Anna Luther (July 7, 1893 – December 16, 1960), sometimes credited as Ann Luther or Anne Luther, was an American actress. She was known as "the Poster Girl".
Early life and career
Anna Luther was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
on July 7, 1893, although some sources give her birthdate as 1894 or 1897, and her burial plot gives the 1897 date.
[https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2769351:60525?_phcmd=u(%27https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=Anne_Luther&event=_Newark-Essex-New+Jersey-USA&birth=1897&successSource=Search&queryId=3c9b1750b49588b8431fee28ab3ff3ea%27,%27successSource%27) ] However, she appears on the 1905 census as a 12 year old. She was the youngest of four children to Jacob Luther, who was a New York sewing machine sales representative, and Sarah Limonick, a
midwife
A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...
. Both of her parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia who arrived in the U.S. in 1891. She had two brothers, Elan and Hyman, and a sister, Pauline. She spent her childhood in Newark and
Jersey City
Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous .

Luther made her film debut in the 1913 short ''Hearts of the Dark'', followed by ''The Fly Leaf of Fate'' (1913), and ''The Changeling'' (1914). Her first
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...
was ''The Wolf'' (1914), which credited her as Ann Luther. She starred with
William Garwood
William Davis Garwood, Jr. (April 28, 1884 – December 28, 1950) was an American stage and film actor and director of the early silent film era in the 1910s.
Between 1911 and 1913, Garwood starred in a number of early adaptions of popula ...
in ''
Her Moment'' (1918). Among her other film credits include roles in ''
Melting Millions'' (1917), ''
The Governor's Lady
''The Governor's Lady'' is a 1912 play written by Alice Bradley, directed by David Belasco and produced by Belasco and his son-in-law David Elliott. It is known for its unconventional set.
Production
After previews in Philadelphia and Washingto ...
'' (1923), and ''
Sinners in Silk
''Sinners in Silk'' is a 1924 silent romantic drama film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Eleanor Boardman, Adolphe Menjou, Hedda Hopper, Conrad Nagel, and Jean Hersholt. It was written by Benjamin Glazer and Carey Wilson.
The film ...
'' (1924). She appeared in 48 films from 1913 to 1957, her final screen appearance being in ''
The Wayward Bus
''The Wayward Bus'' is a novel by American author John Steinbeck, published in 1947. The novel's epigraph is a passage from the 15th-century English play '' Everyman'', with its archaic English intact; the quotation refers to the transitory nat ...
'' (1957), in which she played an uncredited role.
Newspapers described her hair as having an orange hue. In 1915,
Motion Picture Classic
''Motion Picture'' was an American monthly fan magazine
A fan magazine is a commercially written and published magazine intended for the amusement of fan (aficionado), fans of the popular culture subject matter that it covers. It is distinguis ...
said Luther had "one of the most magnificent
bungalow
A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...
s in California."
Court litigation
Luther named
Peggy Hopkins Joyce
Peggy Hopkins Joyce (born Emma Marguerite Upton; May 26, 1893 – June 12, 1957) was an American actress, artist's model, columnist, dancer and socialite. In addition to her performing career, Joyce was widely known for her flamboyant life, ...
as a friend and
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
mine operator and millionaire, Jack White, as a lover. White accompanied Luther to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
as a theatrical producer. In June 1924 the actress brought a $100,000 breach of contract suit against White for allegedly promising to star her in four motion pictures. In a countersuit White demanded a $10,000 refund spent on the Luther film and charged Luther with having a bad reputation. White contended that he did not violate the
Mann Act
The Mann Act, previously called the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, is a United States federal law, passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, ; ''codified as amended at'' ). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann (Illinois politician), James Rob ...
merely by sharing the same drawing room with Luther on their journey west.
Some of the witnesses anticipated for the trial were
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
,
Evelyn Nesbit
Florence Evelyn Nesbit (December 25, 1884 or 1885 – January 17, 1967) was an American model (person), artists' model, chorus girl, and actress. She is best known for her career in New York City, as well as her husband, railroad scion Har ...
,
Pearl White
Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career on the stage at age 6, and later moved on to silent films appearing in a number of popular serial film, serials.
Dubbed the "Queen ...
, and
Mabel Normand
Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, comedienne, director and screenwriter. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their K ...
. White's attorneys brought up the death of murdered silent film director
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor (born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner; 26 April 1872 – 1 February 1922) was an Anglo-Irish-American film director and actor. A popular figure in the growing Cinema of the United States, Hollywood motion picture colony o ...
. They claimed Luther told White to pay or "watch out for what happened to Taylor."
During court proceedings Luther admitted paying $2,500 in rent for her place in
Great Neck
Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Poin ...
, although she possessed a bank balance of only $141 at the time. White admitted having a contract with Luther but his lawyers succeeded in getting Luther to make a number of admissions which hurt her case. The presiding judge dropped Luther's suit because of her failure to prove a legal contract between herself and White. After the trial's conclusion Luther filed notice of motion for a new trial.
Marriages and scandals
Luther's first marriage was to the New York attorney Samuel E. Dribben in 1913, but it ended in divorce that same year. She next married
Edward Gallagher of the
Gallagher and Shean
Gallagher & Shean was a highly successful musical comedy double act in vaudeville and on Broadway in the 1910s and 1920s, consisting of Ed Gallagher (1873–1929) and Al Shean (1868–1949); Shean was the maternal uncle of the Marx Brothers.
C ...
vaudeville comedy team on December 5, 1923. She and Gallagher separated in February 1924, with her husband continuing to play on the road and Luther returning to making motion pictures.
In March 1925 she was named as co-respondent in a lawsuit brought by actress
Dagmar Godowsky
Mercedes Dagmar Godowsky (November 24, 1897 – February 13, 1975) was an American silent film actress.
Biography
Godowsky was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 24, 1897, the daughter of Polish-Jewish composer Leopold Godowsky and Frederic ...
. Godowsky began divorce proceedings after claiming to have discovered Luther with her husband, actor
Frank Mayo, in Mayo's apartment. Luther and Mayo later married, and Mayo's marriage to Godowsky was annulled in 1926 because divorce decree of Frank Mayo and his first wife Joyce Eleanor Moore was never written.
Luther and
Juanita Hansen
Juanita Hansen (born Juanita Cecilia Hanson; March 3, 1895 – September 26, 1961) was an American actress who performed in silent films. She became one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties and appeared in a variety of Serial (film), serials throug ...
were named as two co-respondents in a divorce suit brought by
Evelyn Nesbit
Florence Evelyn Nesbit (December 25, 1884 or 1885 – January 17, 1967) was an American model (person), artists' model, chorus girl, and actress. She is best known for her career in New York City, as well as her husband, railroad scion Har ...
against Jack Clifford. Clifford had left Nesbit in 1918, and she divorced him in 1933.
Death
Luther died at the
Motion Picture Country Home
The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as tempo ...
in
Woodland Hills in 1960 at 63 years old. Her funeral was conducted by Pierce Brothers of
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
at Mount Sinai Cemetery Chapel, and she was buried at
Mount Sinai Memorial Park
Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery is the largest Jewish mortuary and Jewish cemetery organization, located in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of the central region of Los Angeles, California. Many notable Jewish people from the American ente ...
. Her burial plot gives her name as Anne Luther, and her epitaph reads "Beloved aunt".
Selected filmography
* ''
The Island of Desire'' (1917)
* ''
Melting Millions'' (1917)
* ''
Her Moment'' (1918)
* ''
Why Women Sin'' (1920)
* ''
The Woman Who Believed'' (1922)
* ''
The Governor's Lady
''The Governor's Lady'' is a 1912 play written by Alice Bradley, directed by David Belasco and produced by Belasco and his son-in-law David Elliott. It is known for its unconventional set.
Production
After previews in Philadelphia and Washingto ...
'' (1923)
* ''
The Truth About Wives
''The Truth About Wives'' is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Lawrence C. Windom and starring Betty Blythe, Tyrone Power Sr. and William P. Carleton.Connelly p.424
Cast
* Betty Blythe as Helen Frazer
* Tyrone Power Sr. as Howard ...
'' (1923)
* ''
Sinners in Silk
''Sinners in Silk'' is a 1924 silent romantic drama film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Eleanor Boardman, Adolphe Menjou, Hedda Hopper, Conrad Nagel, and Jean Hersholt. It was written by Benjamin Glazer and Carey Wilson.
The film ...
'' (1924)
References
*
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people.
Gettysburg was the site of ...
Times, ''Producer Admits Contract With Ann Luther, Moving Picture Actress'', August 13, 1924, Page 7.
*
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
, ''Ann Luther and Gallagher Decide To Part'', February 15, 1924, Page A11.
*Los Angeles Times, ''Notice of New Trial is Posted by Ann Luther'', August 24, 1924, Page 16.
*Los Angeles Times, ''Miss Ann Luther'', December 18, 1960, Page J11.
*
Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
Tribune, ''He Says She Did, She Says He Did, Who Made Love?'', June 22, 1924, Page 83.
*Oakland Tribune, ''Frank Mayo Accused By Screen Star'' Wednesday Evening, March 18, 1925, Page 1.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luther, Anna
American film actresses
American silent film actresses
Actresses from Newark, New Jersey
1893 births
1960 deaths
20th-century American actresses