Charlotte Pierce (October 22, 1904 – November 23, 1996) was an American actress in silent films.

Early life

Charlotte Elaine Pierce was born in

Girard, Illinois Girard is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,785 at the 2020 census, down from 2,103 in 2010. History Girard is named for Stephen Girard. When the village incorporated as a city, it became politically sepa ...

, and raised in

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1858 ...

, the daughter of Schuyler Rensselaer Pierce and Faye Ransom Pierce. Her father was an engineer involved in construction.

Career

Pierce was a dancer and dance teacher as a young woman. She was helped into movies by actress

Cathrine Curtis Cathrine Curtis (1889 - 1955) was an American actress, film producer, investor, and radio personality. She was one of the first female film producers and was also a political organizer noted for her far-right and antisemitic views. Early lif ...

and by screenwriter

Elinor Glyn Elinor Glyn ( Sutherland; 17 October 1864 – 23 September 1943) was a British novelist and scriptwriter who specialised in romantic fiction, which was considered scandalous for its time, although her works are relatively tame by modern stand ...

. Pierce appeared in the silent films beginning in her teen years, as "an ingenue of the

Pickford Pickford is a surname, and may refer to * Sir Alfred Pickford (1872–1947), Scouting luminary and friend of Lord Baden-Powell * Charlotte Hennessey (1873–1928), aka Charlotte Smith Pickford, Canadian-American actress, mother of Mary, Lottie, and ...

type", including roles in ''Peaceful Valley'' (1921), ''The Man of the Forest'' (1921), ''

The Barnstormer The Barnstormer is a junior roller coaster. It is located in the Storybook Circus section of the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. The Great Goofini's Barnstormer is the successor to The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm which c ...

'' (1922), '' Gas, Oil and Water'' (1922), ''

The Woman He Married ''The Woman He Married'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo. The film is considered to be lost. Plot As reviewed in a film magazine, a rich man's son marries an artist's model, and is then disinherited by his father ...

'' (1922), ''Colleen of the Pines'' (1922), '' A Tailor-Made Man'' (1922), ''The Veiled Woman'' (1922), '' The Lavender Bath Lady'' (1922), ''The Super-Sex'' (1922), ''Thru the Flames'' (1923), ''

The Courtship of Miles Standish ''The Courtship of Miles Standish'' is an 1858 narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about the early days of Plymouth Colony, the colonial settlement established in America by the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims. Overview ''Th ...

'' (1923), ''Sky's the Limit'' (1925), ''The Wildcat'' (1925), ''Queen of Spades'' (1925), ''West of Mojave'' (1925), ''The Sheep Trail'' (1926), and ''The Fighting Gob'' (1926).

Personal life

Charlotte Pierce married actor and musician William Virgil Mays in 1922. They divorced in 1923. In 1926, she married a second time, to Salvino J. "Solly" Baiano, a talent scout, casting director, violinist, and tennis champion. They had a daughter, Lonnie, and a son, Michael. Both of their children acted in films. Michael Baiano married singer Jaye P. Morgan in 1954. Charlotte Pierce Baiano was widowed when Solly Baiano died in 1992, and she died in Los Angeles, November 23, 1996, aged 92 years. Her grave is with her husband's, in Holy Cross Cemetery in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

Selected filmography

* ''

The Man of the Forest ''Man of the Forest'' is a 1921 American silent Western film directed by Howard Hickman and starring Carl Gantvoort, Claire Adams and Robert McKim.Munden, p. 484. Plot Cast * Carl Gantvoort as Milt Dale * Claire Adams as Helen Raynor * R ...

'' (1921) * ''

The Veiled Woman ''The Veiled Woman'' is a 1929 American Synchronized sound drama film directed by Emmett J. Flynn and starring Lia Torá, Lupita Tovar and Walter McGrail, also featuring Bela Lugosi.Kohner p. 347 While the film has no audible dialog, it was rel ...

'' (1922) * ''

'' (1922) * '' A Tailor-Made Man'' (1922) * ''

'' (1922) * '' Gas, Oil and Water'' (1922) * ''

The Super-Sex ''The Super-Sex'' is a 1922 American silent comedy film directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Robert Gordon, Charlotte Pierce and Tully Marshall.Munden p.778 Cast * Robert Gordon as Miles Brewster Higgins * Charlotte Pierce as Irene Hayes ...

'' (1922) * ''

Colleen of the Pines ''Colleen of the Pines'' is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Chester Bennett and starring Jane Novak, Edward Hearn and Alfred Allen. Plot Cast * Jane Novak as Joan Cameron * Edward Hearn as Barry O'Neil * Alfred Allen as ...

'' (1922) * '' The Lavender Bath Lady'' (1922) * ''

'' (1923) * ''

West of Mojave ''West of Mojave'' is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring Gordon Clifford, Charlotte Pierce and Frank Lackteen.Langman, p. 489 Cast * Gordon Clifford * Charlotte Pierce * Frank Lackteen * James McE ...

'' (1925)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Charlotte 1904 births 1996 deaths Actresses from Illinois American film actresses American silent film actresses People from Girard, Illinois 20th-century American actresses