Lola May (born May Purman; 1889–1971) was an American silent film and

stage actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Life

May was born in North Dakota. She was a stage actress and appeared in seven films during the

silent era 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, wh ...

including the historical drama '' The Beggar of Cawnpore''. She appeared in the 1908-1909 Broadway hit ''

A Gentleman from Mississippi ''A Gentleman from Mississippi'' is a 1908 comedic play by Harrison Rhodes and Thomas A. Wise.(1 August 1908)A New Political Play ''The New York Times'' It was popular when released, debuting on Broadway on September 28, 1908, and playing for 4 ...

''. Her other Broadway plays included ''The Lure'' (1913), ''Just Like John'' (1912), and ''An Old New Yorker'' (1911). Beginning in November 1913, May faced a lawsuit from Marie Crandell, who said that her estranged husband, Derby Crandell, had bought gifts for May and had dined with her. Mrs. Crandell said "My husband was a model husband and we were very happy until this other woman came between us." The suit asked for $50,000 damages. The suit was dismissed on March 21, 1914, after Mrs. Crandell "failed to file a bill of particulars". In 1916 she appeared in Thomas H. Ince's anti-war film ''

Civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

'' as Queen Eugenie."The Stage"
''Munsey's Magazine'' (September 1916): 697. The film reputedly cost $1 million to make.

Partial filmography

* '' The Lure'' (1914) * '' The Beggar of Cawnpore'' (1916) * ''

The Heart of Nora Flynn ''The Heart of Nora Flynn'' is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It stars Marie Doro in her first film for Jesse L. Lasky. Art direction for the film was done by Wilfred Buckland. It premiered on April 23, 191 ...

'' (1916) * ''

The Green Swamp ''The Green Swamp'' is a 1916 silent drama starring Bessie Barriscale and written by C. Gardner Sullivan. Plot summary The film centers on Magery Allison (played by Bessie Barriscale) and her husband, Dr. Ward Allison (played by Bruce McRae ...

'' (1916) * ''

'' (1916)

References

Bibliography

* George A. Katchmer. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses''. McFarland, 2002.

External links

* 1889 births 1971 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses People from North Dakota 20th-century American actresses {{US-film-actor-1880s-stub