Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era. She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

extensively.

Early years

Born in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior, Wisconsin, Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: Downtown Dul ...

, Dempster was the daughter of a captain on the Great Lakes and the youngest of four children. The family moved to California when her father decided to change careers. While dancing in a school program, Dempster was noticed by Ruth St. Denis and went on to become the youngest graduate in the first class of St. Denis's school of dance.

Career

Dempster got her start in films as a protégé of legendary film director

alongside other Griffith actresses of the mid-1910s, Lillian and Dorothy Gish and Mae Marsh. Griffith gave Dempster her first role at age 15 in his 1916 film '' Intolerance'' playing one of the Babylonian harem girls alongside another teenaged newcomer, Mildred Harris. Dempster eventually became one of Griffith's "favorites"; he cast her in nearly every one of his films throughout the 1920s, allegedly to the irritation of Mae Marsh and Lillian Gish. Dempster became romantically involved with the much older Griffith during the early 1920s while Griffith was estranged from his wife,

Linda Arvidson Linda Arvidson (born Linda Arvidson Johnson, July 12, 1884 – July 26, 1949; sometimes credited as Linda Griffith) was an American stage and film actress who became one of America's early motion picture stars while working at Biograph Studios in ...

. Dempster's first feature role came in 1919 in the Griffith directed ''The Girl Who Stayed at Home'' opposite Robert "Bobby" Harron. Dempster followed this with Griffith's '' The Love Flower'' (1920), '' Dream Street'' (1921), '' One Exciting Night'' (1922) and ''

Isn't Life Wonderful ''Isn't Life Wonderful'' is a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith for his company D. W. Griffith Productions, and distributed by United Artists. It was based on the short story "Isn’t Life Wonderful?" in the ...

'' (1924), ''

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

'' (1924), ''

Sally of the Sawdust ''Sally of the Sawdust'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring W. C. Fields. It was based on the 1923 stage musical '' Poppy''. Fields would later star in a second film version, '' Poppy'' (1936). Plot B ...

'' (1925), and ''

That Royle Girl ''That Royle Girl'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith and released by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Edwin Balmer, and starred Carol Dempster, W. C. Fields and Harriso ...

'' (1925). Dempster appeared opposite such notable actors as

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

, Richard Barthelmess, William Powell,

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

, and

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathet ...

. In 1926 Dempster acted in her final film, a Griffith vehicle entitled ''

The Sorrows of Satan ''The Sorrows of Satan'' is an 1895 Faustian novel by Marie Corelli. It is widely regarded as one of the world's first best-sellers – partly due to an upheaval in the system British libraries used to purchase their books, and partly due to its ...

'' (1926), co-starring Adolphe Menjou,

Ricardo Cortez Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Kranze or Jacob Krantz; September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career. Early years Ricardo Cortez was born Jacob K ...

, and the Hungarian vamp Lya De Putti. Dempster then retired from the screen to marry wealthy banker Edwin S. Larson in 1926. Dempster's critical stock was never very high, in part because she was unable to live up to the performances of Lillian Gish, whom she replaced as Griffith's leading lady. Her somewhat "ordinary" appearance and animated acting style were frequently criticized. Also, with a few exceptions, the films she appeared in were not among Griffith's more popular works. In recent years, however, viewers and critics alike have slowly begun to appreciate her performances, particularly in two later films, ''Isn't Life Wonderful'' and ''The Sorrows of Satan.''

Death

Dempster died in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

, in 1991 at the age of 89 from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

and was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...

. Upon her death, Dempster left $1.6 million to the San Diego Museum of Art, which was used to expand the museum's collections of prints and drawings.

Filmography

All features were directed by

except ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'', which was directed by Albert Parker. ''The Hope Chest'', a product of the New Art Film Company from 1918, was produced by Griffith but directed by Elmer Clifton.

Footnotes

Sources

* * * *Koszarski, Richard. 2008. ''Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York from Griffith to Sarnoff.'' Rutgers University Press.

External links

* *
Carol Dempster at Golden SilentsCarol Dempster
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Dempster, Carol 1901 births 1991 deaths American film actresses American silent film actresses Actresses from Duluth, Minnesota 20th-century American actresses Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)