Victoria Forde (April 21, 1896 – July 24, 1964) 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.

Biography

Born in New York City in 1897, Victoria Forde was the daughter of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

actress

Eugenie Forde Eugenie Forde (June 22, 1879 – September 5, 1940) was an American silent film actress. She starred in 73 films between 1912 and 1927 in films such as ''The Diamond from the Sky'' (1915) and ''Wives and Other Wives'' with actors such a ...

who got her into films with Biograph at age 14. In 1912, at age 16, she signed with

Nestor Studios The Nestor Film Company, originally known as the Nestor Motion Picture Company, was an American motion picture production company. It was founded in 1909 as the West Coast production unit of the Centaur Film Company located in Bayonne, New Jersey ...

to make comedy films under director

Al Christie Charles Herbert Christie (April 13, 1882 – October 1, 1955) and Alfred Ernest Christie (November 23, 1886 – April 14, 1951) were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs. Early life Charles Herbert Christie was born between April 13, ...

. That same year, her mother made her film debut, appearing with her daughter in ''A Pair of Jacks'' (1912). During Forde's five-year stay with Nestor, Al Christie would direct her in one hundred and sixteen short films. Forde joined

Selig Studios The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company that was founded in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago, Illinois. The company produced hundreds of early, widely distributed commercial moving pictures, including the first films s ...

and became a star of

Western film The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...

s, frequently performing opposite cowboy actor

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western (genre), Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were s ...

. A personal relationship developed between them and, in 1917, she and Mix signed with the

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...

where they continued to perform together. She became his second wife in 1918; the following year, after having performed in 176 film shorts, she gave up her film career to stay at home with their daughter, Thomasina. They were divorced on December 24, 1930. During their marriage, they wouldn't see much of each other, with Mix insisting that she not visit him on set when he made six to ten films a year. During a trial in 1924, Mix accused Forde of having shot him in 1924, an injury that he had reported as accidentally self-inflected. He testified that during an argument Forde threw objects at him before she shot at him five times. One bullet, he said, was removed during an operation after it passed through his left arm and lodged near his spine. Mix's testimony came as he was being sued by Forde in an effort to collect five $10,000 promissory notes. Forde and Mix would both live lavishly off of Mix's hefty salaries, which would ultimately be a major factor in them losing a great deal of their fortune, as well as their Arizona ranch, by 1929. On January 1, 1932, Forde married Manuel A. de Olazabal in Tuxedo Park, New York. He was the Argentine consul in San Francisco. Forde married aviator Earl Robinson on May 10, 1944, in South Carolina.

Death

Forde died in Beverly Hills on July 24, 1964. Being of the Catholic faith she was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

Partial filmography

* '' Love in Quarantine'' (1910) * '' When the Heart Calls'' (1912) * '' His Only Son'' (1912) * '' The Yaqui Cur'' (1913) * '' The Battle of Bull Run'' (1913) * ''

When Lizzie Got Her Polish ''When Lizzie Got Her Polish'' is a 1914 Canadian comedy short silent black and white film directed by Al Christie and produced by Nestor Film Company. It is based on the story by Bess Meredyth. Cast * Victoria Forde as Lizzie * Eddie Lyons as ...

'' (1914) * ''

The Golden Thought ''The Golden Thought'' is a 1917 silent short film western directed by and starring Tom Mix. It was produced by the Selig Polyscope Company and released through the General Film Company. A print survives in the George Eastman House. It was re ...

'' (1917; 1924-rerelease) * ''

Western Blood ''Western Blood'' is a lost 1918 American silent Western film directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring Tom Mix. It was produced and released by Fox Film Corporation. Cast * Tom Mix - Tex Wilson * Victoria Forde - Roberta Stephens * Frank Clar ...

'' (1918)

References

External links

* American silent film actresses American film actresses Western (genre) film actresses Actresses from New York City 1896 births 1964 deaths Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City 20th-century American actresses {{US-film-actor-1890s-stub