Helen Dunbar (born Katheryn Burke Lackey; October 10, 1863 – August 28, 1933) was an American theatrical performer and
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, when ...
actress.
Career
Born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
BFI
/ref> Dunbar first appeared with the Weber & Fields Stock Company, when it began its career on the New York stage. In 1899 she appeared in ''Whirl-i-gig'' and ''The Other Way'' at the Weber and Fields Broadway Music Hall. She also worked with the Charles Dillingham Company and the Boston Opera Company
The Boston Opera Company (BOC) was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was active from 1909 to 1915.
History
The company was founded in 1908 by Bostonian millionaire Eben Dyer Jordan, Jr. and impresario Henry Russel ...
. She appeared in motion pictures beginning in 1912 and continued until 1926. Her stage and screen career extended over thirty-five years.
Dunbar's film career started with ''Out of the Depths'' (1912). The production starred Francis X. Bushman. She became a leading lady for the old Essanay Studios
The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago, and later developed an additional film lot in Niles Canyon, California. Its various stars included Francis X. Bushman, ...
. For a number of years she was under contract to Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...
. Aside from Bushman, Dunbar made films with stars like Harry Cashman, Richard Carroll, Ruth Stonehouse
Ruth Stonehouse (September 28, 1892 – May 12, 1941) was an actress and film director during the silent film era. Her stage career started at the age of eight as a dancer in Arizona shows.
Early life
Ruth Stonehouse was born to James Wesley ...
, Beverly Bayne
Beverly Bayne (born Pearl Beverly Van Name; November 11, 1894 – August 18, 1982) was an American actress who appeared in silent films beginning in 1910 in Chicago, Illinois, where she worked for Essanay Studios.
Early life
Born in Minneapoli ...
, Frank Keenan
Frank Keenan (born James Francis Keenan; April 8, 1858 – February 24, 1929) was an American stage and film actor and stage director and manager during the silent-film era. He was among the first stage actors to star in Hollywood, and he pur ...
, John Gilbert, Mary Astor
Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...
, Phyllis Haver
Phyllis Maude Haver (January 6, 1899 – November 19, 1960) was an American actress of the silent film era.
Early life
Haver was born in Douglass, Kansas to James Hiram Haver (1872–1936) and Minnie Shanks Malone (1879–1949). When sh ...
, Norma Talmadge
Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...
, and Noah Beery
Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...
. Her final movie was '' Stranded in Paris'' (1926), which featured Bebe Daniels
Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer.
She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such ...
and Tom Ricketts.
Death
Dunbar died of complications of arthritis
Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...
in 1933 at the home of her daughter, 1203 Poinsettia Place, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California. Her funeral was conducted from Pierce Brothers' Mortuary with interment at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...
.
Partial filmography
* '' Dear Old Girl'' (1913)
* '' One Wonderful Night'' (1914)
* ''The Ambition of the Baron
''The Ambition of the Baron'' is a 1915 American silent drama film. Gloria Swanson had a bit-part role.
Cast
* Francis X. Bushman
* Beverly Bayne
* Thomas Commerford
* Lester Cuneo
* Joseph Byron Totten
* Betty Brown
* Helen Dunbar
* Rich ...
'' (1915)
* ''Graustark
Graustark is a fictional country in Eastern Europe used as a setting for several novels by George Barr McCutcheon. Graustark's neighbors, which also figure in the stories, are Axphain to the north and Dawsbergen to the south.
Description
Gra ...
'' (1915)
* ''The Second in Command
''The Second in Command'' is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by William J. Bowman and starring Francis X. Bushman and Marguerite Snow. The film is based on a 1901 Broadway play of the same name by Robert Marshall.
Cast
* Francis X. ...
'' (1915)
* '' The Silent Voice'' (1915)
* ''Man and His Soul
''Man and His Soul'' is a 1916 American silent melodrama film produced by Quality Pictures and distributed by Metro Pictures. The film was directed by Metro's resident director John W. Noble and starred Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne. Mu ...
'' (1916)
* ''A Corner in Cotton
''A Corner in Cotton'' is a five-reel silent film melodrama produced in 1916 by Quality Pictures and distributed by Metro Pictures. The movie was filmed at studios in New York and California and on locations near Savannah, Georgia. ''A Corner in ...
'' (1916)
* '' A Million A Minute'' (1916)
* ''A Virginia Romance
''A Virginia Romance'' is a 1916 silent short film directed by Charles Belmore and starring Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne. It was produced and distributed by Metro Pictures.
Writer Charles A. Taylor was at one time married to Laurette Tayl ...
'' (1916)
* ''Molly Entangled
''Molly Entangled'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Robert Thornby and written by Edith M. Kennedy. The film stars Vivian Martin, Harrison Ford, Noah Beery, Sr., G.S. Spaulding, Helen Dunbar, and Gibson Gowland. The film was ...
'' (1917)
* '' The Shuttle'' (1918)
* '' Blindfolded'' (1918)
* ''Cyclone Higgins, D.D.
''Cyclone Higgins, D.D.'' is a 1918 silent American comedy-drama film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Francis X. Bushman, Beverly Bayne, and Baby Ivy Ward, and was released on May 13, 1918.
Cast list
* Francis X. Bushman as Cyrus "Cyclone ...
'' (1918)
*''Maid o' the Storm
''Maid o' the Storm'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Raymond B. West and starring Bessie Barriscale, George Fisher and Herschel Mayall.Spehr & Lundquist p.394 The film takes place in Scotland and London.
Cast
* Bessie Barris ...
'' (1918)
* '' Inside the Lines'' (1918)
* ''Hitting the High Spots
''Hitting the High Spots'' is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film, directed by Charles Swickard. It stars Bert Lytell, Eileen Percy, and Winter Hall, and was released on December 9, 1918.
Cast list
*Bert Lytell as Bob Durland
*Eileen Percy ...
'' (1918)
* '' The Squaw Man'' (1918)
* '''' (1919)
* '' All Wrong'' (1919)
* '' Venus in the East'' (1919)
* ''The Winning Girl
''The Winning Girl'' is a lost 1919 silent film comedy drama directed by Robert G. Vignola and starring Shirley Mason.
Cast
* Shirley Mason - Jemmy Milligan
*Theodore Roberts - Major Milligan
* Harold Goodwin - Jack Milligan
*Lincoln Stedman - P ...
'' (1919)
* '' Common Clay'' (1919)
* '' Josselyn's Wife'' (1919)
* ''Fires of Faith
''Fires of Faith'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Edward José and written by Beulah Marie Dix and Charles E. Whittaker. The film stars Catherine Calvert, Eugene O'Brien, Rubye De Remer, Helen Dunbar, Theodore Roberts, Char ...
'' (1919)
* ''Men, Women, and Money
''Men, Women, and Money'' is a lost 1919 American drama silent film directed by George Melford and written by Beulah Marie Dix and Cosmo Hamilton. The film stars Ethel Clayton, James Neill, Jane Wolfe, Lew Cody, Sylvia Ashton, Irving Cummings, ...
'' (1919)
* '' Fighting Through'' (1919)
* '' God's Outlaw'' (1919)
* ''Young Mrs. Winthrop
''Young Mrs. Winthrop'' is a lost 1920 American silent drama film starring Ethel Clayton. It is based on the 1882 Victorian era Broadway play by Bronson Howard. The film was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictur ...
'' (1920)
* ''The City of Masks
''The City of Masks'' is a lost 1920 silent film comedy drama produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Thomas N. Heffron and starred stage star Robert Warwick.
Cast
*Robert Warwick as Tommy ...
'' (1920)
* '' You Never Can Tell'' (1920)
* '' Behold My Wife!'' (1920)
* '' The Furnace'' (1920)
* '' Sham'' (1921)
* ''Sacred and Profane Love
''Sacred and Profane Love'' ( it, Amor Sacro e Amor Profano) is an oil painting by Titian, probably painted in 1514, early in his career. The painting is presumed to have been commissioned by Niccolò Aurelio, a secretary to the Venetian Counci ...
'' (1921)
* '' The Great Moment'' (1921)
* ''Her Winning Way
''Her Winning Way'' is a silent comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Mary Miles Minter. The screenplay was written by Douglas Z. Doty, based upon the novel ''Ann Annington'' by Edgar Jepson and the play ''Ann'' by Lechmere Worr ...
'' (1921)
* '' The Law and the Woman'' (1922)
* ''The Man of Courage
''The Man of Courage'' is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by E.K. Lincoln and starring Lincoln, Spottiswoode Aitken and Frederick Vroom.Serna, p. 282.
Cast
* E.K. Lincoln as William Gregory
* Spottiswoode Aitken as Stephen Gregory ...
'' (1922)
* '' The World's Champion'' (1922)
* '' Beyond the Rocks'' (1922)
* '' The Impossible Mrs. Bellew'' (1922)
* '' Thirty Days'' (1922)
* '' The Cheat'' (1923)
* ''The Call of the Canyon
''The Call of the Canyon'' is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Richard Dix, Lois Wilson, and Marjorie Daw. Based on the novel ''The Call of the Canyon'' by Zane Grey, the film is about a returning ...
'' (1923)
* '' Three Weeks'' (1924)
* '' The Fighting Coward'' (1924)
* ''Changing Husbands
''Changing Husbands'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film starring Leatrice Joy and Victor Varconi, directed by Paul Iribe and Frank Urson, and written by Sada Cowan and Howard Higgin. The runtime of the film is 70 minutes.
Cast
Preservati ...
'' (1924)
* '' New Lives for Old'' (1925)
* ''She Wolves
''She Wolves'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and written by Dorothy Yost. It is based on the 1924 play ''The Man in Evening Clothes'' by André Picard and Yves Mirande. The film stars Alma Rubens, Jack Mulhall, ...
'' (1925)
* ''Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
'' (1925)
* '' His Majesty, Bunker Bean'' (1925)
* ''Compromise
To compromise is to make a deal between different parties where each party gives up part of their demand. In arguments, compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms—often involving var ...
'' (1925)
* ''Lady Windermere's Fan
''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London.
The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband i ...
'' (1925)
* '' Rose of the World'' (1925)
* ''The Reckless Sex
''The Reckless Sex'' is a 1925 American melodrama film directed by Alan James from a screenplay by Travers Wells. The film stars Madge Bellamy, William Collier Jr., and Wyndham Standing.
Plot
Robert Lanning Jr. is sent by his father in Bo ...
'' (1925)
* ''His Jazz Bride
''His Jazz Bride'' is a 1926 American silent drama film released by Warner Brothers Pictures. The movie starred Marie Prevost and Matt Moore.
Cast
*Marie Prevost as Gloria Gregory
* Matt Moore as Dick Gregory
*Gayne Whitman
*John Patrick
*M ...
'' (1926)
* '' The Beautiful Cheat'' (1926)
* '' The Man Upstairs'' (1926)
* ''Fine Manners
''Fine Manners'' is a 1926 American black-and-white silent comedy film directed initially by Lewis Milestone and completed by Richard Rosson for Famous Players-Lasky/Paramount Pictures. After an argument with actress Gloria Swanson, director Mi ...
'' (1926)
* ''Meet the Prince
''Meet the Prince'' is a lost 1926 American comedy-drama silent film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Joseph Schildkraut and Marguerite De La Motte. It was produced by Metropolitan Pictures Corporation and distributed by Producers Distri ...
'' (1926)
* '' Stranded in Paris'' (1926)
References
* ''The Los Angeles Times'', "Helen Dunbar's Funeral Rites Will Be Today", August 30, 1933, Page A8.
* ''The New York Times'', "Helen Dunbar", August 30, 1933, Page 19.
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbar, Helen
American film actresses
American silent film actresses
Deaths from arthritis
Actresses from Philadelphia
19th-century American actresses
American stage actresses
20th-century American actresses
1863 births
1933 deaths
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery