Lillian Harmer (September 8, 1883 – May 14, 1946) was an American

character actress A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

Biography

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1883, Harmer had a brief film career during the 1930s. During her short career she would appear in over 60 films, mostly in uncredited roles. She would occasionally be cast in a featured supporting role, as in ''

A Shriek in the Night ''A Shriek in the Night'' is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery crime film with elements of romance directed by Albert Ray and starring Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot, and Harvey Clark. It was produced by the independent studio Allied Pictures, and ...

'' (1933) and ''

The Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. ...

'' (1933), in which she played the historical character of

Carrie Nation Caroline Amelia Nation (November 25, 1846June 9, 1911), often referred to by Carrie, Carry Nation, Carrie A. Nation, or Hatchet Granny, was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the advent of Prohibition. N ...

. Other notable films in which she appeared include: ''

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

'' (1931), starring

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Charlie Chaplin's film classic '' The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in t ...

Tom Sawyer Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel '' The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawyer, ...

; the 1933 version of ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

'';

William Wellman William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on a ...

's 1937 version of '' A Star is Born'', starring

Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later ...

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...

, and

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley K ...

; the

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...

vehicle, ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in or ...

''; and the 1938 Cecil B. DeMille historical drama, '' The Buccaneer'', starring

. Her final film appearance would be in a small role in 1938's ''Gateway'', starring

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which l ...

and Arleen Whelan. Harmer, who was married to Albert Frederick Kaeber, died on May 14, 1946, and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.''Resting Places''
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Filmography

(Per AFI database) * '' A Harp in Hock'' (1927) * ''

'' (1931) * '' Smart Woman'' (1931) * '' The She-Wolf'' (1931) * '' Guilty as Hell'' (1932) * '' No Man of Her Own'' (1932) as Mattie, the Librarian (uncredited) * '' New Morals for Old'' (1932) * ''

If I Had a Million ''If I Had a Million'' is a 1932 American pre-Code Paramount Studios anthology film starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, Charles Laughton, W.C. Fields, Jack Oakie, Frances Dee and Charlie Ruggles, among others. There were seven directors: Ern ...

'' (1932) * '' Ann Vickers'' (1933) * ''

'' (1933) * '' Jennie Gerhardt'' (1933) * ''Lone Cowboy'' (1933) * ''

'' (1933) * ''

'' (1933) * '' Hold Your Man'' (1933) as Miss Allen (uncredited) * ''

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...

'' (1934) * '' College Rhythm'' (1934) * ''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 ...

'' (1934) * ''

Housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home— housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buyin ...

'' (1934) * ''

Lady by Choice ''Lady by Choice'' is a 1934 American romantic drama film released by Columbia Pictures starring Carole Lombard as a fan dancer and May Robson as a homeless drunk asked to pose as the dancer's mother for a publicity stunt, with unexpected consequ ...

'' (1934) * '' Desirable'' (1934) * ''

You Can't Buy Everything ''You Can't Buy Everything'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Charles Reisner and Sandy Roth and starring May Robson, Jean Parker and Lewis Stone. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Working titles of the fi ...

'' (1934) * ''

Romance in Manhattan ''Romance in Manhattan'' is a 1935 American comedy/romance film directed by Stephen Roberts, starring Francis Lederer and Ginger Rogers, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Plot Karel Novak (Lederer), an incredibly naive Czech immigrant, ar ...

'' (1935) * ''

Without Children ''Without Children'', also known as ''Penthouse Party'', is a 1935 American drama film directed by William Nigh and starring Marguerite Churchill, Bruce Cabot and Evelyn Brent.Pitts p.222 Cast * Marguerite Churchill as Sue Cole * Bruce Cab ...

'' (1935) * '' The Big Broadcast of 1936'' (1935) * ''Personal Maid's Secret'' (1935) * '' Party Wire'' (1935) * ''

Whipsaw A whipsaw or pitsaw was originally a type of saw used in a saw pit, and consisted of a narrow blade held rigid by a frame and called a frame saw or sash saw (see illustrations). This evolved into a straight, stiff blade without a frame, up to 1 ...

'' (1935) * ''

Public Hero No. 1 In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

'' (1935) * '' Three Kids and a Queen'' (1935) * '' Rainbow on the River'' (1936) * '' The Captain's Kid'' (1936) * ''

Sworn Enemy Sworn Enemy is an American crossover thrash band from New York City. Biography The band formed as "Downfall" and later on as "Mindset", a product of the extremely expansive and influential New York hardcore scene. At its original inception ...

'' (1936) * '' Riffraff'' (1936) * ''Little Miss Nobody'' (1936) * '' Fugitive in the Sky'' (1936) * '' Don't Get Personal'' (1936) * '' Dancing Feet'' (1936) * ''

We Went to College ''We Went to College'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley, written by Richard Maibaum and Maurice Rapf, and starring Charles Butterworth (actor), Charles Butterworth, Walter Abel, Hugh Herbert, Una Merkel and Edith Atwater. ...

'' (1936) * '' Internes Can't Take Money'' (1937) * '' Make a Wish'' (1937) * '' A Star Is Born'' (1937) as Wardrobe Woman (uncredited) * ''

The Great O'Malley ''The Great O'Malley'' is a 1937 crime film directed by William Dieterle and starring Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Sybil Jason, Humphrey Bogart, and Ann Sheridan. The 1925 silent version ''The Making of O'Malley'' starred Milton Sills, Dorot ...

'' (1937) as Miss Taylor * ''

'' (1937) * '' The Buccaneer'' (1938) * ''Gateway'' (1938)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harmer, Lillian 20th-century American actresses 1883 births 1946 deaths Actresses from Philadelphia American film actresses Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)