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Sylvia Poppy Bremer (9 June 1897 – 7 June 1943), known professionally as Sylvia Breamer, was an Australian actress who appeared in American silent motion pictures beginning in 1917.


Childhood and early career in Australia

Sylvia Poppy Bremer was born on 9 June 1897 in the Sydney suburb of
Double Bay Double Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Municipalit ...
, to Frederick Glasse Bremer and Jessie Bremer (née Platt). She had a sister named Doris, who later married actor William J. Kelly. From a young age she trained for the stage with Walter Bentley and later at a Sydney Dramatic school run by Douglas Ancelon and Stella Chapman. She started to appear at recitations and on stage from the age of 13, soon after in productions for
J. C. Williamson James Cassius Williamson (26 August 1845 – 6 July 1913) was an American actor and later Australia's foremost impresario, founding the J. C. Williamson's theatrical and production company. Born in Pennsylvania, Williamson moved with his fami ...
throughout Australia and New Zealand.Desley Deacon, 2013. "From Victorian Accomplishment to Modern Profession: Elocution Takes Judith Anderson, Sylvia Bremer and Dorothy Cumming to Hollywood, 1912-1918."
''Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies, Vol 18, No.1, p. 40-65, Oct. 2013.'' . Accessed 6 January 2017
The Manly Biographical Dictionary project reports that Bremer lived with her mother Jessie and step-father, Arthur George Crook Plunkett on the East Esplanade, Manly, in the early 1910s. By 1915 she had come to the notice of reviewers, particularly after she stood in for
Muriel Starr Muriel Starr (20 February 1888 – 19 April 1950) was a Canadian stage actress. She was particularly popular in Australia in the 1910s and 1920s. She appeared in one film, ''Within the Law'' (1916), an adaptation of her stage success. She was a ...
in a lead role in the Sydney run of
George Broadhurst George Howells Broadhurst (June 3, 1866 – January 31, 1952) was an Anglo-American theatre owner/manager, director, producer and playwright. His plays were most popular from the late 1890s into the 1920s. Biography Broadhurst was born in Wa ...
's play, ''Bought and Paid for''. By this time she was also famous enough to appear in newspaper advertisements for "Clement's Tonic." In 1914 Bremer married 46 year old E.W. Morrison, a US actor-director who regularly worked for J.C.Williamson. Like her Australian contemporary
Enid Bennett Enid Eulalie Bennett (15 July 1893 – 14 May 1969) was an Australian silent film actress, mostly active in American film. Early life Bennett was born on 15 July 1893 in York, Western Australia, the daughter of Nellie Mary Louise (''née'' Wa ...
, she determined to try her luck in the United States, and the couple departed for San Francisco in October 1916. The marriage appears to have been short lived however and Morrison returned to Australia in February 1917 without her.


Silent screen actress

Within a few months of arriving in the US, Breamer had appeared on stage in Boston and been tested by
Thomas H. Ince Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mot ...
. Her first movie for Ince was ''The Pinch Hitter'', released in April 1917, where she took the leading female role next to Charles Ray. In 1918, she changed the spelling of her surname to Breamer, apparently to sound less German. After Ince left the
Triangle Film Corporation Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922. History The studio was founded in July ...
, she made numerous films for a variety of producers, including Ince and J. Stuart Blackton and opposite leading men including William S. Hart,
Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklaho ...
, John Gilbert, Frank Mayo and
Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' (1 ...
. Her film output was significant - she had appeared in forty films by 1924 and was an established and bankable star. In 1917 Ince had "predicted a future for Sylvia Breamer equally brilliant to that of his first Australian acquisition, Enid Bennett; and the initial assessment was, as the ''Lone Hand'' put it, that she "surpassed Bennett as actress by a long way." Breamer's final leading role in a film was in ''Lightning Reporter,'' in 1926, opposite
Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Sco ...
. When no further film roles came her way she returned to the stage, appearing in a number of plays in 1926–30. In the early 1930s she famously criticized life and work in Hollywood. She reportedly said she "now loathes pictures and everything Hollywood means. There can be no real friendship in Hollywood - nothing but jealousy and sham." She had one minor role in a talkie, a supporting part in the 1936
Frances Farmer Frances Elena Farmer (September 19, 1913August 1, 1970) was an American actress and television hostess. She appeared in over a dozen feature films over the course of her career, though she garnered notoriety for sensationalized accounts of her l ...
,
Lester Matthews Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...
vehicle ''Too Many Parents.''


Personal life and death

Breamer's sister Doris joined her in the United States in the 1920s, marrying actor William J. Kelly in 1925. Breamer's mother and step-father also moved to the US in the early 1920s. On 1 November 1924 Breamer married Dr. Harry Martin at the Glenwood Inn in
Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...
, announcing she would be retiring from films. Their divorce in 1926 was acrimonious and public, with Martin accusing her of cruelty. Martin later went on to a long marriage to the columnist
Louella Parsons Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger; August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was an American movie columnist and a screenwriter. She was retained by William Randolph Hearst because she had championed Hearst's mistress Marion Davies and s ...
. In 1931, Breamer's engagement to actor Douglas Wood was announced, but it appears the marriage did not eventuate. In 1940, she was again in the news following a dispute over money after a divorce from aspiring politician Edmund R. Bohan. She died in her apartment in the
Royalton Hotel The Royalton Hotel is a hotel at 44 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The hotel, opened in 1898, was designed by architecture firm Rossiter & Wright and developed by civil engineer Edward G. Bailey. The 13-st ...
on 7 June 1943 as a result of a heart attack.Ralph L Marsden (2016) p.214


Partial filmography

* '' The Pinch Hitter'' (1917) * '' Sudden Jim'' (1917) * '' The Cold Deck'' (1917) *incomplete * '' The Narrow Trail'' (1917) * ''
The Millionaire Vagrant ''The Millionaire Vagrant'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Charles Ray, Sylvia Breamer and J. Barney Sherry.Golden p.32 Cast * Charles Ray as Steven Du Peyster * Sylvia Breamer as Ruth Vail ...
'' (1917) * ''
The Family Skeleton ''The Family Skeleton'' is a surviving 1918 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and Jerome Storm and written by Thomas H. Ince and Bert Lennon. The film stars Charles Ray, Sylvia Breamer, Andrew Arbuckle, William Elmer, ...
'' (1918) * ''
Missing Missing or The Missing may refer to: Film *Missing (1918 film), ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young *Missing (1982 film), ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras *Missi ...
'' (1918) * ''
We Can't Have Everything ''We Can't Have Everything'' was a 1918 American silent drama film directed and written by Cecil B. DeMille based upon a novel by Rupert Hughes. The film is considered to be lost. Plot As described in a film magazine, very much in love with ...
'' (1918) *lost film * ''
The Temple of Dusk ''The Temple of Dusk'' is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by James Young. It was produced by Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation. Plot As described in a film magazine, Akira (Hayakawa), a Japanese poet who lives in To ...
'' (1918) *lost film * ''A House Divided'' (1919) * '' The Common Cause'' (1919) *lost film * ''
My Lady's Garter ''My Lady's Garter'' is a lost 1920 American silent mystery film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Wyndham Standing, Sylvia Breamer and Holmes Herbert. It was based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Jacques Futrelle, a writer w ...
'' (1919) *lost film * '' The Blood Barrier'' (1920) * '' My Husband's Other Wife'' (1920) * '' Unseen Forces'' (1920) * '' Respectable by Proxy'' (1920) * ''
The Devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood ...
'' (1921) * ''
Doubling for Romeo ''Doubling for Romeo'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and written by Bernard McConville, Elmer Rice, and Will Rogers. The film stars Will Rogers, Sylvia Breamer, Raymond Hatton, Sidney Ainsworth, Al Hart and ...
'' (1921) * ''
A Poor Relation ''A Poor Relation'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and written by Bernard McConville. It is based on the play ''A Poor Relation'' by Edward E. Kidder. The film stars Will Rogers, Sylvia Breamer, Wallace Mac ...
'' (1921) * '' Not Guilty'' (1921) * ''
The Face Between ''The Face Between'' is a 1922 American silent melodrama film. Directed by Bayard Veiller, the film stars Bert Lytell, Andrée Tourneur, and Sylvia Breamer. It was released on April 17, 1922. Cast * Bert Lytell as Tommy Carteret, Sr./Tommy Car ...
'' (1922) * ''
Wolf Law ''Wolf Law'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Stuart Paton and starring Frank Mayo, Sylvia Breamer and Tom Guise.Connelly p.310 Cast * Frank Mayo as Jefferson De Croteau * Sylvia Breamer as Francine Redney * Tom Guise as Etie ...
'' (1922) * '' The Man Who Married His Own Wife'' (1922) * ''
Sherlock Brown ''Sherlock Brown'' is a 1922 American silent comedy-drama film. Directed by Bayard Veiller, the film stars Bert Lytell, Ora Carew, and Sylvia Breamer. It was released on June 26, 1922. Cast list * Bert Lytell as William Brown * Ora Carew as ...
'' (1922) * ''
Calvert's Valley ''Calvert's Valley'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring John Gilbert, Sylvia Breamer and Philo McCullough.Solomon p.279 Cast * John Gilbert as Page Emlyn * Sylvia Breamer as Hester Rymal * Philo ...
'' (1922) * ''
The Man Unconquerable ''The Man Unconquerable'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Joseph Henabery and written by Julien Josephson and Hamilton Smith. The film stars Jack Holt, Sylvia Breamer, Clarence Burton, Anne Schaefer, Jean De Briac, and Edw ...
'' (1922) * ''
Bavu ''Bavu'' is a 1923 silent American drama film directed by Stuart Paton, starring Wallace Beery in the title role, and written by Albert Kenyon and Raymond L. Schrock based upon a play by Earl Carroll. The film is a period piece involving Bolshe ...
'' (1923) * ''
Thundergate ''Thundergate'' is a 1923 American drama film directed by Joseph De Grasse and written by Perry N. Vekroff. The film stars Owen Moore, Virginia Brown Faire, Edwin B. Tilton, Sylvia Breamer, Robert McKim, and Richard Cummings. The film was re ...
'' (1923) * '' The Barefoot Boy'' (1923) * '' The Girl of the Golden West'' (1923) *lost film * ''
Flaming Youth Flaming Youth can refer to: * ''Flaming Youth'' (novel), a 1923 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams * ''Flaming Youth'' (film), a 1923 film based on the novel starring Colleen Moore and Milton Sills * Flaming Youth (band) Flaming Youth were a Britis ...
'' (1923) *lost film, only one reel survives * '' The First Degree'' *was considered lost until found in June 2020 * '' Her Temporary Husband'' (1923) *lost film * ''
Reckless Romance ''Reckless Romance'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by Scott Sidney and starring T. Roy Barnes, Harry Myers, and Wanda Hawley. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, Jerry Warner (Barnes) and Edith Somers (Breamer) a ...
'' (1924) * '' Lilies of the Field'' (1924) *lost film * ''
The Woman on the Jury ''The Woman on the Jury'' is a lost 1924 American silent drama film produced and released by Associated First National and directed by Harry Hoyt. It is based on a Broadway stage play, ''The Woman on the Jury'', and stars Sylvia Breamer and ...
'' (1924) *lost film * ''
Too Much Youth ''Too Much Youth'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Duke Worne and starring Ashton Dearholt, Sylvia Breamer, and Eric Mayne. It was shot at studios in San Francisco and on location in areas around the city. Plot As described ...
'' (1925) * '' Women and Gold'' (1925) * '' Lightning Reporter'' (1926) * '' Up in Mabel's Room'' (1926) * ''
Too Many Parents ''Too Many Parents'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan, written by Virginia Van Upp and Doris Malloy, and starring Frances Farmer, Lester Matthews, Porter Hall, Henry Travers, Billy Lee (actor), Billy Lee, George Ernest ...
'' (1936)


References


External links

*
''Unseen Forces''
(1920). Video of preserved print rediscovered at the New Zealand Film Archive. {{DEFAULTSORT:Breamer Sylvia Australian film actresses Australian silent film actresses 1897 births 1943 deaths 20th-century Australian actresses 19th-century Australian women Australian emigrants to the United States