Pearl Evelyn Sindelar (née Tinker; February 5, 1881 – July 9, 1958) 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 education

Pearl Evelyn Tinker was from

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno, Nevada, Reno–Sparks, Nevada, Sparks Reno, NV Metropolitan ...

, the daughter of William Wallace Tinker and Mollie McCarty Tinker. Her father was a miner. Her mother, who used the stage name "Mae Evelynne", was the daughter of lawyer and adventurer John Templeton McCarty. Pearl Tinker was raised by her mother after her parents divorced in 1885. She briefly attended

Snell Seminary Snell Seminary School for Women was a girls school in Oakland and then Berkeley, California. History Edna Snell, (born September 29, 1843 in Farmington, New York) served a principal. At age 25, she was the only unmarried woman who attended the ...

in Oakland, California, but soon joined her mother on the

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 ...

stage, at first in child roles, as "Pearl Evelynne".

Career

Pearl Sindelar starred on stage in the musical ''

The Girl in the Taxi ''The Girl in the Taxi'' is the English-language adaptation by Frederick Fenn and Arthur Wimperis of the operetta ''Die keusche Susanne'' (''Chaste Susanne'', 1910 in Magdeburg), with music by Jean Gilbert. The German original had a libretto by G ...

'' (1910) before she started in silent films. She also appeared in ''

Potash and Perlmutter ''Potash and Perlmutter'' is a 1923 American silent film, silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger. The film is based on an ethnic Jewish comedy with characters created by Montague Glass and Charles Klein for a 1913 Broadway Potash and ...

'' (1914), and ''Hospitality'' (1922). She was active in union organizing in the New York theatre professions, and participated in the

Actors' Equity The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book or thro ...

strike of 1919. She also wrote an unpublished memoir of the strike. After her stage and film career ended, Sindelar became interested in spirituality, especially the "I AM" movement of self-proclaimed prophet

Guy Ballard Guy Warren Ballard (July 28, 1878 – December 29, 1939) was an American mining engineer who, with his wife Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, founded the "I AM" Activity. Ballard was born in Newton, Kansas and married his wife in Chicago in 1916. ...

and his wife,

Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, also known as Lotus Ray King (June 25, 1886 - February 10, 1971), was an American theosopher who co-founded the Saint Germain Foundation and served a co-leader of the I AM Movement with her husband Guy Ballard. In 19 ...

. She and her husband joined Ballard's congregation in Los Angeles, and taught classes on "divine ascension" and other topics. She gave the eulogy at the funeral of film director

Lois Weber Florence Lois Weber (June 13, 1879 – November 13, 1939) was an American silent film director, screenwriter, producer and actress. She is identified in some historical references as among "the most important and prolific film directors in the e ...

. When the church's activities were investigated, Pearl and Charles Sindelar were charged with

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

, along with other church leaders. They were acquitted in January 1941, and resigned their church positions soon after.

Personal life

Pearl Tinker married actor and artist Charles Sindelar in 1902. She was widowed when Charles died in 1947. She died 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 ...

in 1958.Pearl Sindelar at allmovie.com; bio by Hans Wollstein
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Filmography

*''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

'' (1912) *''

The Wrong Bottle ''The Wrong Bottle'' is a 1913 American drama film featuring Harry Carey. Cast * Claire McDowell as The Blind Sister * Charles Hill Mailes as The Devoted One * Pearl Sindelar as The Younger Sister * Charles West as The Faithless Lover * H ...

'' (1913)*short *''Innocence'' (1913)*short *''The Italian Bride'' (1913)*short *''The Crooked Bankers'' (1913)*short *''Puttin' It Over on Papa'' (1913)*short *''The Governor's Double'' (1913)*short *''When a Woman Wastes'' (1913)*short *''The Turning Point'' (1913)*short *''The Depth of Hate'' (1913)*short *''Two Mothers'' (1913)*short *''A Scandinavian Scandal''(1913)*short *''The Resurrection'' (1914)*short *''Broken Lives'' (1914)*short *''The Second Generation'' (1914)*short *''The Wasted Years'' (1914)*short *''A Leech of the Industry'' (1914)*short *''Detective Craig's Coup'' (1914) *''Jolts of Jealousy'' (1914)*short *'' The Glimpses of the Moon'' (1923) *''

Pied Piper Malone ''Pied Piper Malone'' is a 1924 American silent comedy drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Thomas Meighan. The Famous Players–Lasky produced the film and Paramount Pictures distributed. Plot As described in a film magazine rev ...

'' (1923) *''Peter Stuyvesant'' (1924)*short *''A Made-to-Order Hero'' (1927)*short *''

The Four-Footed Ranger ''The Four-Footed Ranger'' is a 1928 American silent Western film directed by Stuart Paton and written by Cromwell Kent, Paul M. Bryan and Gardner Bradford. The film stars Dynamite the Dog, Edmund Cobb, Margerie Bonner, Pearl Sindelar, Franci ...

'' (1928)

References

External links

* *
Broadway Photographs
Univ. S.Carolina) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sindelar, Pear 1958 deaths Actresses from Nevada People from Virginia City, Nevada 1881 births American vaudeville performers American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses