Irene Rich, Ricardo Cortez, and Clara Bow in a minor role; and "The Sea Hawk" with Milton Sills, Enid Bennett, and Wallace Beery. At Universal Pictures in 1925, he appeared in "The Goose Woman" with Louise Dresser, Jack Pickford, and Constance Bennett. The film was directed by his friend Clarence Brown. Once again, Norma Talmadge cast him as the villain in "Graustark." In 1926, Marc was busy at M-G-M playing in both "The Temptress" with Greta Garbo and Antonio Moreno and "Flesh and the Devil" with Garbo and John Gilbert. One of his favorite costars was Greta Nissen, with whom he appeared in "The Love Thief" for Universal and "Lucky Lady" for Paramount. Norma Talmadge tapped his talent once again for "Kiki," a saucy little comedy with Ronald Coleman. During 1927, Marc starred in several M-G-M films, including "California" with Tim McCoy and Dorothy Sebastian, directed by W.S. "Woody" Van Dyke; and "Man, Woman and Sin" with Jeanne Eagels and John Gilbert, directed by Monta Bell. When the newly formed Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences held their first meeting at the Biltmore Hotel's Crystal Ballroom on May 11, 1927, Marc was among the 230 pioneer members in attendance. His name appears in the program listing of 102 actors. Later that year, his old friend John Robertson recruited him for "The Road to Romance" with Ramon Navarro and Marceline Day, and he also appeared in "Taxi Dancer" with Joan Crawford, as well as "Resurrection" with Rod La Rocque and Dolores Del Rio at United Artists. In 1928, during a vaudeville tour to Chicago, Marc became ill and returned to Hollywood to recuperate. His next film for M-G-M was "Under the Black Eagle" directed by Woody Van Dyke. For "Glorious Betsy" at Warner Bros., some Vitaphone talking sequences were included. The film starred Dolores Costello, the beautiful wife of John Barrymore and daughter of Maurice Costello, whom Marc had replaced at Vitagraph back in 1916. First National cast Marc in "The Yellow Lily" starring the lovely Bessie Dove. His last two films were "The Mysterious Island" shot in Technicolor with black and white sequences. Vitaphone sound sequences, a musical score, and sound effects were later added. Marc's old friend Charles Brabin directed him in his last film, "The Whip," which starred Dorothy Mackaill, Ralph Forbes, and Anna Q. Nilsson. During filming, Variety reported that Marc became very ill from ptomaine poisoning, lapsed into a three-month coma, and died from a gallbladder operation. However, Dr. E.F. Miller wrote on the death certificate that he had attended to Marc at home for eight months and then in the hospital from December 5, 1928 until his death at 5:20 a.m. on January 5, 1929. Further, he stated that no operation had preceded his death. The diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver was confirmed by clinical and laboratory tests performed on January 6. His body was cremated at the Hollywood Crematory, and his ashes were placed in a crypt in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, where the brass plaque reads: Marcus McDermott, 1881-1929 (his correct birth date is 1871 according to his will and Australian birth records). His untimely death coincided with the death of silent films.Died of cirrhosis of the liver in Glendale, California.
1881-1929 (47 years old) - Casson Ferguson was born on 29 May 1891 in Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Secret Service (1919), Grumpy (1923) and Her Reputation (1923). He was married to Inez Geraldine Griffin and Catherine Mallon. He died on 12 February 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California.
1891-1929 (37 years old) - Actor
- Director
- Producer
Silent-film star William Russell was born in the Bronx, New York, in the late 1880s (various sources give it as 1884, 1886 and 1889). His mother, Clara, was a highly regarded stage actress. Russell studied law at Fordham University (and, some sources say, Harvard University). He started a law practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but it wasn't particularly successful. He tried a variety of other jobs--including bookmaker and boxing instructor--before deciding to give the stage a shot. He had actually been a fairly successful child actor on the stage, and after re-entering the profession as an adult, he found himself acting with Ethel Barrymore in "Cousin Kate" on Broadway. Russell kept busy as a stage actor, appearing with many of the top stars of the day, including Chauncey Olcott and Cathrine Countiss. He toured the country in various stock productions.
His film career began at Biograph in 1910 with "The Roman Slave", directed by D.W. Griffith. He stayed almost a year at Biograph, although he was used mostly in small parts. In 1910 he left Biograph for Thanhouser. There he became a star, and Thanhouser put him in quite a few of its productions. His brother Albert Russell also appeared in several of his films.
In 1913 Russell left Thanhouser to return to Biograph, but later that year he again left Biograph to go back to Thanhouser. He finally left Thanhouser and worked for a variety of studios, both major and minor, over the next several years. In 1917 he married actress Charlotte Burton, but it ended in divorce four years later. From 1916-20 he worked for American Film Co., appearing in The Torch Bearer (1916), The Strength of Donald McKenzie (1916) and The Man Who Would Not Die (1916), among others. In 1919 he formed his own production company, William Russell Productions, and produced and appeared in This Hero Stuff (1919), directed by Henry King. He freelanced at studios as varied as Fox Films and Victor. In the 1920s he decided to move to Hollywood after having spent much of his life in New York City. He married actress Helen Ferguson, and that marriage lasted until his death in Beverly Hills, California, on February 18, 1929, from pneumonia.Died of pneumonia in Beverly Hills, California.
1884-1929 (44 years old)- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Emilio Ghione was born on 30 July 1879 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor and director, known for Il castello di bronzo (1920), I topi grigi (1918) and Za-la-Mort (1915). He died on 7 January 1930 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.Died of tuberculosis in Rome, Italy.
1879-1930 (50 years old)- Dorothy Seastrom was born Dorothy Susan Seastrunk on March 17, 1903 in Dallas, Texas. Her father, Preston Seastrunk, was a bookkeeper. When she was a teenager she won a beauty contest and briefly lived in Chicago. Dorothy moved to Los Angeles and started dancing at Ambassador Hotel. She made her film debut in the 1923 western The Call Of The Canyon. Then she was Lloyd Hamilton's leading lady in the short films King Cotton and Hooked. Her taffy colored hair earned her the nickname "The Candy Kid". Producer Paul Bern gave her a small part in his film A Mannequin Of Paris. She also posed for sculptor Finn Hakon Frolich who said she was "the most beautiful girl in the world". On October 18, 1924 she married actor and director Francis Corby. The couple decided to keep their marriage a secret from the press.
While filming We Moderns in 1925 she was nearly disfigured when a broken light fell on her. Dorothy's big break came when she was offered a contract with First National. Unfortunately there was a weight clause which forced her to go on a starvation diet. The petite actress came down with tuberculosis in the Fall of 1925 and was sent to a sanitarium for six months. Newspapers falsely reported that she had a nervous breakdown. When she recovered she appeared in the comedy It Must Be Love. It would be her final film. Her health continued to decline and she decided to return home to Texas. In 1930 she contracted influenza that quickly developed into pneumonia. Tragically on January 31, 1930 she died at the young age of twenty-six. Dorothy was buried at Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas.Died of tuberculosis in Dallas, Texas.
1903-1930 (26 years old) - Actress
- Director
- Writer
Mabel Normand was one of the comedy greats of early film. In an era when women are deemed 'not funny enough' it seems film history has forgotten her contributions. Her films debuted the Keystone Cops, Charlie Chaplin's tramp and the pie in the face gag. She co-starred with both Chaplin and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in a series of shorts. She was a star in the first Keystone Comedy as well as the first feature film comedy. She was the only comedian to work with Charles Chaplin , Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Mack Sennett, D.W. Griffith, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, Hal Roach, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Fred Mace, Fred Sterling and John Bunny (she and Buster Keaton never had a chance to work together but they were friends.)
Born in Staten Island, New York to Claude and Mary Normand. Normand started out as an artist model for Charles Dana Gibson (creator of the Gibson girl). Friends suggested she try out for the new medium of film and she did, working as an extra in Kalem and Biograph shorts. With Biograph's move to California she went to work for Vitagraph where she made a series of comedic shorts as 'Betty', one co-starring the first comedy film star John Bunny.
Eventually Normand returned to Biograph where she began working with Mack Sennett on comedic shorts that would eventually turn into Keystone Comedies. Normand and Sennett were lovers, close friends and close co-workers. All of Sennett's early ideas seemed to revolve around Normand. His creation of Keystone was contingent on Normand joining him; and though he would underpay her as he underpaid everyone he worked with, he insisted Normand have credit and say in the company. When Normand eventually left Keystone for Goldwyn, Sennett left soon after.
By 1912 Normand was writing her own films and by 1914 she was directing her films. By this point she was a major star, continually topping fan polls by new movie magazines. While the discovery of Charlie Chaplin varies from telling to telling, everyone involved agreed Sennett would not have hired (or kept him on) had it not been for Normand. Chaplin's second short for the company was Normand's "Mabel's Strange Predicament" which she starred and directed in. This was the first film Chaplin created his iconic tramp character for.
Chaplin and Normand had a comedic chemistry and would go on to team in a series of shorts until Chaplin left Keystone in 1915. As Chaplin's star rose many fan magazines began to call Normand a 'female Chaplin'. Normand and Chaplin had similar subtle mannerisms and the influence Normand had on Chaplin can not be understated. Before Chaplin left Keystone, they starred, alongside Marie Dressler, in "Tillie's Punctured Romance" the first full length comedy film.
With the loss of Chaplin, Normand and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle began to team together in a series of shorts (though they had acted together before). This series was also popular and the pair continued acting together until they both left Keystone for better pay.
Sennett and Normand became engaged around this time, though the engagement ended when Sennett was caught cheating on Normand. Friends report she suffered a severe head injury when Sennett's fling threw a vase at Normand's head. Those who knew Normand all believed Sennett was the love of her life; and she his. However they would never reconcile romantically. Sennett did convince Normand to create her own production company "Mabel Normand Film Company" to make her own features. The first project was "Mickey" and Sennett's handling of her business affairs resulted in the film not being released until 1918 (or having a definite version).
Normand dissolved the company and signed with Goldwyn where she went on to make comedy features. These movies would be more akin to sitcoms: they were shorter than a lot of features, but still features. Many are lost though several have turned up in the past 10 years.
Normand once again signed with Sennett to make features and this would result in her final feature films. However this would be a rocky venture. Normand's health was hit or miss (she had been diagnosed with tuberculosis when she was 10) and seemed to be worse than better. She also was drinking heavily. In 1922 her friend William Desmond Taylor was murdered. This case would become 'the case of the century' and became a media circus, it is still unsolved. Though Normand was cleared (she had been seen leaving his house with him waving goodbye to her; she was likely the last person to see him alive), the association left an unwelcome tarnish on her soon after the scandalous death of her friend Olive Thomas, and the unfair trial of Roscoe Arbuckle.
Normand continued working, making The Extra Girl. Soon after its release in 1923 she was again near another crime (a butler was shot at a party she attended; though he survived.) Soon after Normand took a break from film.
By 1926 Normand was ready for a comeback. She signed with Hal Roach to make comedy shorts. These were well received and by 1928 she had signed with the William Morris Agency to make talkies. However she did not realize how sick she was and her health soon interrupted these plans.
Over the years Normand's tuberculosis has turned into rumors of a drug addiction. This started during the Taylor scandal when it was claimed that maybe he had been killed for interrupting a drug ring, and maybe Normand was part of it. While not prominent during her life it has become more commonly believed as time has passed despite no evidence. Normand's family, estate and personal nurse were all adamant she had never used any drugs. Sadly this rumor has become common place in Hollywood lore.
Normand's drinking increased as did her partying. During one party she decided to marry longtime friend Lew Cody at 2am. She instantly regretted the marriage and they continued living separately. As Normand's health decreased and she was committed to a sanitarium (akin to a hospital/hospice in modern terms) by 1929. She died in 1930 from tuberculosis.Died of tuberculosis in Monrovia, California.
1892-1930 (37 years old)- David Herbert Lawrence was born in Nottinghamshire, England, 11 September 1885. His father was a coal miner, his mother a genteel woman who sought education and refinement for her son. Lawrence earned a university degree and taught school for a short time. While still a student he began to publish his poems and short stories. He fell in love with the wife of a professor, Frieda von Richthofen Weekley. She eloped with Lawrence, abandoning her husband and three small children. Lawrence's pet themes of myth, freedom, redemption, the difficulty and necessity of emotional, erotic expression and the inevitable torments of family relationships occupied him throughout his life. Eventually, there would be accusations of obscenity, his novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover" being the most prominent example.Died of tuberculosis in Vence, France.
1885-1930 (44 years old) - Hjalmar Bergman was born on 19 September 1883 in Örebro, Örebro län, Sweden. He was a writer, known for The Hell Ship (1923), Hans nåds testamente (1919) and Flickan i frack (1926). He was married to Stina Bergman. He died on 1 January 1931 in Berlin, Germany.Died of a suicide by morphine overdose in Berlin, Germany.
1883-1931 (47 years old) - Actor
- Stunts
- Location Management
Art Acord was born on 17 April 1890 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor, known for Set Free (1927), The Set-Up (1926) and Winners of the West (1921). He was married to Edna Nores, Edythe Sterling and Louise Lorraine. He died on 4 January 1931 in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico.Died of cyanide poisoning in Chihuahua, Mexico.
1890-1931 (40 years old)- A graduate of the Notre Dame academy at Roxbury, Massachusetts, Ethel began her career as a classical dancer working under the direction of Belasco and the Shuberts. She began her career on the stage at two years of age, later being going to New York to pursue a career on the stage. On Broadway she appeared in "The Lily" with Julia Dean, "The Only Son," "Search Me" with Montagu Love and "Honor Be Damned!" with William Courtleigh. Ethel made her screen debut in 1914 and went on to play roles as society women. Although in 1922 she did play the role of Calamity Jane opposite William S. Hart and it was around this time, her career started to slip. She died from an illness she'd suffered for over a year.Died of an illness in Hollywood, California.
1882-1931 (48 years old) - Alma Rubens was born Alma Genevieve Reubens in San Francisco, California. She was interested in entertaining at an early age. Like most young girls, she enjoyed fantasy play acting and by the time she was 19 had become a full-fledged star. She didn't have to wait long like some of the starlets who haunted casting offices continually. Her break came in 1916 in the film Reggie Mixes In (1916). Six more films followed that year, and she won critical acclaim in The Half-Breed (1916). In 1917 she again starred in a box-office smash, The Firefly of Tough Luck (1917). She became a busy young actress with role after role and hit after hit. In 1924, as Mildred Gower, she performed magnificently in The Price She Paid (1924). After a busy 1925, Alma suddenly found it difficult to obtain work, but it was not because her star had suddenly dimmed--it was because of her addiction to heroin. The money she made dwindled away in search of the next high. She was in and out of mental asylums, but it didn't really help much because she was still dabbling in drugs. Weakened by her habit, she died in Los Angeles in 1931, of pneumonia. She was less than a month away from her 34th birthday. Her final two films were two years earlier, Show Boat (1929) and She Goes to War (1929).Died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California.
1897-1931 (33 years old) - Actor
- Writer
- Director
It was Lionel Barrymore who gave Louis Wolheim (Cornell '07) his start as an actor. Wolheim had had his face more or less smashed in and his nose nicely fractured while playing on a scrub Cornell football team. Later as a Cornell Instructor he found life none too easy. He had worked off and on as an extra in the Wharton studio but never received much attention. Barrymore had only to look at him once to realize that Wolhelm's face was his fortune. Through Barrymore, Wolheim gained an entree into New York theatrical life. On the legitimate stage he made a great success in "Welcome Wing" and "The Hairy Ape," climaxing these plays by his triumph in "What Price Glory". ~ Cornell Daily Sun, Issue 70, 5 January 1932, Page 2Died of stomach cancer in Los Angeles, California.
1880-1931 (50 years old)- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Lupu Pick was born on 2 January 1886 in Iasi, Iasi, Romania. He was an actor and director, known for The Armored Vault (1926), Die tolle Heirat von Laló (1918) and Die Liebe des Van Royk (1918). He was married to Edith Posca. He died on 7 March 1931 in Berlin, Germany.Died of gastric poisoning in Berlin, Germany.
1886-1931 (45 years old)- Director
- Writer
- Producer
F.W. Murnau was a German film director. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at the age of 12, and became a friend of director Max Reinhardt. During World War I he served as a company commander at the eastern front and was in the German air force, surviving several crashes without any severe injuries.
One of Murnau's acclaimed works is the 1922 film Nosferatu, an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Although not a commercial success due to copyright issues with Stoker's novel, the film is considered a masterpiece of Expressionist film.
He later emigrated to Hollywood in 1926, where he joined the Fox Studio and made three films: Sunrise (1927), 4 Devils (1928) and City Girl (1930). The first of these three is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made.
In 1931 Murnau travelled to Bora Bora to make the film Tabu (1931) with documentary film pioneer Robert J. Flaherty, who left after artistic disputes with Murnau, who had to finish the movie on his own. A week prior to the opening of the film Tabu, Murnau died in a Santa Barbara hospital from injuries he had received in an automobile accident that occurred along the Pacific Coast Highway near Rincon Beach, southeast of Santa Barbara. Only 11 people attended his funeral. Among them were Robert J. Flaherty, Emil Jannings, Greta Garbo and Fritz Lang, who delivered the eulogy.
Of the 21 films Murnau directed, eight are considered to be completely lost.
In July 2015 Murnau's grave was broken into, the remains disturbed and the skull removed by persons unknown. Wax residue was reportedly found at the site, leading some to speculate that candles had been lit, perhaps with an occult or ceremonial significance. As this disturbance was not an isolated incident, the cemetery managers are considering sealing the grave.Died in a car crash in Santa Barbara, California.
1888-1931 (42 years old)- Louis John Bartels was born on 19 October 1895 in Bunker Hill, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Nothing But the Truth (1929), Sin Takes a Holiday (1930) and The Florodora Girl (1930). He was married to Martha Wood. He died on 4 March 1932 in Hollywood, California, USA.Died of a stomach disease in Hollywood, California.
1895-1932 (36 years old) - Actor
- Director
- Producer
Nepotism certainly has had its advantages in Hollywood, none more so than in the cinematic career of Jack Pickford, whose famous older sis, "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford, saw to it that Jack had every advantage her star weight could muster. In Jack's case, it only added fuel to a self-starting tragic fire.
The youngest of three children, if Jack was christened with the extremely common name of John (aka Jack) Smith, his life would resemble anything but. Born in Toronto, Canada, on August 18, 1896, his middle sister was minor actress Lottie Pickford (née Charlotte Smith, (1893-1936)). Both younger children were prompted by their actress/mother, Charlotte Smith, to follow Mary (née Gladys Louise Smith) into show business after her husband (also John Charles Smith), an alcoholic, deserted the family.
A child actor on the theatre stage, it was Mary who got both her baby brother and baby sister into the Biograph film company as steady fixtures starting in 1909. They all appeared in scores of short films for D.W. Griffith -- Jack's list included Wanted, a Child (1909), To Save Her Soul (1909), The Smoker (1910), Muggsy Becomes a Hero (1910), Sweet Memories (1911), As a Boy Dreams (1911), The Speed Demon (1912), Heredity (1912), The Sneak (1913) and Home, Sweet Home (1914). Lottie had her own lead pictures, including The Pilgrimage (1912) and They Shall Pay (1921). Mary, Jack and Lottie all appeared together in the films Sweet Memories (1911) and Fanchon, the Cricket (1915), among others. Jack occasionally worked for other film companies, as he did when he played the title role in Giovanni's Gratitude (1913) for Reliance; and starred in The Making of Crooks (1915), The Hard Way (1916), The Conflict (1916) and Cupid's Touchdown (1917) for Selig Polyscope,
Jack followed along with sister Mary when she left Biograph and moved to the Famous Players Film Company (later Paramount Pictures) in 1914, and proved a personable light leading man. When Mary signed her famous million-dollar contract with First National in 1917, one of her stipulations was that Jack receive a lucrative contract as well. He appeared with Mary in such films as A Girl of Yesterday (1915) and Poor Little Peppina (1916), and starred on his own as lovelorn Bill Baxter in Seventeen (1916); as Pip in Great Expectations (1917); as Jack in The Dummy (1917); and as Tom Sawyer in both Tom Sawyer (1917) and Huck and Tom (1918); as well as the title roles in His Majesty, Bunker Bean (1918), Mile-a-Minute Kendall (1918) and Sandy (1918) (all co-starring lovely Louise Huff, and the films Freckles (1917), The Girl at Home (1917), What Money Can't Buy (1917) and Jack and Jill (1917).
The young man, however, just couldn't stay out of trouble. A 1918 stint in the Navy Reserve to straighten up proved disastrous when Jack, among others, was accused of accepting bribes from draftees who wanted light shore duty and stay out of front-line action. With the help of his family, he avoided a court martial, was exonerated and received a general discharge -- more than he deserved.
Earning a modicum of naïve "boy-next-door" success, Jack went on to produce a few of his own films (Burglar by Proxy (1919), Garrison's Finish (1923) and In Wrong (1919)), as well as co-direct (with Alfred E. Green) a couple of Mary's films (Through the Back Door (1921) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921)). Some of Jack's better silents during the "Roaring 20's" included The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1920), The Man Who Had Everything (1920), Waking Up the Town (1925), The Goose Woman (1925), Brown of Harvard (1926) and the classic Beatrice Lillie backstage comedy vehicle Exit Smiling (1926) as a young leading man of the troupe.
Tragically, Jack's obsessive taste for the high life quickly took over. A ne'er-do-well playboy and constant carouser, his scandalous private life aroused more public interest than his on-camera work in light romantic films. He picked up severe alcohol, drug and gambling addictions to accommodate his partying decadence with bouts of syphilis adding to the complications. Jack's wedded life was anything but blissful. All three wives were Ziegfeld girls at one time. His stormy marriage to despondent, drug-addicted first wife, actress Olive Thomas, ended after four years when the 25-year-old died by swallowing mercury bichloride. His next two marriages to legendary Broadway musical star Marilyn Miller and minor actress Mary Mulhern also ended quickly due to his acute alcoholism.
By the late 1920s Jack was completely undependable and, with the advent of sound, his career ground to a screeching halt, despite Mary's continued attempts to rescue it. Jack's health deteriorated considerably after this letdown. His last two films were the (lost) silent feature (with talking sequences) The Dancer Upstairs (2002) co-starring Olive Borden and a lead in the short film All Square (1930).
He died aged 36 on January 3, 1933, in Paris. The cause was listed as "progressive multiple neuritis", but it was almost certainly precipitated by his chronic alcoholism-- a tragic and seemingly unnecessary end for a young man who chose to tarnish the silver platter readily handed to him. Sister Lottie too fell into extreme excess and died in 1936 at age 43 of alcohol-related causes. Jack later earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Died of progressive multiple neuritis in Paris, France.
1895-1933 (37 years old)- Writer
- Additional Crew
Barry Conners (1882-1933)--actor, playwright, attorney and screenwriter--was born and raised in Oil City, PA, the son of a country doctor. Although he later graduated from law school, he never established a practice. Instead, he joined the theater as an actor with an eye to learning stagecraft well enough to become a playwright. For a time he was a song-and-dance man in vaudeville and he toured the country as an actor in various repertory groups. Sometime early in the century, he joined the so-called White Rats Movement ("Star" spelled backwards). The organization, which Ethel Barrymore's father Maurice Barrymore helped to form, aimed to improve conditions for actors who had fallen into the grip of a few monopolistic theatrical producers (primarily Charles Frohman's theatrical syndicate) who were controlling the business. The organization, a predecessor of the Actors Guild, was destroyed around World War I and Conners was blacklisted from work as an actor in the theater. He took a job as a hunting and fishing guide in the Lake Tahoe, Nevada, area and began writing plays. Subsequently several of his plays were produced in New York City in the 1920s, beginning with the off-Broadway production of "Mad Honeymoon." Among his other successful plays was "Hell's Bells," which in 1925 provided the Broadway debut of actress Shirley Booth and actor Humphrey Bogart. His other Broadway plays included "Applesauce," and "Unexpected Husbands." Following the success of "The Patsy," which starred William Randolph Hearst's mistress, Marion Davies. Seeing his chance to capitalize on his voice, Conners left Broadway for Hollywood as talkies swept the film industry at the end of the decade. He worked as a screenwriter for Fox Films for several years.
Conners died in a fire in his Los Angeles apartment building on Jan. 5, 1933. He was just 50 years old.Died in a house fire in Hollywood, California.
1883-1933 (49 years old)- Castellani appears mostly in historical films and always plays good characters, except in "Ben-Hur" 1925 film, which comes across in the Golthar pirate clothes. He began his career in 1911 with the short films "Santa Cecilia" and "La sposa del Nilo", playing the title role. In 1913 we see him in the Hungarian film "Quo Vadis?", which plays the role of Ursus, who will play the role again in the film of 1924. In 1919 the cast of "Il toro selvaggio", always in Ursus garments, which in this case is the protagonist of the film. Later appears in "La Sacra Bibbia" (1920), where he plays Cain, "Messalina" (1924), where he plays Tigranes, "Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei" (1926), in Eumolpus cloths, "Quello che non muore" (1926), where he is the protagonist and "La bella corsara" (1928), alongside Rina De Liguori, where he plays the lead role of the pirate. He died of diabetes January 19, 1933 at the untimely age of 52.Died of diabetes in Rome, Italy.
1888-1933 (45 years old) - Charles Perley was born on 14 August 1885 in Riverside, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Chosen Prince, or the Friendship of David and Jonathan (1917), The Celebrated Case (1912) and The Woman in White (1912). He was married to Hazel H Eldridge and Louise Hall. He died on 10 February 1933 in Santa Ana, California, USA.Died of a heart attack in Santa Ana, California.
1885-1933 (47 years old) - Walter Hiers was born on 18 July 1893 in Cordele, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Seventeen (1916), The Conquest of Canaan (1916) and The Ghost Breaker (1922). He was married to Adah Lavinia McWilliams. He died on 27 February 1933 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California.
1893-1933 (39 years old) - Einar Rinne was born on 31 January 1890 in Asikkala, Finland. He was an actor, known for Curses of the Witch (1927), Työn sankarilaulu (1929) and Lumisten metsien mies (1928). He was married to Eine Laine. He died on 31 March 1933 in Helsinki, Finland.Died in Helsinki, Finland.
1890-1933 (43 years old) - Young "Sunny Jim" McKeen was featured in 39 "Newlyweds and Their Baby" shorts in the late 1920s, then went on to make a series of six sound shorts on his own. A very blond little boy, he was a contemporary of the child actors such as Allen 'Farina' Hoskins and Jackie Cooper, Davey Lee and Shirley Temple. He died of blood poisoning in 1933, at the age of 8.Died of blood poisoning in Los Angeles, California.
1924-1933 (8 years old) - Lilyan Tashman was born on October 23, 1896 in Brooklyn, New York to Rose (Cook) from Germany and Morris Tashman from Bialystock, Poland. After toying with stage work, Lilyan made her film debut with Experience (1921), followed the next year by Head Over Heels (1922) (this was at a time when some studios and their performers were turning out one film per week. She had no other offers for 1923, but her constant rounds of the casting offices finally did some good. In 1924 she appeared in no fewer than 6 films. For a while she averaged 7 films per year. She was one of relatively few performers who easily made the transition to the sound era, In 1934 she finished filming Frankie and Johnnie (1936) and went into a New York City hospital to have some tumors removed; she died there on March 21, 1934 at age 37. The film was released two years after her death.Died after cancer surgery in New York, New York.
1896-1934 (37 years old) - Actor
- Producer
- Director
Being one of numerous important comedians during the silent era whose popularity has turned into almost complete obscurity, Lloyd Hamilton has nevertheless earned a reputation as an original talent among film historians and enthusiasts. Born into a conservative middle-class family in California, presumably in 1891, Hamilton began his career as an extra in theatre-productions. He entered films at an early age, although the exact year remains hard to specify; he claimed to have appeared in his first films at Lubin Company in 1914, but he can be glimpsed in a few surviving Frontier-comedies from the year before. However, it is correct that it was in the year of 1914 that he first gained success, when he teamed up with Bud Duncan in Kalem's 'Ham and Bud'-series, being one of the very first permanent comedy teams produced in the movies. The series turned out moderately popular and ran for three years, although it can be hard to understand this success for modern viewers; by common agreement, the 'Ham and Bud'-films have not aged well and remain of interest mostly due to the limited insight into Hamilton's maturity as a performer that they provide.
Hamilton left Kalem for Fox in late 1917, where he appeared on his own under the direction of Henry Lehrman and Jack White. Along with White and another director who would later reach fame as a performer in his own right, Charley Chase, Hamilton established 'Mermaid Comedies' in 1920, a production unit exclusively dedicated to comedy shorts. He appeared in a number of films over the next few years; sadly, only a few of these are known to exist today, but comedies such as "Moonshine" and "The Simp" (both 1920) confirm Hamilton's progression as a performer during this time. Indeed, by 1922 he was hailed in the press as a "great comedy coup" and audiences had already taken notice of him. Hamilton's screen personality was something of its own, inheriting very few traits of the other major comedians of the time; tubby and baby-faced though he was, his character was a childish man of personal contrasts: he possessed a touch of bewilderment, irresponsibility, incredible self-assurance and frustration that gave him a partly tragic complexion, which in return probably made his comedy more appealing to adults than children.
By the mid-1920s, Hamilton's popularity had grown such a degree that he considered it appropriate to establish his own production company. It was about this time that he starred in his first feature-length film, "The Darker Self," a film which does not only seem rather tasteless today due to the use of racial stereotypes, but which in fact was a disaster also when originally released and Hamilton's reputation suffered a blow because of it. He nevertheless produced many fine short comedies throughout the decade, such as "Move Along" (1926), "Nobody's Business" (1926) and "Somebody's Fault" (1927), most of which were directed by Norman Taurog. While it may be argued that some of the films suffer from lack of continuity, they often provide many clever visual gags and camera-tricks which still make them pleasant to watch; in fact, in one respect absence of continuity suits Hamilton's character well, as his movies are not so often based upon a particular story as of him being constantly haunted by bad luck, with one bad situation leading up to an even worse situation.
Despite being so very amusing on-screen, Hamilton led a troublesome private life. He was a hard drinker, which severely affected his family life. His first marriage was to actress Ethel Lloyd, five years his senior, which took place at an early point of his movie career and lasted just a few years; they were separated by 1923, and their split caused a two-year long court battle. He married a second time in 1927 to Irene Dalton, who had appeared in some of his films. Dalton accused her husband of being violent when drunk, and the couple divorced after a year. (None of the marriages produced any children.) In the midst of these personal difficulties, Hamilton was suddenly banned from the screen after a boxer was murdered in a street-fight in which he was involved; the comedian was not a suspect, but the tolerance of scandals was minimal in Hollywood at this time and he remained unemployed for more than a year. He did a comeback in a series of two-reeler's for Mack Sennett at Educational Films in 1929, this time in sound pictures, which had just done its lasting entrance in the medium. Lloyd had a good voice which suited his character perfectly, but by this time his troubled life-style had begun to get the better of him. After the contract with Sennett expired, it was rumored that he would begin a new series of two-reeler's for Hal Roach, but being informed of Hamilton's alcoholism, Roach refused to hire him. He died unemployed and ill in 1935, aged 43.
During his brief period as a star, Charlie Chaplin is reported to have remarked that Lloyd Hamilton "is the one actor of whom I am jealous," and Charley Chase confessed that whenever he had difficulties in doing a scene, he'd always ask himself, "How would Lloyd have done it?" Buster Keaton also expressed great fondness of his work, stating in a late interview that Hamilton was "one of the funniest men in pictures." Critic and playwright Walter Kerr, considered by many the most insightful authority on silent comedy, discusses his work with great respect and admiration in his 1975-book "The Silent Clowns." However, despite all acclaim, Lloyd Hamilton is exceedingly seldom given a mention today even among silent comedy fans. One significant reason to this is his sad lack of surviving output; most of his negatives were destroyed in a laboratory fire at Universal shortly after his death. Happily, a fine collection of his work is now available on DVD through silent comedy specialists "Looser Than Loose."Died after surgery in Hollywood, California.
1891-1935 (43 years old)- William 'Stage' Boyd was born on 18 December 1889 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Lost City (1935), The Midnight Warning (1932) and The Spoilers (1930). He was married to Clara Joel and Margaret Christiansen. He died on 20 March 1935 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died of a liver ailment in Los Angeles, California.
1889-1935 (45 years old) - Actor
- Writer
- Director
John Gilbert was born into a show-business family - his father was a comic with the Pringle Stock Company. By 1915 John was an extra with Thomas H. Ince's company and a lead player by 1917. In those days he was assistant director, actor or screenwriter. He also tried his hand at directing. By 1919 he was being noticed in films and getting better roles. In 1921 he signed a three-year contract with Fox Films. His popularity continued to soar and he was turning from villain to leading man. In 1924 he signed with MGM which put him into His Hour (1924). In 1925 he appeared in the very successful The Big Parade (1925) and was, by now, as popular as Rudolph Valentino. Lillian Gish, who had a new contract with MGM, picked Gilbert to co-star with her in La Bohème (1926). With the death of Valentino, his only competition, John was on top of the world. Then came Greta Garbo, who starred with him in Love (1927), Flesh and the Devil (1926) and A Woman of Affairs (1928). The screen chemistry between these two was incredible and led to a torrid off-screen affair. The studio publicity department worked overtime to publicize the romance between the two, but when it came time to marry, John was left at the altar. His performances after that were devoid of the sparkle that he once had and he began to drink heavily. Added to that, the whole industry was moving towards sound, and while his voice was not as bad as some had thought, it did not match the image that he portrayed on the screen. Even his characters had changed, in such films as Redemption (1930) and Way for a Sailor (1930). He was no longer the person that bad things happened to, but he now was the cause of bad things which happen. MGM did little to help John adjust to the new sound medium, as studio chief Louis B. Mayer and Gilbert had a fierce and nasty confrontation over Garbo. John was still under contract to MGM for a very large salary, but the money meant little to him. His contract ran out in 1933 after he appeared in Fast Workers (1933) as a riveter.
Garbo tried to restore some of his image when she insisted that he play opposite her in Queen Christina (1933), but by then it was too late. He appeared in only one more film and died of a heart attack in January 1936.Died of heart failure in Los Angeles, California.
1899-1936 (36 years old)- James Bradbury Jr. was born on 5 October 1894 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Song of the Eagle (1933), Gorilla Ship (1932) and The Last of the Duanes (1930). He died on 21 June 1936 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died of a suicide in Los Angeles, California.
1894-1936 (41 years old) - Zula Pogorzelska was born in 1896 in Yevpatoria, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire [now Crimea, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Sto metrów milosci (1932), Niebezpieczny romans (1930) and Zabawka (1933). She was married to Konrad Tom. She died on 10 February 1936 in Wilno, Wilenskie, Poland [now Vilnius, Lithuania].Died of a spine disease in Wilno, Poland [now Vilnius, Lithuania].
1896-1936 (40 years old) - Actress
- Soundtrack
"Look for the Silver Lining" became the appropriate signature song for one of Broadways's most popular musical stage stars of the 1920s, Marilyn Miller, for she embodied a vibrant, child-like optimism in her very best "happily ever after" showcases. Such happiness, however, did not extend into her personal life.
She was born Mary Ellen Reynolds in Evansville, Indiana, in 1898. Her father was a telephone lineman and her mother a theater aspirant. Her parents divorced when Marilyn was a child and she was raised by her mother and stepfather (last name Miller), who was an acrobat and song-and-dance man in vaudeville. She joined her family (which included two sisters) in a family act billed as "The Five Columbians" which proved popular on the Midwest circuit. They also toured outside of the country when bookings were slim. When she went out on her own she abbreviated her first name to Marilyn and adopted her stepfather's last name of Miller.
While performing in a London club in 1914, she caught the eye of Broadway producer Lee Shubert, who brought her to New York for his "Passing Show" revues of 1914, 1915 and 1917. Marilyn became an instant hit with her vivid, yet delicate, beauty. However, it was her association with Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. in 1918 that put her over the top. Seeing her great potential, he took her under his wing, expanded her repertoire, focused on her tap and ballet talents and provided her with singing and acting lessons. She became a top headliner in his Follies shows of 1918 and 1919. Her first full-out performance was in Ziegfeld's "Sally" in 1920, where she introduced the song "Look for the Silver Lining." The show was a monster hit. Their professional and personal relationship became badly intertwined, however, and she soon severed the union. Producer Charles B. Dillingham, Ziegfeld's rival, signed her on and handed her the title role in "Peter Pan," which received lukewarm reviews. Her second show with Dillingham was entitled "Sunny," which introduced the soon-to-be standards "Who?" and "D'Ye Love Me?" Marilyn became the toast of Broadway once again and her salary soared to $3,000 per week, making her the highest-paid musical comedy performer in New York at the time.
She reconciled with Ziegfeld in 1928 and performed in the Gershwin musical "Rosalie" to enthusiastic audiences. Hollywood took an interest but Marilyn's venture into films would be very brief. She recreated two of her stage hits to film at the advent of sound. Sally (1929) and Sunny (1930) were warmly received, as was the musical Her Majesty, Love (1931), but that would be her third and final film. Most of Marilyn's showcases were based on Cinderella-like, poor-girl-meets-rich-boy romances. Unlike her sweet-natured stage characters, however, Marilyn had an extremely volatile diva-like demeanor and proved highly difficult to work with. Her three marriages were also immensely unhappy ones. Her first husband, stage actor Frank Carter, was killed in a car crash after only a year of marriage; second husband Jack Pickford, the brother of silent screen legend Mary Pickford, was a drug and alcohol abuser (they divorced); and third husband, stage manager Chester "Chet" O'Brien was a ne'er-do-well and opportunist. She died before they were divorced.
Marilyn's last stage triumph was "As Thousands Cheer" in 1933. Her health began to deteriorate rapidly after that, aggravated by an increasing dependency on alcohol. Suffering from recurring sinus infections, she was in a severely weakened state by the time she died of complications following nasal surgery at the age of 37. A sad end to such a bright symbol of hope and youthful exuberance. A superficial, highly sanitized version of Marilyn's life was made in the form of the biopic Look for the Silver Lining (1949) with June Haver starring as Marilyn.Died of an infection after sinus surgery in New York, New York.
1898-1936 (37 years old)- Actor
- Soundtrack
The tragically brief life of fresh-faced, boyishly handsome Ross Alexander, who seemed to have everything going for him, plays these days like a bad Hollywood movie. Alexander was a charming, highly engaging young actor whose pleasant voice and breezy personality aided greatly in his transition from Broadway teen player to young adult Warner Bros. film actor. His peers would include such Warner stalwarts as Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Errol Flynn. Off-camera, however, Ross, a closeted homosexual, became an acutely self-destructive young man whose career instability and domestic tragedy would take its toll. The tormented Ross ended his own life at age 29.
Ross Alexander was born Alexander Ross Smith in Brooklyn, New York, to Maud Adelle (Cohen) and Alexander Ross Smith, a leather merchant. Raised in Rochester, New York, he pursued both drama and athletics in high school (soccer, swimming) and sidelined in little theater productions in town. In between he took his first Broadway bow as a young teen in Blanche Yurka's long-running comedy success "Enter Madame." He eventually moved back to New York City following schooling and began to build up his stage resume in stock companies. On Broadway he showed a modicum of promise in such plays as "The Ladder" (1926) and "Let Us Be Gay" (1929). The latter play introduced Ross to producer John Golden and marked an immoderate two-year association which would include the plays "After Tomorrow" (1930) and "That's Gratitude" (1930). Paramount apparently saw Ross' potential and started him off in pictures with The Wiser Sex (1932), but nothing happened. Continuing on Broadway with "The Stork Is Dead" (1932), "Honeymoon" (1932), "The Party's Over" (1933) and "No Questions Asked" (1934), he was re-noticed for films, this time by Warner Bros.
Warners signed him to appear in its popular backstage Depression-era musicals and collegiate capers. Alexander's fresh look and carefree, slightly cynical demeanor made him an instant favorite and he soon began humming with popular second leads in such musicals as Flirtation Walk (1934). On the dramatic side he was chosen to play Demetrius in the all-star A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), and in Errol Flynn's Captain Blood (1935) he played Jeremy Pitt, Blood's friend and navigator. Trouble started brewing, however, behind the scenes. Ross was being perceived by Warners as a second-ranked Dick Powell. As the studio began featuring him in Powell's castoffs and other uninspiring B-grade movies, they decided it was too taxing to both groom him for matinée idol status and conceal his homosexuality at the same time.
A probable marriage of convenience to budding starlet Aleta Friele, who appeared on Broadway using the name Aleta Freel, ended disastrously with the 28-year-old actress taking her own life with a rifle in their Hollywood Hills home. The actor was deeply shaken by this tragic event. He tried to cover his tracks yet again, however, by marrying beautiful actress Anne Nagel, whom he met while on the set of Hot Money, (1936),China Clipper (1936) and Here Comes Carter (1936). It didn't help quash his spiraling depression.
Finally Warners lost all patience and interest after having to cover up a potentially career-threatening gay-sex scandal, and Ross' promising career went down the tubes. To add insult to injury, he incurred major debt. On January 2, 1937, less than five months after his marriage to Nagel and shortly after the first anniversary of his first wife's death, Aleta Friele who also committed suicide, Alexander shot himself with a pistol in a barn behind his Encino ranch home. His last movie, the moderately received Ready, Willing and Able (1937) with Ruby Keeler, was released posthumously. Despite the fact he was the co-lead in the film, he was billed fifth, thus emphasizing the point that he had already lost most of his clout.Died of suicide by gunshot in Los Angeles, California.
1907-1937 (29 years old)- Director
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Inventing a stage name "Boleslawski" (later spelled also "Boleslavsky"), young Pole Boleslaw Ryszard Srzednicki left his second home (Odessa, Russian Empire) to study theatre and train as an actor at the world-famous Moscow Art Theatre before and during WW I. He also acted in a few early Russian films. In the chaotic wake of the Russian Revolution, Civil War and then Soviet Russia's war with Poland (1918-21)--in which Boleslawski fought as a Polish soldier--he left Russia forever, traveling through Poland and Germany, and wound up in the US. In the 1920s he became, along with Maria Ouspenskaya, one of the first teachers in the US of the serious, emotionally grounded, ensemble style of the Moscow Art Theatre (later known as "The Method"). To put his thespian theories into action, Boleslawski created the American Laboratory [Stage] Theatre in New York in 1923 (the forerunner of the Group Theatre of the 1930s and the Actors Studio" after WW II).
Boleslawski also wrote serious theoretical articles about acting for "Theatre Arts Magazine", and in 1933 collected them in a book, "Acting--The First Six Lessons". The coming of sound to motion pictures, and the financial collapse of the American Laboratory Theatre, forced Boleslawski to abandon the New York stage and accept an offer to direct films in Hollywood, beginning in 1929. He made several important films at major studios like MGM and Fox before his premature death in January 1937. Among his most important directing assignments were Rasputin and the Empress (1932) (the only film in which John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore appeared together), Men in White (1934) (Clark Gable and Myrna Loy), The Painted Veil (1934) (Greta Garbo), Les Misérables (1935) (Fredric March and Charles Laughton) and Theodora Goes Wild (1936) (Irene Dunne)--a wide range of genres. He even directed a musical, Metropolitan (1935) (Lawrence Tibbett) and a western, Three Godfathers (1936) (Chester Morris).
Boleslawski was married at least three times. From his last marriage--to pianist-actress Norma Drury--he had one child, a son named Jan (1935-1962) who tragically was to lose his father before he was two years old, and later to lose his own life at the tender age of 27. Boleslawski's death of cardiac arrest, at age 47--before he had completed his final film (The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) with Joan Crawford)--was shockingly sudden and from unclear causes. One explanation, probably incorrect, traces his illness to his penultimate film, The Garden of Allah (1936) (with Marlene Dietrich), the exteriors of which were shot in the burning heat of the southwestern American desert. At some point, it is claimed, he unwisely "drank [unboiled] water" rather than soft drinks and bottled water (as the company had been advised to do).Died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California.
1889-1937 (47 years old)- 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.Died of extreme malnutrition and alcoholism in Hollywood, California.
1898-1937 (38 years old)- Antonio Gil Varela 'Varillas' was born on 14 November 1895 in Madrid, Spain. He was an actor and director, known for La reina mora (1937), La reina mora (1923) and Nobleza de corazones (1925). He died on 26 January 1937.1895-1937 (41 years old)
- Actor
- Writer
Frank Vosper was born on 15 December 1899 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for A Night of Terror (1937), Shadows on the Stairs (1941) and Love from a Stranger (1947). He died on 6 March 1937 in at sea.Died of drowning in the North Atlantic Ocean.
1899-1937 (37 years old)- Born in Providence, Lovecraft was a sickly child whose parents died insane. When he was 16, he wrote the astronomy column in the Providence Tribune. Between 1908 and 1923, he wrote short stories for Weird Tales magazine and others. He died in Providence, in poverty, on March 15, 1937. His most famous novel is considered to be "At the Mountains of Madness", about an expedition to the South Pole, which discovers strange creatures beneath a mountain.Died of intestinal cancer in Providence, Rhode Island.
1890-1937 (46 years old) - Katherine Grant was born on May 1, 1904 in Los Angeles, California. Her parents divorced and her father passed away in 1921. At the age of eighteen she won the Miss Los Angeles beauty contest and competed in the Miss America pageant. Katherine worked as a professional dancer and to make extra money she posed nude for an art study project. She made her film debut in the comedy short Saturday Morning and was offered a contract with Hal Roach. In 1923 she appeared in more than a dozen films including A Man About Town and Frozen Hearts. As her career took off the photographer who had taken her nude photos started to extort her. Katherine reported the man to the police and the scandalous photos did not hurt career. By 1925 she had become one of Hal Roach's favorite comedy vamps and he signed her to a new five year contract. Katherine worked with Oliver Hardy in Wild Papa and with Charley Chase in The Uneasy Three.She and Charley also performed in a vaudeville act together.
Unfortunately Katherine struggled with her weight and went on starvation diets to stay thin. On December 8, 1925, she was the victim of a hit-and-run accident. Doctors told her to take a break from acting but she returned to work a few days later. In the Spring of 1926 Katherine suffered a nervous breakdown on the set and was put in a sanitarium. Newspaper reports blamed the breakdown on her extreme dieting. Sadly Katherine would never make another film. Her health continued to get worse and she started suffering from dementia. Eventually she was sent to to Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino where she would live the rest of her life. Katherine died on April 2, 1937 from pulmonary tuberculosis. She was only thirty-two years old. Katherine was buried in an unmarked grave at Evergreen cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Fans of the late actress honored her with a marked headstone, in a special ceremony, on August 27, 2016.Died of pulmonary tuberculosis in San Bernardino, California.
1904-1937 (32 years old) - Director
- Actor
- Writer
The youngest of three filmmaking brothers (the others were John Ince and Thomas H. Ince), Ralph Ince's career mirrored that of his brother John: he went from acting in silents to directing, and with the advent of sound he turned character actor. Unlike John, however, he would eventually resume directing and was successful in UK productions from 1934 until his death.Died in a traffic collision in London, England.
1887-1937 (50 years old)- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Generally spoken of as Swedish theater's most legendary stage actor, Gösta Ekman enjoyed a prolific stage career during his short life, becoming the first real star of Swedish theater. His boyish good looks attracted both sexes, helping to create a massive cult following and elevating him to the status of a living legend. Combined with a beautiful voice and a powerful stage presence, Ekman was able to captivate his audiences.Died of pneumonia and uremia in Stockholm, Sweden.
1890-1938 (47 years old)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lyda's father was German clown Roberti, her mother a Polish trick rider. As a child performer, she toured Europe and Asia with the Circus in which she was born, leaving it (and her reportedly abusive father) in Shanghai, China. In this truly international city, Lyda became a child cafe entertainer and learned the fractured English that became her trademark. Around 1927, she emigrated to California, finding work in vaudeville, where she was "discovered" in 1930 by Broadway producer Lou Holtz and became an overnight star in his 1931 show 'You Said It'. Lyda's unforgettable stage and screen character was a sexy blonde whose charming accent and uninhibited man-chasing were played for hilarious laughs. From 1932-35 she made 8 comedy and musical films mainly at Paramount, with Fields, Cantor, and other great comedians; her unique singing style was also popular on the radio and records. Her health declining from premature heart disease, she briefly replaced the late Thelma Todd in Hal Roach comedy shorts with Patsy Kelly and appeared in 3 features for MGM and Columbia, then retired from film work a few months before her fatal heart attack at age 31.Died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California.
1906-1938 (31 years old)- Actor
- Soundtrack
On the British stage from his teens, he first appeared as a half-breed boy in "The Squaw Man." His screen debut was in 1923 in the film "Chu Chin Chow." Dissatisfied with the British film industry, he moved to Hollywood and played a number of minor roles up to the time of his death. On the English stage he appeared with such greats as Anna May Wong, Alice Joyce and Gilda Grey.Died of tuberculosis in Sierra Madre, California.
1888-1939 (50 years old)- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Ivan Mozzhukhin was a legendary actor of Russian silent films, who escaped execution by the Soviet Red Army and had a stellar career in Europe.
He was born Ivan Ilyich Mozzhukhin on September 26, 1889, in the village of Kondol, Saratov province, Russia (now Penza province, Russia). His father was general manager of the large estate of Prince Obolensky. Mozzhukhin attended all-boys Gymnasium in Penza, then studied at the Law School of Moscow University for two years. There he was active in amateur stage productions and joined a touring troupe, then returned to Moscow and was a member of the Vvedensky Narodny Dom Theatre. He made his film debut in 1908. From 1911-14 he worked in the films of producer Aleksandr Khanzhonkov. Mozzhukhin shot to fame after his leading role as violinist Trukhachevsky in Kreytserova sonata (1911) by director Pyotr Chardynin, based on the eponymous story by Lev Tolstoy. He starred as Adm. Kornilov in Defense of Sevastopol (1911) and in about 30 more silent films made by Chardynin, Yevgeny Bauer and Khanzhyonkov.
By the mid-'10s Mozzhukhin was the indisputable leading star of the Russian cinema, having such film partners as 'Diaghilev''s ballerina Vera Karalli, and his own wife Nathalie Lissenko. His facial expressions were studied by many actors and directors as exemplary acting masks. From 1915-19 he worked in about 40 films by directors Yakov Protazanov and Viktor Tourjansky under the legendary Russian producer Joseph N. Ermolieff. His best known films of the Russian period were Queen of Spades (1916) and Otets Sergiy (1918), both by Protazanov. Mozzhukhin's incredible popularity brought him significant wealth, but that came with attendant pressure; he also became famous for his numerous love affairs with his admirers.
In 1918 the Russian Communist revolution had already caused irreversible destruction of cultural and economic life, and Mozzhukhin moved under protection of the anti-Communist White Russian forces in Yalta, Crimea. There he worked for Ermolieff during the Russian Civil War. Meanwhile, Soviet government leader Vladimir Lenin ordered the seizure and nationalization of all film studios and their films, properties and other assets to use for making Soviet propaganda' most of Mozzhukhin's 70 films were arrested and / or censored. Lev Kuleshov used fragments of Mozzhukhin's films to demonstrate his editing ideas. Mozzhukhin's face was used in Kuleshov's psychological montage to illustrate the principles of film editing, known today as the Kuleshov Effect.
Mozzhukhin suffered terribly from the loss of his property after the Communist revolution. However, he continued working in Yalta with Ermolieff until the end of 1919. When the Red Army advanced into Crimea and broke through to Yalta, however, he joined the White Russians and fled the now-communist Russia at the end of the Civil War. He managed to save a few rolls of his silent films, which he took aboard the Greek steamer Pantera\ in February of 1920. He left Russia together with his film partners from the Ermolieff film company, his wife Nathalie Lissenko, actors Nicolas Koline and Nicolas Rimsky, actress Nathalie Kovanko, cinematographer Nikolai Toporkoff, director Viktor Tourjansky and producer Joseph N. Ermolieff. They emigrated together to Paris, France, and started a Russian-French film company.
In 1926 Mozzhukhin got a lucrative contract with Universal Pictures in Hollywood, and was cast as the male lead in Surrender (1927). However, his stint in Hollywood was not a success, due to numerous pressures from the studio's producers who insisted on his taking the stage name John Moskin. In addition, Mozzhukhin and his female co-star Mary Philbin did not get along at all, and that was quite apparent from the footage that they had no chemistry whatever. Ats Hollywood at that time was just making the transition from silent films to talkies, Mozzuhkhin--who did not speak English--was not offered any further roles, and he returned to Europe. Soon Aleksandr Vertinskiy began to comment that Mozzhukhin's troubles in Hollywood were the results of a conspiracy by the powers in Hollywood to destroy a strong competitor.
By 1939 Mozzhukhin had made over 100 films in Russia, France, Italy, the US, Germany and Austria. He continued starring in the talkies of the 1930s, although not as successfully as he had during the silent era. He also wrote screenplays for several of his films, and planned to direct a film in France, but the project was abandoned because he contracted a severe form of tuberculosis and was hospitalized. Mozzhukhin died of tuberculosis in a Paris clinic on January 17, 1939, and was laid to rest in the Russian Cemetery at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, in Paris, France.
Mozzhukhin's home in Kondol, Penza province, is now restored as the public Memorial Museum of Ivan Mozzhukhin. There, since the 1990s, the museum has annual showing of Mozzhukhin's films, also known as Mozzhukhin's Festivities.Died of tuberculosis in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
1889-1939 (49 years old)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Herbert Mundin was born on 21 August 1898 in St. Helens, Merseyside, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), David Copperfield (1935) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). He was married to Ann Shaw and Hilda Frances Hoyes. He died on 5 March 1939 in Van Nuys, California, USA.Died in a car crash in Van Nuys, California.
1898-1939 (40 years old)- Lawrence Anderson was born in 1893 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Man of Affairs (1936), Nell Gwyn (1934) and The Fire Raisers (1934). He was married to Beatrice Anderson. He died on 28 March 1939 in London, England, UK.Died in London, England.
1893-1939 (46 years old) - Actor
- Soundtrack
Frank McGlynn Jr. was born on 9 July 1904 in Marin County, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Bar 20 Rides Again (1935), Hop-a-Long Cassidy (1935) and America (1924). He died on 29 March 1939 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died of tuberculosis in Los Angeles, California.
1904-1939 (34 years old)- John Graham Spacey was born on 8 August 1897 in Derbyshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Thank You, Jeeves! (1936), The Moon's Our Home (1936) and Who Killed Gail Preston? (1938). He died on 2 January 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California.
1897-1940 (42 years old) - Mikhail A. Bulgakov was a Russian writer and medical doctor known for big screen adaptations of his books, such as Beg (1971) and Master i Margarita (2006).
He was born Mikhail Afanasievich Bulgakov on May 15, 1891, in Kiev, Russia (now Kiev, Ukraine). He was the first of six children in the family of a theology professor. His family belonged to the intellectual elite of Kiev. Bulgakov with his brothers took part in the demonstration commemorating the death of Lev Tolstoy. Bulgakov graduated with honors from the Medical School of Kiev University in 1915. He married his classmate Tatiana Lippa, who became his assistant at surgeries and in his Doctor's office. He practiced medicine, specializing in venereal and other infectious diseases from 1915 to 1919.
Bulgakov wrote about his experiences as a doctor in his early works "Notes of a Young Doctor." In 1917-1919, he suffered from an infection that caused him an unbearable painful itch requiring him to take morphine; which he became addicted to, but he managed to overcome the dependency and quit. He joined the anti-communist White Army in the Russian Civil War. After the Civil War, he tried to emigrate from Russia, to reunite with his brother in Paris. But he became trapped in Soviet Russia. Several times he was almost killed by opposing forces on both sides of the Russian Civil War, but soldiers needed doctors, so Bulgakov was left alive. He provided medical help to the Chehchens, Caucasians, Cossacs, Russians, the Whites, the Reds... Bulgakov was the Doctor to all the sick people.
In 1921, Bulgakov moved to Moscow. There he became a writer and made friends with Valentin Kataev, Yuriy Olesha, Ilya Ilf, Yevgeni Petrov, and Konstantin Paustovsky. Later, he met Mikhail Zoschenko, Anna Akhmatova, Viktor Ardov, Sergey Mikhalkov, and Korney Ivanovich Chukovskiy. Bulgakov's plays at the Moscow Art Theatre were directed by Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. "Days of the Turbins," about the demise of the White Army, was performed more than 200 times at the Moscow Art Theatre, and also at other Soviet theatres until it was banned.
The play was later restored to the repertoire and at least fifteen performances of this play were attended by Joseph Stalin. Stalin liked the play and later, in his official speeches, he used some of the well-written lines that were spoken from the stage by the Bulgakov's characters. In 1941, after the Nazi invasion in Russia during the Second World War, Joseph Stalin started his first radio address to the people of the Soviet Union with Bulgakov's words from the play, "Brothers and Sisters..."
Bulgakov's political independence was expressed in his article on the death of the first Soviet dictator Vladimir Lenin, "He killed a river of people..." wrote Bulgakov in 1924.
Bugakov's own way of life and his witty criticism of the ugly realities of life in the Soviet Union caused him much trouble. In 1925 he released 'Heart of a Dog', a bitter satire about the loss of civilized values in Russia under the Soviet system. Soon after, Bulgakov was interrogated by the Soviet secret service, OGPU. After interrogations, his personal diary and several unfinished works were confiscated by the secret service.
His plays were banned in all theaters, which terminated his income. Being financially broke, he wrote to his brother in Paris about his terrible life and poverty in Moscow. Bulgakov distanced himself from the Proletariat Writer's Union because he refused to write about the peasants and proletariat. He made adaptation of the "Dead Souls" by Nikolay Gogol for the stage; it became a success but was abruptly banned.
He took a risk and wrote a letter to Joseph Stalin with an ultimatum: "Let me out of the Soviet Union, or restore my work at the theaters." On the 18th of April of 1930, Bulgakov received a telephone call from Joseph Stalin. The dictator told the writer to fill an employment application at the Moscow Art Theater. Gradually, Bulgakov's plays were back in the repertoire of the Moscow Art Theatre. But most other theatres were in fear and did not stage any of the Bulgakov's plays for many years.
Joseph Stalin, who was increasingly paranoid, ordered massive extermination of intellectuals during the repressions known as the "Great Terror" (aka.. Great Purge). Many of Bulgakov's friends and colleagues, like Vladimir Mayakovsky, Osip Mandelstam, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Anna Akhmatova, Mikhail Zoschenko and many others were censored, banned, prosecuted, exiled, imprisoned, executed, found dead, or just disappeared without a trace.
At that time Bulgakov started his masterpiece - "Master and Margarita." It was slowly evolving from the series of chapters, initially titled "The Black Magician" in 1929. That was changed to "The Prince of Darkness" in 1930. Then it was changed again to "The Great Chancellor" in 1934. Finally, the novel was titled as "Master and Margarita" in 1934 and was rewritten and updated constantly until the writer's death in 1940.
While writing the novel, Bulgakov met Elena Sergeevna Shilovskaya, who became his wife. She was, in part, the model for Margarita in the novel. Secret service agents were spying on Bulgakov and learned about his new novel. Bulgakov was interrogated again and was ordered to destroy the manuscript under the threat from the government agents. He had to be very cautious. Bulgakov split the manuscript in two parts and destroyed one half in a fire.
Soon, he restored the missing part from memory and continued writing the novel. He was writing the novel in secrecy, hiding its manuscript for many years until his death in 1940. The main character in the novel, Voland, alludes to Stalin, or Beria, or any dictator who plays a semi-god. Voland was modeled after Satan in "Faust" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The novel has many parallels with the Bible and the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. The characters and events in "Master and Margarita" are alluding to Bulgakov's experiences in Moscow under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin.
Five days before his death, Bulgakov accepted an unusual promise from his loving wife. She swore to live a humble life and wait as long as it would take for Bulgakov's masterpiece to be published. The original manuscript of "The Master and Margarita" was preserved by Bulgakov's wife, Elena Sergeevna, until its first publication in 1966. It is a Menippean satire, a cross-genre comedy, drama, and fantasy, regarded by many as the best of the 20th century Russian novels.
Mikhail Bulgakov died of a kidney failure, on March 10, 1940, in Moscow. He was laid to rest in the Novodevichy Monastery Cemetery, next to other Russian cultural luminaries.Died of hypertensive nepropathy in Moscow, Soviet Union [now Russia].
1891-1940 (48 years old) - Actress
- Soundtrack
La Jana was the stage name of the brunette Viennese-born actress and exotic dancer Henriette 'Henny' Hiebel. She was trained as a ballerina for ten years and first performed at the Frankfurt Kinderoper at the age of eight. Of boyishly slim build, she appeared on stage in cabaret in 1921. Soon after, she was reputedly discovered for the screen by the director Géza von Cziffra at the Chat Noir cabaret in Paris. She received good publicity from a successful tour of Britain, during which the press alternately touted her as being Spanish or Hungarian. The build-up continued with glamour photographs for Vogue magazine. Movies followed and La Jana hit the big time with Truxa (1937) (dancing on a giant tambourine) and The Stars Shine (1938). Propelled to instant stardom, she came to represent oriental or Latin mystery and allure as the scantily-clad heroines of The Tiger of Eschnapur (1938), Das indische Grabmal (1938) (as the high priestess of a cult) and Stern von Rio (1940).
Her life ended tragically young at the very peak of her popularity. She died of pneumonia at the age of 35, a fact which rather cemented her cult status. Since she left few personal notes, little of La Jana's life is known. This has given life to unverified rumours and scuttlebutt. One fanciful story has it that she aided in the escape from Nazi Germany of Jewish acting colleagues and was consequently murdered by the SS.
La Jana was married to the opera star Michael Bohnen and was said to have previously been romantically involved with Wilhelm, the last Crown Prince of the former German Empire.Died of pneumonia in Berlin, Germany.
1905-1940 (35 years old)- Walter Miller was born on 9 March 1892 in Dayton, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for King of the Wild (1931), Queen of the Northwoods (1929) and The Green Archer (1925). He was married to Lillian Louise Coffin and Eileen Schofield. He died on 30 March 1940 in Hollywood, California, USA.Died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California.
1892-1940 (48 years old) - Actor
- Soundtrack
Rudi Godden was born on 18 April 1907 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for The Stars Shine (1938), Polterabend (1940) and Die kleine und die große Liebe (1938). He was married to Gerty Godden. He died on 4 January 1941 in Berlin, Germany.Died of blood poisoning in Berlin, Germany.
1907-1941 (33 years old)- Mary McIvor (born Mary Ellsworth MacKeever) was born in Barnesville, Ohio. A vaudeville performer, and a beautiful, lovely young brunette star who appeared mainly in Westerns from 1917 at the age of 20. Her first starring role as Lady Maryska in 'Paddy O'Hara', directed by Walter Edwards, and starred her future husband action cowboy hero, William Desmond whom she married on March 22nd, 1919 when she was only 24, and he was 41 years old. She starred in another four films with her husband until 1925's 'The Burning Trail' for the Universal Film Co after which she retired. She appeared in at least nine movies, one of her best-known was 'The Square Deal Man' starring opposite cowboy legend William S. Hart in 1917. She died from a heart attack in Hollywood in 1941, age 36.Died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California.
1904-1941 (36 years old) - Actor
- Casting Department
Igo Sym was born in Innsbruck, Austria in 1896. Before working as an actor he served from 1918-1921 in the Polish army. After working in silent films he was engaged by the theater in Warsaw, where he often appeared with his "Singing Saw".
When in 1939 the Germans ran over Poland, Sym started to collaborate with them. At this time many Polish people where head-hunted, and many of them where celebrities. Sym worked for the Gestapo and trapped some of these searched people (among them was the famous singer Hanka Ordonówna). When the Polish underground-gouvernment found out about Sym's contacts with the Gestapo, he was executed in his apartment on March 7th 1941.Died of execution by gunshot in Warsaw, Poland.
1896-1941 (44 years old)- Casper Reardon was born to a vaudeville family in Little Falls, New York. At the age of five he trouped with his parents. His father, who was of Irish descent, presented him with a small Irish harp on his eighth birthday. His début as soloist was with the Philadelphia Orchestra, under the direction of Leopold Stokowski. As a result of winning a scholarship, he became one of the most brilliant pupils of the illustrious Carlos Salzedo at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Graduating in 1926, he became first harpist of the Cincinnati Symphony under Fritz Reiner for five years, and head of the Harp Department at the Cincinnati Conservatory. Newspaperman Edwin H. Schloss wrote (July 19, 1939), 'In Cincinnati, some of Reardon's Southern pupils interested him in jazz and he fell in love with the music of W.C. Handy. He found the percussive harp to be as well suited to Gershwin as to Debussy and the rest is history, mostly made via radio.' On his own, Reardon devised a technique of playing 'jazz.' The precedent for jazz music on the harp had not been explored to a significant degree. It wasn't unusual for a dance orchestra to utilize the harp for texture. (The dance orchestras of Leonard Joy, Richard Himber, Victor Young and Raymond Paige used harp regularly.) Reardon thought the harp had more potential than the usual flourishes and interludes that were expected of him. When he became a regular feature on the powerful Cincinnati station WLW, he used the nom de radio "Arpeggio Glissando," so as to not shock his classical harp students. He moved to New York City in 1931 and immediately created a niche for himself and his instrument. On September 18, 1934, he recorded an unprecedented long harp solo on the Jack Teagarden recording of "Junk Man" for Brunswick Records. Although his name does not appear on the record, determined music lovers soon found out who the swing harpist was. By 1936 he recorded some dance records as Casper Reardon & His Orchestra, for Liberty Music Shop. He became known as the "Swing Harpist." He was immortalized as "Cousin Caspar" [sic] in Alice Faye's film You're a Sweetheart (1937). He was a regular on radio shows such as 'Saturday Night Swing Club' with the orchestra of Bunny Berigan, and was often featured by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. George Gershwin featured Reardon on his popular Feenamint broadcast in 1934. Casper Reardon met Dana Suesse in nineteen thirty-nine, through their friend, Gus Schirmer. Suesse told this writer, "Casper told me about having an engagement with the Philadelphia Symphony and wanted me to write something for him. At the time, Young Man with A Horn was a best selling novel." It seemed logical to create a concert piece called Young Man with A Harp. Alexander Smallens, who would always be remembered as the original conductor of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, conducted the concert at the Robin Hood Dell in 1939 Dana and Casper repeated their Young Man With A Harp on February 25, 1940 with Guy Fraser Harrison conducting the Rochester Civic Orchestra. The program was made up almost entirely of harp and orchestra pieces: Debussy, Couperin, Salzedo and Suesse. The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (Norman Nairn) boasted there was a "pleasurable evening for a large audience which 'ate up' the swing music of Mr. Reardon. " After these favorable responses, Dana and Casper wanted to make a recording of their effort. What better place to try than their friend, Gus Schirmer, Jr. and his new recording studio. In 1940 Reardon performed with Suesse at a Cabinet Dinner for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his family. Reardon became ill and died on March 8, 1941. He was 33 years old.Died of a kidney disease in New York, New York.
1907-1941 (33 years old) - Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Eddie Conrad was born on 27 October 1892 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Foreign Correspondent (1940), Stars Over Broadway (1935) and Lucky Partners (1940). He died on 1 April 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died in Los Angeles, California.
1892-1941 (48 years old)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Carole Lombard was born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 6, 1908. Her parents divorced in 1916 and her mother took the family on a trip out West. While there they decided to settle down in the Los Angeles area. After being spotted playing baseball in the street with the neighborhood boys by a film director, Carole was signed to a one-picture contract in 1921 when she was 12. The film in question was A Perfect Crime (1921). Although she tried for other acting jobs, she would not be seen onscreen again for four years. She returned to a normal life, going to school and participating in athletics, excelling in track and field. By age 15 she had had enough of school, though, and quit. She joined a theater troupe and played in several stage shows, which were for the most part nothing to write home about. In 1925 she passed a screen test and was signed to a contract with Fox Films. Her first role as a Fox player was Hearts and Spurs (1925), in which she had the lead. Right after that film she appeared in a western called Durand of the Bad Lands (1925). She rounded out 1925 in the comedy Marriage in Transit (1925) (she also appeared in a number of two-reel shorts). In 1926 Carole was seriously injured in an automobile accident that resulted in the left side of her face being scarred. Once she had recovered, Fox canceled her contract. She did find work in a number of shorts during 1928 (13 of them, many for slapstick comedy director Mack Sennett), but did go back for a one-time shot with Fox called Me, Gangster (1928). By now the film industry was moving from the silent era to "talkies". While some stars' careers ended because of heavy accents, poor diction or a voice unsuitable to sound, Carole's light, breezy, sexy voice enabled her to transition smoothly during this period. Her first sound film was High Voltage (1929) at Pathe (her new studio) in 1929. In 1931 she was teamed with William Powell in Man of the World (1931). She and Powell hit it off and soon married, but the marriage didn't work out and they divorced in 1933. No Man of Her Own (1932) put Carole opposite Clark Gable for the first and only time (they married seven years later in 1939). By now she was with Paramount Pictures and was one of its top stars. However, it was Twentieth Century (1934) that showed her true comedic talents and proved to the world what a fine actress she really was. In 1936 Carole received her only Oscar nomination for Best Actress for My Man Godfrey (1936). She was superb as ditzy heiress Irene Bullock. Unfortunately, the coveted award went to Luise Rainer in The Great Ziegfeld (1936), which also won for Best Picture. Carole was now putting out about one film a year of her own choosing, because she wanted whatever role she picked to be a good one. She was adept at picking just the right part, which wasn't surprising as she was smart enough to see through the good-ol'-boy syndrome of the studio moguls. She commanded and received what was one of the top salaries in the business - at one time it was reported she was making $35,000 a week. She made but one film in 1941, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941). Her last film was in 1942, when she played Maria Tura opposite Jack Benny in To Be or Not to Be (1942). Tragically, she didn't live to see its release. The film was completed in 1941 just at the time the US entered World War II, and was subsequently held back for release until 1942. Meanwhile, Carole went home to Indiana for a war bond rally. On January 16, 1942, Carole, her mother, and 20 other people were flying back to California when the plane went down outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. All aboard perished. The highly acclaimed actress was dead at the age of 33 and few have been able to match her talents since.Died in a plane crash at Table Rock Mountain, Nevada.
1908-1942 (33 years old)- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Talley was a foreign correspondent at the Paris bureau of The New York Herald before he became a producer for Fox Movietone News in New York City. His son is Truman Macdonald Talley.
Talley's granddaughter, Melanie De Voe Talley Whatley, has a documentary production company in New York City called Skye Films with her husband, Harlan Douglas Whatley.Died in New York, New York.
1891-1942 (50 years old)- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Nikoloz Shengelaia was born on 19 August 1903 in Obuji, Kutaisi Governorate, Russian Empire [now Republic of Georgia]. He was a director and writer, known for Narindjis veli (1937), Caucasian Love (1928) and Giuli (1927). He was married to Nato Vachnadze. He died on 4 January 1943 in Nearby Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia].Died in a car crash in Tbilisi, Soviet Union [now Georgia].
1903-1943 (39 years old)- Hugh O'Connell was born on 4 August 1898 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for That Certain Woman (1937), She Gets Her Man (1935) and Broadway Thru a Keyhole (1933). He died on 19 January 1943 in Hollywood, California, USA.Died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California.
1898-1943 (44 years old) - Actor. In the years 1933-36 he performed at the City Theaters in Warsaw. In addition, in the 1934/35 season he was in the group of the "Stara Banda" revue theater, and in 1936 he played in the Chamber Theater. He played mainly in movies, great external conditions predestined him to the roles of lovers. During the war, from 1940, he played in open theaters. In 1942, arrested by the Gestapo, on November 19 of that year he was sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, where he was murdered.Died of experimental phenol injection in Auschwitz, Germany [now Oswiecim, Poland].
1914-1943 (28 years old) - Actress
- Soundtrack
Tamara [Drasin], a native of Sorochintzy, in the Ukraine. Attended elementary school and Hunter College in New York City. After appearing in a 1927 revue called "The New Yorkers" (not the Cole Porter show) she played many Russian Restaurants in Manhattan, notably the Gypsy Tavern and the Kretchma. She also had brief appearances in Broadway shows such as "Crazy Quilt," "Americana" and "Free For All." Later she rose to fame in "Roberta," "Right This Way" and "Leave It to Me," in which she sang "Get Out Of Town." In 1936 she starred at New York's Versailles in a night club act. She was one of 24 casualties of a plane crash in the Tagus River, near Lisbon in March, 1943. Jane Froman survived. In private life was wife of Erwin D. Swann, vice president of Foote, Cone & Belding Ad Agency. Luther Adler delivered the eulogy at her service, attended by 500 mourners on 16 April 1943.Died in a plane crash in Lisbon, Portugal.
1905-1943 (37 years old)- Actor
- Soundtrack
After an initial foray into journalism, and determined to obtain some overseas experience, Haggard moved to Munich, where he studied for stage at the Munich State Theatres under Frau Magda Lena.He made his stage debut at the Schauspielhaus in October 1930 in the play Das kluge Kind directed by Max Reinhardt. He later appeared as Hamlet at the same theatre.
Upon Haggard's return to the United Kingdom in 1931, his career path was initially discouraging: he received only small parts in various London plays and worked in repertory in Worthing. He undertook further study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and subsequently received good notices when he played Silvius in Shakespeare's As You Like It in London in 1933. He was noticed by the playwright Clemence Dane and made his first appearance in New York in 1934 as the poet Thomas Chatterton in her play Come of Age. Returning to Britain, he had successful roles in a number of plays, including Flowers of the Forest, a production of Mazo de la Roche's Whiteoaks, and he appeared as Konstantin in Chekhov's The Seagull, and was hailed as one of the most promising and handsome classical actors of the era.
Haggard married Morna Gillespie in September 1935, and they had three children. In 1938, Haggard returned to New York to reprise his role as Finch in Whiteoaks, which he also directed. His novel Nya was published in the same year. He appeared as Mozart in the film Whom the Gods Love (1936). The film was not a success, in part because Haggard was considered to be inexperienced, and was unknown. He also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's film Jamaica Inn (1939) and subsequently appeared as Lord Nelson in the Carol Reed film The Young Mr. Pitt (1942).
At the outbreak of the Second World War Haggard joined the British Army, serving as a captain in the Intelligence Corps.[1] His wife and two sons went to the United States in 1940, where his father was consul-general in New York. Shortly after their departure, he wrote his sons a letter, which was published in the Atlantic Monthly later that year as "I'll Go to Bed at Noon: A Soldier's Letter to His Sons." Haggard was posted to the Middle East and worked for the Department of Political Warfare. There he met the author Olivia Manning and her husband, the broadcaster R. D. Smith. The latter recruited Haggard to play starring roles in his productions of Henry V and Hamlet on local radio in Jerusalem.[5] Manning based the character Aidan Sheridan in her Fortunes of War novel sequence on Haggard.
Stephen Haggard Sadly passed away on a train between Cairo and Palestine, Haggard was overworked and felt that the Second World War had destroyed his acting career. He was on the edge of a nervous breakdown when after some months a married Egyptian woman with whom he had a romantic relationship decided to end it.Died of suicide in Egypt.
1911-1943 (31 years old)- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Conrad Veidt attended the Sophiengymnasium (secondary school) in the Schoeneberg district of Berlin, and graduated without a diploma in 1912, last in his class of 13. Conrad liked animals, theater, cinema, fast cars, pastries, thunderstorms, gardening, swimming and golfing. He disliked heights, flying, the number 17, wearing ties, pudding and interviews. A star of early German cinema, he became a sensation in 1920 with his role as the murderous somnambulist Cesare in Robert Wiene's masterpiece The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). Other prominent roles in German silent films included Different from the Others (1919) and Waxworks (1924). His third wife, Ilona (nicknamed Lily), was Jewish, although he himself wasn't. However, whenever he had to state his ethnic background on forms to get a job, he wrote: "Jude" (Jew). He and Lily fled Germany in 1933 after the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, and he became a British citizen in 1939. Universal Pictures head Carl Laemmle personally chose Veidt to play Dracula in a film to be directed by Paul Leni based on a successful New York stage play: "Dracula". Ultimately, Bela Lugosi got the role, and Tod Browning directed the film, Dracula (1931). In his last German film, F.P.1 Doesn't Answer (1932), Veidt sang a song called "Where the Lighthouse Shines Across the Bay." Although the record was considered a flop in 1933, the song became a hit almost 50 years later, when, in 1980, DJ Terry Wogan played it as a request on the Radio 2 breakfast show. That single playing generated numerous phone calls, and shortly thereafter the song appeared on a British compilation album called "Movie Star Memories" - a collection of songs from 1930s-era films compiled from EMI archives. The album was released by World Records Ltd., and is now out of print but can still be ordered online ("Where the Lighthouse Shines Across the Bay" is track 4 on side 2). Veidt appeared in Germany's first talking picture, Bride 68 (1929), and made only one color picture, The Thief of Bagdad (1940), filmed in England and Hollywood. His most famous role was as Gestapo Maj. Strasser in the classic Casablanca (1942); although he was not the star of the picture, he was the highest paid actor. He died while playing golf, and on the death certificate his name is misspelled as "Hanz Walter Conrad Veidt". Because he had been blacklisted in Nazi Germany, there was no official announcement there of his death. His ex-wife, Felicitas, and daughter Viola, in Switzerland, heard about it on the radio.Died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California.
1893-1943 (50 years old)- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Tibor Halmay was born on 20 December 1894 in Nagyszentmiklós, Austria-Hungary [now Sânnicolau Mare, Romania]. He was an actor, known for A Song, a Kiss, a Girl (1932), Donaumelodien (1936) and The Last Waltz (1934). He died on 3 February 1944 in Budapest, Hungary.Died during a bombing raid in Budapest, Hungary.
1894-1944 (49 years old)- Dick Purcell was born on 6 August 1905 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor, known for Captain America (1944), Mystery House (1938) and Heroes in Blue (1939). He was married to Ethelind Terry. He died on 10 April 1944 in Hollywood, California, USA.Died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California.
1908-1944 (35 years old) - German actor Hermann Braun was born in New York in 1918, since his father "Kammersaenger" Carl Braun had an engagement at the Metropolitan Opera.
Back in Germany twelve years old Hermann was detected for his first part in a movie (1933 - Der Jaeger aus Kurpfalz) when he visited his father at the Babelsberg-Filmstudios in Berlin. Due to his talent Hermann was offered the star role in "Hitlerjunge Quax" but he had to decline, because of a protracted illness. In order to this he got a minor part in the movie.
Later he began his studies at the acting school Schauspielschule Berlin which he left two years later without an examination. Also because of his talent he got an engagement at the Stadttheater Bochum. Next he played at the Staatstheater Berlin before being new-discovered for the film industry. Among this he played in Emil Jannings 1936 - picture "Traumulus".
Due to his negative posture against the Nazi regime, he lost his artist-status and got drafted in 1944. As a radio operator he came to the Russian front where he was shot by snipers in an open field on January 18th 1945. He was 26 years old.
He descended from an artistic family. His father Carl Braun was a famous opera singer, his mother Gertrude Botz actress at the Theater Luebeck, and his sister Anne-Mary Braun is an actress too and also worked as a college lecturer at the Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany.Died of a war-related gunshot near Lodz, Poland.
1918-1945 (26 years old) - Born in Germany in 1929 and raised and raised in Germany and Amsterdam. In 1942, shortly after receiving a diary for her 13th birthday, she and her family were forced to go into hiding to escape Hitler's persecution of the Jews. Hiding with another family and a dentist in an annex behind the building in which her father worked, Anne recorded their lives in her diary almost daily. In addition, she recorded her fights with her mother, her budding relationship with the other family's son, and her own maturation. In 1944, the eight people were discovered and arrested by the Gestapo. They were separated and put in concentration camps. At age 15, Anne died there in March, 1945. Her mother and sister, as well as the other people living with them, also died. Only her father survived; on his return home, he found her diary untouched and had it published in 1947. It was an immediate success, as millions of readers were touched by her indomitable spirit in the face of such chaos. The diary is famous even to this day and was the inspiration for the Broadway play "The Diary of Anne Frank" in 1955. The play was adapted by first time in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959), followed by Anne Frank's Diary (1999), The Diary of Anne Frank (1995) and The Diary of Anne Frank (2016). It inspired four TV movies, The Diary of Anne Frank (1962), The Diary of Anne Frank (1985), The Diary of Anne Frank (1967) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1980). The diary also inspired the mini series The Diary of Anne Frank (1987), The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank (1988), Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001) and The Diary of Anne Frank (2009). In addition, her life inspired Forget Me Not: The Anne Frank Story (1996) (about a Neo Nazi who back in time to meet Anne), My Best Friend Anne Frank (2021) and Mi ricordo Anna Frank (2009) (about her relation with her close friend Hannah Goslar), My Daughter, Anne Frank (2015) (about the relation between Anne and her father Otto) and Where Is Anne Frank (2021), based on the eponymous graphic novel, as well as the biographic documentary Anne Frank Remembered (1995) and Anne Frank, Then and Now (2014).Died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Germany.
1929-1945 (15 years old)