Hope Hampton (Mae Elizabeth Hampton; February 19, 1897 – January 23, 1982) was an American silent motion picture actress and producer, who was noted for her seemingly effortless incarnation of

siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisc ...

and

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered accepta ...

types in silent-picture roles during the 1920s. She also at one time was an aspiring opera singer.

Early life

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

-born, Philadelphia-bred beauty contest winner Hampton was discovered by U.S. silent cinema pioneer

Jules Brulatour Pierre Ernest Jules Brulatour (April 7, 1870 – October 26, 1946) was a pioneering executive figure in American silent cinema. Beginning as American distribution representative for Lumiere Brothers raw film stock in 1907, he joined producer ...

while working as an extra for director Maurice Tourneur. She made her screen debut in 1920's ''

A Modern Salome ''A Modern Salome'' is a lost film, lost 1920 American Silent film, silent Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Leonce Perret and starring Hope Hampton. It was produced and distributed by Metro Pictures. The film is based on the 1 ...

'', and went on to feature prominently in several Brulatour-financed films. Her last starring role was in '' The Road to Reno'' (1938) with Randolph Scott and

Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...

. In 1923, Hampton wed her manager Brulatour, and they remained married until his death in 1946.

Later life

Hampton was trained as an opera singer by voice teacher Estelle Liebling, the teacher of

Beverly Sills Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was especially renowned f ...

. After retiring from motion pictures at the dawn of sound, she turned to opera and made her debut with the Philadelphia Opera in '' Manon''. The idea that she ever toured with the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

is belied by a look at the company's online archives. She returned to the screen in ''The Road to Reno'' (1938), a film directed by her husband. Later she was known as ''The Duchess of Park Avenue'', a leading member of New York's social set. In 1978, she was crowned Queen of the

Beaux Arts Ball The Beaux-Arts Ball (in French the Bal des Quatres Arts) is the annual costume ball traditionally given by the students of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the spring, in the École building on the rue Bonaparte overlook ...

. She presided with King

Arthur Tracy Arthur Tracy (25 June 1899 – 5 October 1997) was an American vocalist and actor, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international fame in the 1930s. Late evening r ...

. She died of a heart attack at the age of 84.

Personal life

Hampton and Brulatour took a honeymoon trip to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, there a Sheikh offered Brulatour £10,000

British pounds Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...

to buy his wife. Brulatour smiled at the Sheikh and told him that Mrs. Brulatour's jewels were worth more than that. Brulatour also gave Hope Hampton a 5-story home on

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

(built in 1885 and redesigned in 1921 by

Emery Roth Emery Roth ( hu, Róth Imre, July 17, 1871 – August 20, 1948) was an American architect of Hungarian-Jewish descent who designed many of the definitive New York City hotels and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 1930s, incorporating Beaux ...

), which became Tour Hope Hampton and was listed for $9 million in 2016.

Complete filmography

Hope Hampton on the cover of Motion Picture Classic magazine, Feb 1922, cover art by Benjamin Eggleston

*''

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

'' (1918) *''

'' (1920) *'' The Bait'' (1921) *'' Love's Penalty'' (1921) *''Stardust'' (1922) *'' The Light in the Dark'' (1922 short) *'' Lawful Larceny'' (1923) *'' Hollywood'' (1923) (herself; cameo) *'' The Gold Diggers'' (1923) *'' Does It Pay?'' (1923) *''

The Truth About Women ''The Truth About Women'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Laurence Harvey, Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling and Diane Cilento. Plot When his son-in-law comes to him with a woeful tale of an unhappy relationship and ...

'' (1924) *''

The Price of a Party ''The Price of a Party'' is a 1924 American silent melodrama film produced by Howard Estabrook and distributed by Associated Exhibitors. The film is based on a short story of the same name by William Briggs MacHarg published in Cosmopolitan mag ...

'' (1924) *'' Fifty-Fifty'' (1925) *''Marionettes'' (1925 short) * '' Lover's Island'' (1925) * ''

The Unfair Sex ''The Unfair Sex'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Henri Diamant-Berger and starring Hope Hampton, Holbrook Blinn and Nita Naldi.Munden p.846 Cast * Hope Hampton as Shirley Chamberlain * Holbrook Blinn as Don Calvert * Nita ...

'' (1926) *''Springtime of Love'' (1927 short) *''The Call of the Sea'' (1927 short) *'' The Road to Reno'' (1938) *''

Hey, Let's Twist! ''Hey, Let's Twist!'' is a 1961 American musical film directed by Greg Garrison and written by Hal Hackady. The film stars Joey Dee, Jo Ann Campbell, Teddy Randazzo, Kay Armen, Zohra Lampert and Dino Di Luca. The film was released on Decembe ...

'' (1961) (herself; cameo)

References

External links

* *
Hope Hampton: Broadway Photographs
Univ. of South Carolina) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Hope 1897 births 1982 deaths American film actresses American silent film actresses Actresses from Texas 20th-century American actresses American women film producers