Pauline Curley (December 19, 1903 – December 11, 2000) was a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and

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 from

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...

. Her film career spanned much of the silent era, from 1915 to 1928.

Early years

Pauline Curley was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Her mother, Rose Curley, brought her into show business at the age of 4, at first on stage in

shows. In 1910 at 6 years old Rose brought Pauline to New York City to find her work in the newly established silent movie industry and on the stage, getting her bit parts in a variety of movies, as well as weekly stage performances in ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...

'' and ''

Little Lord Fauntleroy ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was published as a serial in ''St. Nicholas Magazine'' from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Charles Scribner's Sons, Scribner's (the publisher of ...

'' for the Jack Packard Stock Company. In 1915, she appeared on Broadway in the role of Rhods in ''Polygamy'' at the Park Theatre. Her mother gave different ages for Pauline depending on the requirements of the role, leaving her confused about her actual age, which she only learned in 1998 when she was 94.

Acting career

Pauline Curley's acting career spanned the period of 1903 starting as a baby and finishing when she was 25 in 1929, after which she retired from acting although she retained a connection to the movie business through her cinematographer husband.

Entry into movies

Curley's first motion picture was '' Tangled Relations'' (1912). She played one of the children in a movie which starred

Florence Lawrence Florence Lawrence (born Florence Annie Bridgwood; January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938) was a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress. She is often referred to as the "first movie star", and was long thought to be the first film act ...

and

Owen Moore Owen Moore (12 December 1886 – 9 June 1939) was an Irish people, Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937. Early life and career Moore was born in Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland. A ...

. For an audition for '' The Straight Road'' in 1914, Pauline was dressed as a boy to land a part as an orphan; a variety of such roles followed, "cornering the market in orphans and waifs". In 1915 she played the ingenue Claudia Frawley in '' Life Without Soul'', an adaptation of

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

''.

Move to Hollywood

Her mother took Pauline Curley to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

in 1917 in search of more lucrative work. She soon landed the role of Princess Irina of Russia in

Herbert Brenon Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of Silent film, silent films through 1940. Brenon was among the e ...

's '' The Fall of the Romanovs'', her first Hollywood work and, according to ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', her best known. In 1918 she was a leading lady in five films, including working as the

leading lady A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person w ...

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor ( ; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

's first full-length feature, ''

The Turn in the Road The Turn in the Road is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor. His first feature film, the production was financed by the Brentwood Film Corporation and the title and the scenario based on a Christian Science religious tract ...

''. Curley supported

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked Vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckler film, swashbu ...

and

Tully Marshall Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...

in '' Bound in Morocco'' (1918). This is a farcical tale of a young American's adventures in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. In 1920 she was featured in '' The Invisible Hand'', a

Vitagraph Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 ...

serial with Brinsley Shaw and

Antonio Moreno Antonio Garrido Monteagudo (September 26, 1887 – February 15, 1967), better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s. Early life and silent fil ...

. It was directed by William J. Bauman. This was her first

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, a genre that would henceforth dominate her work. In 1926 Curley played with Helen Chadwick,

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

, and Emmett King, in ''The Naked Truth''. It was a film about parents who failed to tell their children about the mysteries of life at the appropriate time. It deals with the consequences.

Personal life

She married cinematographer Kenneth Peach in 1922, taking his last name as Pauline Curley Peach and remaining married until his death in 1988. They were married for nearly 66 years. They had three children, two sons and one daughter.

Death

On December 16, 2000, Curley died 8 days before her 97th birthday of complications resulting from pneumonia at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica.

Selected filmography

* '' Life Without Soul'' (1915) * '' The Fall of the Romanoffs'' (1917) * '' The Square Deceiver'' (1917) *'' Cassidy'' (1917) *'' A Case at Law'' (1917) * '' Her Boy'' (1918) * '' The Landloper'' (1918) * '' Bound in Morocco'' (1918) * ''

'' (1919) * '' The Man Beneath'' (1919) * '' The Valley of Tomorrow'' (1920) * '' Hands Off!'' (1921) * '' Judge Her Not'' (1921) * '' The Prairie Mystery'' (1922) * '' Midnight Secrets'' (1924) * '' Prince of the Saddle'' (1926) * '' Walloping Kid'' (1926) * '' Pony Express Rider'' (1926) * '' Thunderbolt's Tracks'' (1927) * '' Devil Dogs'' (1928) * ''

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

'' (1928)

References

Notes Villecco, Tony (2001) ''Silent Stars Speak''; McFarland. p. 47 Bibliography * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curley, Pauline 1903 births 2000 deaths American child actresses American silent film actresses American film actresses People from Holyoke, Massachusetts Actresses from Massachusetts 20th-century American actresses Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Deaths from pneumonia in California