Mildred Harris
Mildred Harris | |
---|---|
Born | Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S. | November 29, 1901
Died | July 20, 1944 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 42)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1912–1944 |
Spouse(s) |
Everett Terrence McGovern
(m. 1924; div. 1929) |
Children | 2 |
Mildred Harris (November 29, 1901 – July 20, 1944) was an American film actress during the early part of the 20th century.[1] Harris began her career in the film industry as a child actress when she was 10 years old. She was also the first wife of Charlie Chaplin.
Early life
Mildred Harris was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Harry Harris, a telegraph operator, and Anna Parsons Foote. Harris made her first screen appearance at the age of 10 in the 1912 Francis Ford and Thomas H. Ince-directed Western short The Post Telegrapher. She followed the film with various juvenile roles, often appearing opposite child actor Paul Willis. In 1914, she was hired by The Oz Film Manufacturing Company to portray Fluff in The Magic Cloak of Oz and Button-Bright in His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz. In 1916, at the age of 15, she appeared as a harem girl in Griffith's film Intolerance.
Career
In the 1920s, Harris transitioned from child actress to leading lady roles opposite leading men such as Conrad Nagel, Charley Chase, Milton Sills, Lionel Barrymore, Rod La Rocque and the Moore brothers, Owen and Tom. She appeared in Frank Capra's 1928 silent drama The Power of the Press with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Jobyna Ralston and the same year, starred in Universal Pictures first sound film Melody of Love opposite Walter Pidgeon.[2]
She found the transition to the "talkies" difficult and her career slowed dramatically. She performed in vaudeville and burlesque, and at one point, toured with comedian Phil Silvers. She was critically praised for her performance in the 1930 film adaptation of the Broadway musical No, No Nanette. In the 1936 Three Stooges comedy Movie Maniacs, she portrayed a temperamental and demanding film starlet, who while receiving a pedicure, is startled by stooge Curly Howard striking a match on the sole of her foot.
Harris continued to work in film in the early 1940s, largely through the kindness of her former director, Cecil B. DeMille, who cast her in bit parts in 1942's Reap the Wild Wind (starring Paulette Goddard, who like Harris, was once married to Charlie Chaplin), and 1944's The Story of Dr. Wassell. Her last film appearance was in the posthumously released 1945 film Having A Wonderful Crime.
Personal life
The 16-year-old Harris met actor Charlie Chaplin in mid-1918, dated, and came to believe she was pregnant by him, but the pregnancy was found to be a false alarm. They married privately on October 23, 1918, in Los Angeles. She subsequently did become pregnant.[3] The couple quarreled about her contract with Louis B. Mayer and her career. Chaplin felt she was not his intellectual equal. Their child, Norman Spencer, died in July 1919, at only three days of age,[4][5] and the couple separated in the autumn of 1919.
Chaplin moved to the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Harris tried to keep up appearances, believing a happy marriage was possible, but in 1920, she filed for divorce based on mental cruelty. Chaplin accused her of infidelity, and though he would not name her lover publicly, actress Alla Nazimova was suspected.[6] The divorce was granted in November 1920, with Harris receiving $100,000 [a] in settlement and some community property.[7]
In 1924, Harris married Everett Terrence McGovern. The union lasted until November 26, 1929, when Harris filed for divorce in Los Angeles, on grounds of desertion. The couple had one son, Everett Terrence McGovern, Jr., in 1925. In 1934, she married former football player William P. Fleckenstein in Asheville, North Carolina.[8]
Death
The couple remained married until Harris's death on July 20, 1944, of pneumonia following a major abdominal operation. She had been ill for three weeks.[1] She is interred in the Abbey of the Psalms Mausoleum at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Legacy
Harris has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6307 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. In 1992, she was portrayed by Milla Jovovich in the biographical film Chaplin.
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1912 | The Post Telegrapher | ||
The Triumph of Right | Their Little Daughter | ||
His Nemesis | |||
The Frontier Child | A Frontier Child | ||
His Squaw | |||
His Sense of Duty | |||
1913 | A Shadow of the Past | ||
The Wheels of Destiny | |||
The Miser | |||
The Drummer of the 8th | |||
A Child of War | |||
A True Believer | |||
The Seal of Silence | |||
Granddad | Mildred | ||
Borrowed Gold | |||
1914 | Romance of Sunshine Alley | ||
O Mimi San | |||
The Courtship of O San | |||
Wolves of the Underworld | |||
The Colonel's Orderly | |||
The Social Ghost | Ethel | ||
Shadows of the Past | |||
A Frontier Mother | |||
The Sheriff of Bisbee | |||
Shorty and the Fortune Teller | |||
When America Was Young | |||
Mildred's Doll | Mildred | ||
The Magic Cloak of Oz | Princess Margaret 'Fluff' of Noland | ||
His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz | Button-Bright, who is lost and doesn't care | ||
Jimmy | Mary | ||
1915 | The Lone Cowboy | ||
The Warrens of Virginia | Betty Warren | ||
Enoch Arden | A Child | (uncredited) | |
The Little Matchmaker | Mildred | ||
The Little Soldier Man | Mildred | ||
The Absentee | Innocence | ||
A Rightful Theft | |||
The Old Batch | First Adopted Daughter | ||
The Choir Boys | |||
The Little Lumberjack | |||
The Indian Trapper's Vindication | Dorothy King - their Daughter | ||
1916 | Hoodoo Ann | Goldie | survives; Library of Congress |
Intolerance | Favorite of the Harem | (uncredited), survives; many | |
The Old Folks at Home | Marjorie | survives | |
The Matrimaniac | (uncredited), survives; Library of Congress, others | ||
The Americano | Stenographer | survives; Library of Congress, others | |
1917 | The Bad Boy | Mary | lost |
A Love Sublime | Eurydice | lost | |
An Old Fashioned Young Man | lost | ||
Time Locks and Diamonds | Lolita Mendoza | lost | |
Golden Rule Kate | Olive - Kate's sister | survives; Library of Congress, Academy Film Archive | |
The Cold Deck | Alice Leigh | print survives; Library of Congress, La Cinemathèque française | |
The Price of a Good Time | Linnie | lost | |
1918 | The Doctor and the Woman | Sidney Page | lost |
Cupid by Proxy | Jane Stewart | print survives; Archives du Film CNC Bois d'Arcy, France[9] | |
For Husbands Only | Toni Wilde | lost | |
Borrowed Clothes | Mary Kirk | lost | |
1919 | When a Girl Loves | Bess | lost |
Home | Millicent Rankin | lost | |
Forbidden | 'Maddie' Irvin | lost | |
1920 | Old Dad | Daphne Bretton | lost |
The Inferior Sex | Allisa Randall | lost (as Mildred Harris Chaplin) | |
Polly of the Storm Country | Polly | lost (as Mildred Harris Chaplin) | |
The Woman in His House | Hilda | lost (as Mildred Harris Chaplin) | |
1921 | Habit | Irene Fletcher | lost |
A Prince There Was | Katherine Woods | lost | |
Fool's Paradise | Rosa Duchene | survives; Library of Congress | |
1922 | The First Woman | The Girl | lost |
1923 | The Fog | Madelaine Theddon | lost |
The Daring Years | Susie LaMotte | lost | |
1924 | The Shadow of the East | Gillian Locke | lost |
By Divine Right | The Girl | lost | |
Traffic in Hearts | Alice Hamilton | lost | |
One Law for the Woman | Polly Barnes | print survives; private holding (abridgement) | |
In Fast Company | Barbara Belden | print survives; Filmmuseum Amsterdam (EYE Institut) | |
Unmarried Wives | Princess Sonya | print survives; Filmoteca Espanola (Madrid) | |
Stepping Lively | Evelyn Pendroy, the girl | lost | |
The Desert Hawk | Marie Nicholls | lost | |
1925 | Easy Money | Blanche Amory | survives; Library of Congress |
Flaming Love | Chita | lost | |
Beyond the Border | Molly Smith | survives | |
The Dressmaker from Paris | Joan McGregor | lost (per Lost Film Files) | |
Super Speed | Claire Knight | survives; Library of Congress | |
Private Affairs | Amy Lufkin | lost | |
My Neighbor's Wife | Inventor's Wife | lost | |
A Man of Iron | Claire Bowdoin | lost | |
The Fighting Cub | lost | ||
The Unknown Lover | Gale Norman | lost | |
Soiled | Pet Darling | lost | |
1926 | Mama Behave | Lolita Chase, Charlie's Wife | survives |
The Isle of Retribution | Lenore Hardenworth | lost | |
The Self Starter | lost | ||
Dangerous Traffic | Helen Leonard | survives | |
The Wolf Hunters | lost | ||
The Mystery Club | Mrs. Kate Vandeerveer | lost (per Lost Film Files: Universal Pictures) | |
Cruise of the Jasper B | Agatha Fairhaven | survives; Library of Congress | |
1927 | The Show Girl | Maizie Udell | survives; Library of Congress, UCLA Film and Television |
One Hour of Love | Gwen | lost (per Lost Film Files: Tiffany) | |
Husband Hunters | Cynthia Kane | survives; BFI London | |
Wandering Girls | Maxine | lost (per Lost Film Files: Columbia Pictures) | |
Wolves of the Air | Marceline Manning | lost | |
Burning Gold | lost | ||
She's My Baby | Claire Daltour | lost | |
Rose of the Bowery | lost | ||
The Swell-Head | Kitty | lost (per Lost Film Files: Columbia Pictures) | |
The Girl from Rio | Helen Graham | survives; Library of Congress | |
Out of the Past | Dora Prentiss | lost | |
The Adventurous Soul | Miriam Martin | survives; Library of Congress | |
1928 | The Last Lap | lost | |
Hearts of Men | Alice Weston | lost | |
The Heart of a Follies Girl | Florine | lost | |
Lingerie | Mary | print survives; BFI London | |
The Speed Classic | Sheila Van Hauten | lost | |
Melody of Love | Madelon | lost | |
The Power of the Press | Marie Weston | survives | |
1929 | Side Street | Bunny | survives |
Sea Fury | |||
1930 | No, No, Nanette | Betty | |
The Melody Man | Martha | ||
Ranch House Blues | |||
1935 | Lady Tubbs | Society Woman | (uncredited) |
The quiero con locura | |||
Never Too Late | Mary Lloyd Hartley | ||
1936 | Movie Maniacs | Leading Lady | |
Great Guy | Bit Role | (uncredited) | |
1942 | Reap the Wild Wind | Dancing Lady | (uncredited) |
Holiday Inn | Woman | (uncredited) (unconfirmed) | |
1943 | Sweet Rosie O'Grady | Minor role | uncredited |
1944 | The Story of Dr. Wassell | Dutch nurse | (uncredited) |
Fun Time | Tillie | (uncredited) | |
Hail the Conquering Hero | Wife of Marine Colonel | (uncredited) | |
1945 | Having a Wonderful Crime | Guest | (uncredited) |
Notes
- ^ equivalent to $1,520,930 in 2023
References
- ^ a b "Mildred Harris Dies In West". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. July 21, 1944. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
... actress in the silent film days, and first wife of Comedian Charles Spencer Chaplin, died yesterday of pneumonia which followed a major abdominal operation....
- ^ "Mildred Harris, First Wife of Chaplin, Succumbs". Los Angeles Examiner. July 21, 1944. p. 3.
- ^ Robinson, David (1986) [1985]. Chaplin: His Life and Art. London: Paladin. ISBN 0-586-08544-0.
- ^ The child was buried in the Inglewood Park Cemetery under a headstone with the inscription "The Little Mouse". Beneath Los Angeles - Norman Spencer Chaplin
- ^ Charlie Chaplin's Wives at www.ednapurviance.org
- ^ McLellan, Diana. 2000. The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood London: Robson Books. 1-86105-381-9. p. 28.
- ^ Charles J. Maland, 1991, Chaplin and American Culture: The Evolution of a Star Image, Princeton University Press, pp. 43-44.
- ^ Mason City Globe Gazette, March 19, 1934, p. 18, Mason City Globe Gazette online on Newspaperarchive.com
- ^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:Cupid by Proxy
External links
- Mildred Harris at IMDb
- Mildred Harris at AllMovie
- Mildred Harris at Find a Grave
- Silent Era People
- Mildred Harris at Virtual history
- 1901 births
- 1944 deaths
- Actresses from Wyoming
- American film actresses
- American silent film actresses
- American child actresses
- Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
- Deaths from pneumonia
- Infectious disease deaths in California
- Vaudeville performers
- People from Cheyenne, Wyoming
- 20th-century American actresses
- Chaplin family