Matilda Fernández, stage name Fontaine La Rue (July 18, 1890 in

Hermosillo, Mexico Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...

– September 13, 1964) was an American silent film actress appearing in films from 1918 to 1929. Her career ended with the advent of talkies. She was one of seven children born to Diego and Carlotta Monreal Fernandez. After immigrating to the United States in 1907, Matilda married Victor Garcia Rojas. The couple had three children, Victor Paul, Matilda Garcia, and Victoria Grace. After the couple divorced, Matilda entered show business. She got her start on stage as a toe dancer and in musical comedy. She toured with the Trimble Musical Comedy Company in 1914 before breaking into films the following year in comedy shorts for Keystone. She first used the name Dora Rodgers, but reinvented herself with the name Fontaine La Rue, tiring of playing vamps. On occasions she would switch between the names. Notably she appeared in the

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

, '' A Blind Bargain'' with

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often gr ...

. After a lengthy love affair with actor Nelson McDowell, Fontaine married real estate broker Wayne Hancock and retired from the screen. The Keystone Vamp died of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia on September 13, 1964, at UCLA Medical Center. "She was a character and a half, a real beauty in the day when beauty was really looked at, her grandson Alan Bradshaw to author Michael G. Ankerich.Alan Bradshaw to author Michael G. Ankerich, 2013. FontaineLaRue1919

Selected filmography

*''

Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition ''Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition'' is a 1915 American silent black-and-white short comedy film, directed by Fatty Arbuckle and starring Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. It was produced by Keystone Studios. Plot Fatty (Roscoe Arbu ...

'' (1915) (short) *'' Love, Loot and Crash'' (1915) (short) *'' Mabel Lost and Won'' (1915) (short) *''

Cactus Nell Cactus Nell is a 1917 silent short comedy film starring Polly Moran. It was directed by Fred Hibbard and was produced by the Keystone Company with distribution through Triangle. Fontaine La Rue and Wally Beery appear in the film. Cast *Polly Mo ...

'' (1917(*short) *'' Cleopatsy'' (1918) (short) *''

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

'' (1919) *'' The Man Beneath'' (1919) *'' The Woman Under Cover'' (1919) *'' The Fatal Sign'' (1920) *'' An Adventuress'' (1920) *'' Human Stuff'' (1920) *'' The Sins of Rosanne'' (1920) *'' The Faith Healer'' (1921) *'' The Lost Romance'' (1921) *'' Beyond'' (1921) *'' The Great Impersonation'' (1921) *'' Exit the Vamp'' (1921) *'' Oh, Mabel Behave'' (1922) *'' The Dangerous Little Demon'' (1922) *'' The Bearcat'' (1922) *'' The Radio King'' (1922) *'' A Blind Bargain'' (1923) * '' Daughters of Today'' (1924) * '' Unseen Hands'' (1924) * '' Trigger Fingers'' (1924) * '' The Torrent'' (1924) * ''

His New York Wife ''His New York Wife'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Albert H. Kelley and starring Alice Day, Theodore von Eltz and Ethel Clayton.Munden p.354 Cast * Alice Day as Lila Lake * Theodore von Eltz Julius Theodore von Eltz ...

'' (1926) *'' Gold from Weepah'' (1927) *'' West of the Rockies'' (1929)

References

External links

Fontaine La Rue at IMDb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Rue, Fontaine 1897 births 1976 deaths Actresses from California American silent film actresses Mexican emigrants to the United States 20th-century American actresses

Selected filmography

References

Further reading

External links