Helen Gardner(1884-1968)
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
A stage actress who was an alumni of the American Academy of Dramatic
Arts, Helen Gardner made her film debut with Vitagraph Pictures in
1911. In that year she appeared in
Vanity Fair (1911), to critical
acclaim. The next year she formed her own film production company,
Helen Gardner Productions--as far as is known, the first film actress
to do so--to make feature films that would be directed by her husband,
Charles L. Gaskill. Her best known
picture during that period was
Cleopatra (1912). After making films on
her own for a few years, she returned to Vitagraph in 1915 only to
retire shortly thereafter, although she did return in the early '20s
for a few small parts.