Blanche Mehaffey
Early years
Mehaffey was born to Dr. Edward Alexander Mehaffey and his wife, Blanche Berndt, in Cincinnati, OH.[1] Blanche Berndt Mahaffey was a noted soprano who toured nationally during the early twentieth century. Daughter Blanche was said to be a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.[2]
Broadway Career
Blanche Mehaffey began her professional career in 1921 when she was cast as a showgirl in Florenz Ziegfeld's Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic.[3] In 1922 she won first prize in a contest held in Cincinnati, OH, to pick the three most beautiful girls in Ohio.[4] She was then cast in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1922.[5]
Film Career
Mehaffey began her movie career in 1923 when she was cast in the George Jeske comedy, Fully Insured. She made over 60 films during a career that lasted until 1938.
- It's a Boy (1923)
- The White Sheep (1924)
- Meet the Missus (1924)
- The Goofy Age (1924)
- The Battling Orioles (1924)
- Position Wanted (1924)
- Going to Congress (1924)
- April Fool (1924)
- Friend Husband (1924)
- Powder and Smoke (1924)
- Just a Minute (1924)
- One of the Family (1924)
- The Big Idea (1924)
- At First Sight (1924)
- A Woman of the World (1925)
- His People (1925)
- Cuckoo Love (1925)
- Tell It to a Policeman (1925)
- Hold My Baby (1925)
- A Sailor Papa (1925)
- The Haunted Honeymoon (1925)
- The Wages of Tin (1925)
- Take It from Me (1926)
- The Runaway Express (1926)
- The Texas Streak (1926)
- He Forgot to Remember (1926)
- The Old War-Horse (1926)
- Finnegan's Ball (1927)
- The Tired Business Man (1927)
- The Princess from Hoboken (1927)
- The Denver Dude (1927)
- The Silent Rider (1927)
- Marlie the Killer (1928)
- The Air Mail Pilot (1928)
- Smilin' Guns (1929)
- Mounted Fury (1931)
- Soul of the Slums (1931)
- Is There Justice? (1931)
- Dancing Dynamite (1931)
- Dugan of the Badlands (1931)
- The Sky Spider (1931)
- Riders of the North (1931)
- The Mystery Trooper (1931)
- White Renegade (1931)
- The Sunrise Trail (1931)
- Hypnotized (1932)
- Alias Mary Smith (1932)
- Dynamite Denny (1932)
- Passport to Paradise (1932)
- Sally of the Subway (1932)
- Border Guns (1934)
- The Silent Code (1935)
- Pirate Party on Catalina Isle (1935)
- The Cowboy and the Bandit (1935)
- The Outlaw Tamer (1935)
- North of Arizona (1935)
- The Sea Fiend (1936)
- Wildcat Saunders (1936)
- The Wages of Sin (1938)
- Held for Ransom (1938)[6]
Mehaffey was among the WAMPS "Baby Stars" of 1924 chosen by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers.[7]
She spent 1930 away from films studying voice and languages in New York City.[8]
One critic considers Mehaffey's films to be "eminently forgettable [B movies]",[9] although another cites A Woman of the World as one of a hundred "essential silent film comedies."[10]
Personal life
Mehaffey wed George Joseph Hausen in Los Angeles, California in January 1928. She obtained a divorce in April of the same year.[11] She married Ralph Like in 1932 and obtained a divorce in 1939.[12]
Death
Mehaffey died on March 31, 1968.
References
- ^ "Blanche Mehaffey". FamilySearch. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Theater Notes". The New York Herald. New York, NY. February 11, 1922. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "New Tableaux in Show". The Billboard. New York, NY. October 16, 1921. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Theater Notes". The New York Herald. New York, NY. February 11, 1922. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "All American Beauties Chosen for the Follies of 1922". The Mid-Week Pictorial. New York, NY. June 1, 1922. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Blanche Mehaffey". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Blanche Mehaffey Back at Studios". Reno Gazette-Journal. San Francisco, CA. December 27, 1930. p. 8. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ^ "Beauties Await Ball". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, CA. December 24, 1930. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ^ Davis, Hank (2018). Classic Cliffhangers, Vol. 1, 1914-1940. Albany, GA: Bearmanor Media. ISBN 9781887664769.
- ^ Root, James (2017). 100 Essential Silent Film Comedies. New York, NY: Roman & Littlefield. p. 257-259. ISBN 9781442278240.
- ^ "Film Actress Gets Decree". The New York Times. p. 23. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "Three Divorces For Every Two Marriages Among Hollywood's Stars In Past Year". The Richmond Independent. p. 2. Retrieved February 26, 2024.