June Caprice, born Helen Elizabeth Lawson, November 19, 1895 – November 9, 1936, was an American

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

actress.

Early life and career

Born Helen Elizabeth Lawson in

Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Europe ...

, Caprice was educated in Boston. She began her acting career in live theatre and in 1916 signed with the

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...

. In 1916 William Fox searched to find a "second

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

." By the summer of that year he believed he had located the woman he predicted would be the best known female on the screen within six months time. The 1916 press release claimed both that she was a 17-year-old teenager, and in the same press release "just a little over 17 years of age." Her obituary in 1936 listed her age as 40, making her about 20 years of age at her discovery. Caprice's screen debut came in '' Caprice of the Mountains'' (1916). A

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 ...

film critic said of her, "she is young, pretty, graceful, petite, with an eloquence of gesture that augurs a bright future in the movies." Adopting the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

June Caprice, she made sixteen films for Fox, half of which were directed by Harry F. Millarde. The two began a personal relationship and eventually married.

Retirement

She left the film business to begin a family, giving birth to a daughter June Elizabeth Millarde in 1922. It is believed she returned to working on stage and modeling, appearing on 1920s

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

company

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...

s holding a fountain glass of Coke. In 1931 her husband died at the age of forty-six. Caprice died five years later from a heart attack in

Los Angeles 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, ...

. She had been suffering from cancer. She was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

. Caprice's daughter was fourteen years old when orphaned and was raised by her grandparents on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. June Millarde became a cover girl known as Toni Seven. She was the heiress to an estimated $3,000,000 fortune.

Filmography

References

Bibliography

External links

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June Caprice
New York Public Library Digital Gallery photo

at silentsaregolden {{DEFAULTSORT:Caprice, June American film actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses American vaudeville performers People from Arlington, Massachusetts Actresses from Massachusetts 1895 births 1936 deaths 20th-century American actresses Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)