Jane Winton (October 10, 1905 – September 22, 1959) was an American film actress, dancer, opera

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

, writer, and painter.

Early years

Winton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1905. The deaths of her father when she was four years old and her mother when she was six led to Winton's being "swapped back and forth among relatives, none of whom had proper funds to support her and therefore offered her more resentment than affection." Eventually, an elderly doctor who was a family friend adopted her and raised her in a strict environment. After she graduated from a finishing school in Connecticut, she ran away rather than enter Bryn Mawr College and become a doctor, which was her guardian's desire for her. She went to stay with a friend in New York City and was discovered there by producers

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; ; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of Ameri ...

and

Jesse Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer Film producer, motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life ...

Actress

During the 1920s, she began her stage career as a dancer with the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

. After coming to the West Coast, Winton became known as "the green-eyed goddess of Hollywood". Her film appearances include roles in ''

Tomorrow's Love ''Tomorrow's Love'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Paul Bern, written by Charles Brackett and Howard Higgin, and starring Agnes Ayres. Pat O'Malley, Raymond Hatton, Jane Winton, Ruby Lafayette, and Dale Fuller. It was ...

'' (1925), '' Why Girls Go Back Home'' (1926), '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' (1927), ''The Crystal Cup'' (1927), ''

The Fair Co-Ed ''The Fair Co-Ed'', also known as ''The Varsity Girl'', is a 1927 American silent film comedy starring Marion Davies and released through MGM. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst, through Cosmopolitan Productions and directed by S ...

'' (1927), '' Burning Daylight'' (1928), '' Melody of Love'' (1928), and '' The Patsy'' (1928), ''Scandal'' (1929), '' Show Girl in Hollywood'' (1929), ''The Furies'' (1930), and '' Hell's Angels'' (1930). Winton played Donna Isobel in ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...

'' (1926). The film starred

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly a ...

and

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 ...

. The movie was billed as the first film made in

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...

, an invention that synchronized sound with motion pictures. Modern sound pictures began with the Vitaphone.

Opera and radio

After leaving Hollywood, Winton performed various operatic roles both in the United States and abroad. Her operatic debut came in 1933 when she performed as Nedda in the Brooklyn Academy of Music's production of ''Pagliacci''. In 1933, she was with the National Grand Opera Company for its production of ''

I Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

''. She sang ''Nedda''. She starred in the operetta ''Caviar''. In England, she became noted for her singing and for working in radio.

Novelist

In 1951 Winton's novel ''Park Avenue Doctor'' was published. ''Passion Is the Gale'' was her second novel.

Marriage

Winton married three times. In 1927, she wed Hollywood screenwriter Charles Kenyon. On July 17, 1930, she married broker Horace Gumble in Jersey City, New Jersey. Her last husband was Michael T. Gottlieb, a stockbroker, tournament

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...

player, and Arizona property owner. They wed in 1935.

Death

Winton died in 1959 at the Pierre Hotel in New York City from undisclosed causes. Her body was cremated, and her ashes were interred in the Riesner-Gottlieb Mausoleum in Temple Israel Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

Partial filmography

* '' Three Women'' (1924) * ''

'' (1925) * '' His Supreme Moment'' (1925) * '' The Love Toy'' (1926) * '' Why Girls Go Back Home'' (1926) * '' My Old Dutch'' (1926) * ''

Footloose Widows ''Footloose Widows'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film produced and distributed by Warner Bros., directed by Roy Del Ruth, and starring Louise Fazenda and Jacqueline Logan. Cast * Louise Fazenda as Flo * Jacqueline Logan as Marian * Jaso ...

'' (1926) * ''

'' (1926) * '' The Honeymoon Express'' (1926) * '' Across the Pacific'' (1926) * '' The Gay Old Bird'' (1927) * '' Upstream'' (1927) * '' The Monkey Talks'' (1927) * '' The Beloved Rogue'' (1927) * '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' (1927) * '' Lonesome Ladies'' (1927) * '' Perch of the Devil'' (1927) * ''

'' (1927) * '' The Poor Nut'' (1927) * '' Bare Knees'' (1928) * '' Honeymoon Flats'' (1928) * ''

Nothing to Wear ''Nothing to Wear'' is a lost 1928 American comedy film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Jacqueline Logan, Theodore von Eltz and Bryant Washburn.Monaco p.559 Cast * Jacqueline Logan as Jackie Standish * Theodore von Eltz as Phil Stan ...

'' (1928) * '' Burning Daylight'' (1928) * '' The Patsy'' (1928) * '' Yellow Lily'' (1928) * '' Melody of Love'' (1928) * ''

Captain Lash ''Captain Lash'' is a 1929 American Synchronized sound adventure drama film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Victor McLaglen, Claire Windsor and Jane Winton. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized ...

'' (1929) * ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

'' (1929) * ''

The Bridge of San Luis Rey ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel. It was first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and was the best-selling work of fiction that year. Premise ''The ...

'' (1929) * '' Show Girl in Hollywood'' (1930) * '' A Notorious Affair'' (1930) * '' Hell's Angels'' (1930) * '' Hired Wife'' (1934) * ''

Limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a non-electric type of stage lighting that was once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illum ...

'' (1936)

References

Obituary
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', September 23, 1959, p. 35.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winton Jane American film actresses American silent film actresses American sopranos American female dancers Dancers from Pennsylvania 20th-century American painters Actresses from Philadelphia 1905 births 1959 deaths 20th-century American actresses People from Katonah, New York 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American dancers 20th-century American women artists Ziegfeld girls