Gladys Brockwell
| Gladys Brockwell | |
|---|---|
 Photo movie card of Brockwell (ca. 1910s) | |
| Born |
Gladys Lindeman September 26, 1894 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died |
July 2, 1929 (aged 34) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1913–1929 |
Gladys Brockwell (September 26, 1894[1] – July 2, 1929) was an American actress whose career began during the silent film era.
Early life
Born Gladys Lindeman in Brooklyn, New York in 1894, the daughter of a single parent, a chorus girl turned actress who put her daughter on stage at the age of three. By the time she reached her middle teens, she was already a veteran and taking on dramatic leading roles.
She made her East Coast film debut in 1913 as Gladys Brockwell for Lubin Studios and within a short time was starring in a number of films. Developing her craft, she moved to Hollywood where she garnered a role in the acclaimed 1922 version of Oliver Twist and in The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923, the following year.[2]
Career
By the mid-1920s she was past the age of thirty and although still given top female billing, Brockwell performed mainly in supporting roles. Regarded as one of the finest character actresses of the day who not only adapted to the new talkies but excelled in them, her first appearance in a "talkie" came in 1928 in Lights of New York. Her performance received strong reviews at the time of the film's release and as well by present-day critics of the preserved film.
A Warner Bros. feature-length production, Lights of New York was filmed with microphones strategically hidden around the sets, creating the first motion picture released with fully synchronic dialogue. She was then signed by Warner Bros. and was looking forward to continued success in talkies.
Death
On June 27, 1929, Brockwell and a friend, Thomas Brennan, were involved in an automobile accident near Calabasas, California. She was crushed beneath the automobile driven by Brennan, an advertising man from Los Angeles, California. The auto went over a 75-foot (23 m) embankment on the Ventura Highway near Calabasas.
Seriously injured, four blood transfusions were performed in an effort to save her life, the last just prior to her death. Brennan recovered after sustaining serious injuries. He said a bit of dust had blown into his eye, temporarily blinding him. Following a second blood transfusion, Brockwell appeared to improve until peritonitis set in from her internal injuries, particularly a puncture of her large intestine.
After two more transfusions, Brockwell died at 7 p.m. on July 2, 1929 at Osteopathic Hospital. No negligence was placed on Brennan, who was still recovering in the hospital. Her final film, The Drake Case, was directed by Edward Laemmle while she was on loan to Universal Pictures, and was released posthumously in September 1929.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | The Rattlesnake | Tony's sister | |
| When Mountain and Valley Meet | Beth | ||
| 1914 | The Geisha | ||
| The Last of the Line | |||
| One of the Discard | Flora | ||
| A Political Feud | Helen Kent | ||
| A Relic of Old Japan | Annette Walsh | ||
| Stacked Cards | Edna Johnson | ||
| The Typhoon | Helene | ||
| The Worth of a Life | Ruby Baker | ||
| 1915 | A Confidence Game | ||
| Double Trouble | Daisy Scarlett | ||
| A Man and His Mate | Betty | ||
| On the Night Stage | Saloon girl | ||
| Providence and the Twins | Miss Abagail Dean | ||
| 1916 | The Crippled Hand | The Prima Donna | |
| The End of the Trail | Adrienne Cabot | ||
| The Fires of Conscience | Margery Burke | ||
| Sins of Her Parent | Adrian Gardiner / Valerie Marchmont | ||
| 1917 | A Branded Soul | Conchita Cordova | |
| Her Temptation | Shirley Moreland | ||
| The Honor System | Trixie Bennett | ||
| The Price of Her Soul | Ailene Graham | ||
| The Soul of Satan | Miriam Lee | ||
| 1918 | The Bird of Prey | Adele Durant | |
| The Devil's Wheel | Blanche De Montfort | ||
| Her One Mistake | Harriet Gordon / Peggy Malone | ||
| Kultur | Countess Griselda von Arenburg | ||
| The Moral Law | Isobel de Costa / Anita de Costa | ||
| The Scarlet Road | Mabel Halloway | ||
| The Strange Woman | Inez de Pierrefond | ||
| 1919 | Broken Commandments | Nella Banard | |
| The Call of the Soul | Barbara Deming | ||
| Chasing Rainbows | Sadie | ||
| The Divorce Trap | Eleanor Burton | ||
| The Forbidden Room | Ruth Lester | ||
| Pitfalls of a Big City | Molly Moore | ||
| The Sneak | Rhona | ||
| 1920 | Flames of the Flesh | Candace | |
| A Sister to Salome | Elinore Duane | ||
| 1921 | The Sage Hen | The Sage Hen | |
| 1922 | Oliver Twist | Nancy | |
| Double Stakes | |||
| Paid Back | Carol Gordon | ||
| 1923 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Sister Gudule | |
| Penrod and Sam | Mrs. Schofield | ||
| The Darling of New York | Light Fingered Kitty | ||
| 1924 | The Foolish Virgin | Nancy Owens | |
| So Big | Maartje Poole | ||
| 1925 | Chickie | Jennie | |
| Stella Maris | Louisa Risca | ||
| The Ancient Mariner | Life in death | ||
| 1926 | The Skyrocket | Rose Kimm (prologue) | |
| Her Sacrifice | Mary Cullen | ||
| Twinkletoes | Cissie Lightfoot | ||
| The Last Frontier | Cynthia Jaggers | ||
| Spangles | Mademoiselle Dazie | ||
| 1927 | Long Pants | His Mother | |
| The Country Doctor | Myra Jones | ||
| Man, Woman and Sin | Mrs. Whitcomb | ||
| 7th Heaven | Nana | ||
| 1928 | A Girl in Every Port | Madame Flore | |
| My Home Town | Mae Andrews | ||
| Hollywood Bound | Hollywood Leading Lady | short; Vitaphone sound | |
| The Home Towners | Lottie Bancroft | ||
| Lights of New York | Molly Thompson | ||
| The Woman Disputed | Countess | ||
| 1929 | The Hottentot | Mrs. Chadwick | |
| The Argyle Case | Mrs. Martin | ||
| Hardboiled Rose | Julie Malo | ||
| The Drake Case | Lulu Marks |
References
- ↑ "The Stars of Hollywood Forever - Tony Scott". Books.google.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
- ↑ Keaton, Jessica (2011-09-29). "Silence is Platinum: Miss Gladys Brockwell". Silenceisplatinum.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
Sources
- Albert Lea (Minnesota) Evening Tribune, "Gladys Brockwell, Picture Actress, Dies of Injuries", (Wednesday, July 3, 1929) page 1
- New York Times, "Gladys Brockwell Dies" (July 3, 1929) page 14
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gladys Brockwell. |