Kitty Gordon

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Kitty Gordon
Kitty Gordon 1900s.jpg
Gordon, early 1900s
Born
Constance Minnie Blades

(1878-04-22)22 April 1878
Folkestone, Kent, U.K.
Died26 May 1974(1974-05-26) (aged 96)
Brentwood, New York, U.S.
OccupationActor
Spouse(s)Maxwell James
Michael Levenston (Dec 10, 1903–Mar 29, 1904) (his death)
Captain Henry Beresford (Oct. 1904 – 1924. his death)
Ralph Ranlet (1932 – ?)
Kitty Gordon with her daughter, the actress Vera Beresford. Kitty Gordon and her daughter, Vera Beresford.png
Kitty Gordon with her daughter, the actress Vera Beresford.

Kitty Gordon (born Constance Minnie Blades; 22 April 1878 – 26 May 1974) was an English stage and silent film actress.

Contents

Career

Constance Minnie Blades was born in Folkestone, Kent, to Col. Blades of the Royal Artillery. [1] [2] Her first professional stage appearance was at the Princes Theatre in Bristol in 1901 in the touring production of San Toy. [3] She appeared in The Duchess of Dantzic in 1903, the operetta Véronique in 1904 and The Three Kisses in 1907. In 1909 she moved to New York City, where she became a regular on the New York stage.

On 19 October 1911, Gordon starred in the premiere of composer Victor Herbert's operetta The Enchantress at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. [4] She remained with the production when it transferred to the New York Theatre on Broadway later that month. [5] Herbert created the title role specifically for her. [6]

She made her first film appearance in 1916 in As in a Looking Glass. During the next three years she made twenty-one films. She continued her stage work from 1919 onwards. She also made television appearances. Her final appearance on television was in 1952 on the program Life Begins at Eighty . [6]

Personal life

Her first husband was Maxwell James with whom she had a child, Vera. She later also had a career as an actress known on the stage and in film as Vera Beresforf. [7] After his death, she married theatre manager Michael Levenston on 10 December 1903. He died on 29 March 1904 , and in October 1904, Kitty married Captain Henry "Harry" Horsley-Beresford (1876– 1924), a son of the 3rd Baron Decies. [8] Kitty's child became Cynthia Vera Beresford, who became an actress. In 1932 Kitty married Ralph Ranlet. [9] Kitty's daughter Vera died in 1945. [7]

Kitty Gordon died in a nursing home in Brentwood, New York in 1974. [10]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1916 As in a Looking Glass Lila DespardLost film
1916 Her Maternal Right Nina SeaburyLost film
1916 The Crucial Test ThanyaLost film
1917 Vera, the Medium VeraLost film
1917 Forget Me Not Stefanie PaoliLost film
1917 The Beloved Adventuress Juliette La MondeLost film
1917 Her Hour Rita CastleLost film
1917 National Red Cross Pageant BrugesFlemish episode
Lost film
1917 Diamonds and Pearls Violetta D'ArcyLost film
1917 The Volunteer Herself, Cameo AppearanceLost film
1918 The Divine Sacrifice Madeline SpencerLost film
1918 The Wasp Grace CulverLost film
1918 The Purple Lily Marie BurguetLost film
1918 Stolen Orders Felicia GavestonLost film
1918 The Interloper Jane CameronLost film
1918 Tinsel Princess Sylvia Carzoni
1918 Merely Players Nadine TrentLost film
1919 Adele Adele BleneauLost film
1919 Mandarin's Gold Betty CardonLost film
1919 The Unveiling Hand Margaret EllisLost film
1919 The Scar CoraLost film
1919 Playthings of Passion Helen RowlandLost film

References

  1. ↑ Metcalfe, Cranstoun (1913). Peeresses of the Stage. London: A. Melrose. p. 227.
  2. ↑ Gänzl, Kurt (2001). The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre (2nd ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. p. 792. ISBN   9780028649702.
  3. ↑ Gillan, Don. "Kitty Gordon (1878-1974)". www.stagebeauty.net.
  4. ↑ "The Enchantress Staged; Kitty Gordon Appears in Title Role of Victor Herbert's Opera Comique". The New York Times . 10 October 1911. p. 13.
  5. ↑ "Music That Charms by Victor Herbert; in The Enchantress, Which Raises Kitty Gordon to the Stars". The New York Times . 20 October 1911. p. 13.
  6. 1 2 "Kitty Gordon, Star of 1911 'Enchantress,' Is Dead". The New York Times . 29 May 1974. p. 44.
  7. 1 2 “Deaths.” The New York Times, 8 Oct. 1945, p. 15.
  8. ↑ The Times 29 January 1924.
  9. ↑ Mrs. Beresford wed to Ralph Ranlet. New York Times, 16 September 1932
  10. ↑ “Kitty Gordon, Star of 1911 'Enchantress,' Is Dead.” The New York Times, 29 May 1974, p. 44.
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