Naomi Childers

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Naomi Childers
Silent film actress Naomi Childers (SAYRE 21625).jpg
Childers c. 1916
Born(1892-11-15)November 15, 1892
DiedMay 9, 1964(1964-05-09) (aged 71)
Resting place Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
OccupationActress
Spouse
(m. 1920;div. 1929)

Naomi Weston Childers (November 15, 1892 – May 9, 1964), was an American silent film actress whose career lasted until the mid-20th century.

Contents

English ancestry, child actress

She was born of English parentage in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Later in life she took pride in being descended from a long line of British ancestors. Her childhood was spent in St. Louis, Missouri, where she was educated in the Maryville convent. Childers began acting at the age of three, reciting at a notable function. She played a Chopin number at an adult recital at age eight. Characterized by her wisdom in theater and silent films, she performed various performances with the great creator of silent films, Charles S. Chaplin. It was not until 1942 that Childers left the talkies. When she was ten Childers performed the title roles in both Red Riding Hood[ citation needed ] and Alice in Wonderland at the Odeon Theater in St. Louis. [1] In 1912 she played in The Great Name and Madame X. The theatrical presentations featured Henry Kolker and Dorothy Donnelly.[ citation needed ] When she was 11 years old, Childers won a contest for interpretation and gave a series of readings at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. [2]

On Broadway, Childers appeared in The Great Name (1911) [3] and Ready Money.

Hollywood films

Childers was in movies beginning in 1913. She appeared in The Turn of the Road (1915) and The Writing on the Wall (1916). She was associated with the Vitagraph company for four years. Her most popular role was in Womanhood, the Glory of the Nation. In this film she performed a most modern characterization of Joan of Arc. In 1917 she began working with the Commonwealth Company. Childers possessed a preference for comedy, yet she was in constant demand to play more serious roles. Her character work in motion pictures was a strong asset. In the 1919 Sam Goldwyn film Lord and Lady Algy, Childers was cast in the leading feminine role. She depicted the wife of the young Lord Algy, played by Tom Moore. As a titled Englishwoman she revealed a cold exterior, but retained a warm nature.

Still from the 1915 Vitagraph production Anselo Lee with (left to right) Donald Hall, Naomi Childers, and Antonio Moreno. Anselo Lee 1915.jpg
Still from the 1915 Vitagraph production Anselo Lee with (left to right) Donald Hall, Naomi Childers, and Antonio Moreno.

Physical beauty

Childers at age 24, sketch by Marguerite Martyn Actress Naomi Childers at age 24 as sketched by Marguerite Martyn, 1916.jpg
Childers at age 24, sketch by Marguerite Martyn

The Motion Picture Studio Directory of 1916 contains a biographical sketch of Childers as well as a physical description of the actress. In that reference she is described as "5 ft. 7 in." in height; 130 pounds; with "light complexion, golden brown hair, [and] blue eyes". [4] Childers' good looks were highly regarded at the peak of her career. She was once voted the most beautiful woman in Japan, and contemporaries also compared her in appearance to the legendary Sarah Bernhardt. Often employed as a model, Childers enjoyed the attention of artists across the United States, many of whom referred to her as "the girl with the Grecian face."[ citation needed ]

Personal life

In 1919, Childers became engaged to Harold Darling Shattuck, the head of a large candy making company. Their wedding was scheduled for June, but was postponed until fall, because Childers was in Texas for an event. The actress referred to her fiancé as her Chocolate Soldier.

In December 1929, she was given a divorce from Luther A. Reed, Hollywood scenario writer and motion picture director, on grounds of desertion. The superior court of Los Angeles, California awarded Childers custody of an eight-year-old son and granted $250 a month alimony. Childers alleged Reed deserted her following nine years of married life.

Poverty and death

When Louis B. Mayer discovered Childers had come into hard times in later years, he granted her a lifetime contract from MGM. She continued to play numerous, often uncredited, roles into the early 1950s. Childers died in Hollywood, California in 1964, age 71. She is buried at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.

Partial filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viola Dana</span> American actress (1897–1987)

Viola Dana was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clara Kimball Young</span> American actress (1890–1960)

Clara Kimball Young was an American film actress who was popular in the early silent film era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Faye</span> American actress

Julia Faye Maloney, known professionally as Julia Faye, was an American actress of silent and sound films. She was known for her appearances in more than 30 Cecil B. DeMille productions. Her various roles ranged from maids and ingénues to vamps and queens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Adams (actress, born 1893)</span> American actress

Kathryn Adams, sometimes credited as Catherine Adams or Katherine Adams, was an American silent film actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Darmond</span> Canadian-American actress

Grace Darmond was a Canadian-American actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivian Martin</span> American actress (1893–1987)

Vivian Martin was an American stage and silent film actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Novak</span> American actress (1896–1990)

Jane Novak was an American actress of the silent film era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margarita Fischer</span> American actress

Margarita Fisher was an American actress in silent motion pictures and stage productions. Newspapers sometimes referred to her as "Babe" Fischer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet Mersereau</span> American actress

Violet Mersereau was an American stage and film actress. Over the course of her screen career, Mersereau appeared in over 100 short and silent film features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Alden</span> American actress (1883–1946)

Mary Maguire Alden was an American motion picture and stage actress. She was one of the first Broadway actresses to work in Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peggy Hyland</span> British actress (1884–1973)

Peggy Hyland was an English silent film actress who after a brief period on the stage had a successful career as a silent film actress, appearing in at least 40 films in Great Britain and the United States between 1914 and 1925. In 1925 she returned to Britain after making her last film following which she lived a life of obscurity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fay Tincher</span> American comedy actress (1884-1983)

Fay Tincher was an American comic actress in motion pictures of the silent film era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clara Whipple</span> American actress

Clara Whipple(néeClara or Clarissa or Clarise Brimmer Whipple; November 7, 1887 – November 6, 1932) was an American actress who flourished in theatre from 1913 to 1915 and in silent film from 1915 to 1919. She was also a silent film scenario writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lule Warrenton</span> American actress

Lule Warrenton was an American actress, director, and producer during the silent film era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1913 and 1922. She was born in Flint, Michigan and died in Laguna Beach, California and was the mother of cinematographer Gilbert Warrenton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edna Mayo</span> American actress

Edna Mayo was an American film actress of the silent film era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nils Olaf Chrisander</span> Swedish actor and film director

Nils Olaf Chrisander was a Swedish actor and film director in the early part of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnes Vernon</span> American silent film actress

Agnes Vernon was an American film actress of the silent era. While still in her teens, she experienced a meteoric ascent from obscurity to box-office sensation. After turning twenty-three and a movie career fading away, she abandoned the silver screen forever. Vernon performed in over 90 films between 1913 and 1922. She completed most of her roles under contract with Universal Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladys Leslie</span> American actress

Gladys Leslie Moore was an American actress in silent film, active in the 1910s and 1920s. Though less-remembered than superstars like Mary Pickford, she had a number of starring roles from 1917 to the early 1920s and was one of the young female stars of her day.

<i>Lord and Lady Algy</i> (film) 1919 film by Harry Beaumont

Lord and Lady Algy is a lost 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Tom Moore, Naomi Childers, and Frank Leigh. It is based on a play of the same name by R.C. Carton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louella Maxam</span> American actress

Louella Maxam was an American actress who performed in over 50 silent films from 1913 until 1921. She was often cast in comedies and Westerns, most notably being identified in 1915 as a "leading lady" in a series of shorts starring Tom Mix, who during the silent and early sound eras was promoted as the "Cowboy King of Hollywood". Later, she was a female lead in other films for various studios, including several productions featuring another early cowboy star, Franklyn Farnum. Following her departure from acting, Maxam worked in county and municipal government in California, including service with the Burbank police department, where in 1943 she was hired as that city's first "police woman".

References

  1. "Young St. Louisans Star in Shadow Drama". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri, St. Louis. May 16, 1915. p. 68. Retrieved April 14, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Young elocutionist to read at World's Fair". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Missouri, St. Louis. November 1, 1904. p. 3. Retrieved April 14, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Naomi Childers". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Broadway League. 16 May 1915. p. 68. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  4. "CHILDERS, Naomi", Motion Picture Studio Directory, published by Motion Picture News, Inc. (New York, N.Y.); October 21, 1916, p. 71. Internet Archive, San Francisco, California. Retrieved September 6, 2020.

Bibliography