Kitty Gordon (born Constance Minnie Blades; 22 April 1878 – 26 May 1974) was an English stage and

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...

actress.

Career

Constance Minnie Blades was born in

Folkestone, Kent Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, to Col. Blades of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. Her first professional stage appearance was at the

Princes Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

in 1901 in the touring production of

San Toy ''San Toy, or The Emperor's Own'' is a "Chinese" musical comedy in two acts, first performed at Daly's Theatre, London, on 21 October 1899, and ran for 768 performances (edging out the same composer's ''The Geisha'' as the second longest run ...

. She appeared in ''

The Duchess of Dantzic ''The Duchess of Dantzic'' is a comic opera in three acts, set in Paris, with music by Ivan Caryll and a book and lyrics by Henry Hamilton, based on the play ''Madame Sans-Gêne'' by Victorien Sardou and Émile Moreau. Additional lyrics by Adri ...

'' in 1903, the operetta '' Véronique'' in 1904 and ''

The Three Kisses ''The Three Kisses'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts which opened on 21 August 1907 at the Apollo Theatre in London with music by Howard Talbot and a book by Leedham Bantock and Percy Greenbank and lyrics by the latter. Directed by Au ...

'' in 1907. In 1909 she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, where she became a regular on the New York stage. She made her first film appearance in 1916 in ''As in a Looking Glass''. During the next three years she made twenty-one films. On 19 October 1911, she starred in the debut of composer

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is bes ...

's musical ''The Enchantress'' at the New York Theatre. She continued her stage work from 1919 onwards. She also made television appearances.

Personal life

Her first husband was Maxwell James with whom she had a child, Vera. After his death, she married theatre manager Michael Levenston on 10 December 1903. He died on 29 March 1904 , and in October 1904, Kitty married Captain Henry "Harry" Horsley-Beresford (1876– 1924), a son of the 3rd Baron Decies. Kitty's child became Cynthia Vera Beresford, who became an actress. In 1932 Kitty married Ralph Ranlet. Kitty's daughter Vera died in 1945. Kitty Gordon died in a nursing home in

Brentwood, New York Brentwood is a hamlet in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 62,387 at the 2020 Census, making it the most populous in Suffolk County and on all of Long Island outside of New York ...

in 1974.“Kitty Gordon, Star of 1911 'Enchantress,' Is Dead.” The New York Times, 29 May 1974, p. 44.

Filmography

The Crucial Test.jpg, ''The Crucial Test'' (1916) 'Vera the Medium'.jpg, ''Vera the Medium'' (1916) Selznick Gordon.jpg, Advertisement (1916) Mandarin's Gold.jpg, ''Mandarin's Gold'' (1919)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Kitty 1878 births 1974 deaths Burials at Kensico Cemetery English stage actresses English silent film actresses People from Folkestone English film actresses 20th-century English actresses Actresses from Kent British expatriate actresses in the United States