Forgotten Actors: May 2022

Tuesday, 31 May 2022

Vera Vance

Born: 2 February 1889, Kentucky, USA

Died: 13 May 1979, San Luis Obispo, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Little Egypt, Carnival Dancer (uncredited)

With Walter Perry.

Percy Williams

Born: 20 December 1860, Ludlow, Shropshire, England, UK

Died: 29 September 1937, Los Angeles, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Butler (uncredited)

Percy Williams announces the arrival of Lon Chaney and Harry Earles, both in deceiving personas.

Percy Williams, on the right, stands with John Merkyl and Matthew Betz.

Violet N. Cane

Born: 20 June 1920, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Died: 6 February 2007, Orange, California, USA

Violet Cane was a child actress in the late silent era. In later life she became a costumer for films and television.

The Unholy Three (1925) as Arlington Daughter in Photo (uncredited)

With Charles Wellesley. Violet filmed a scene for The Unholy Three but it was deemed too violent for the audience to see the serious assault of a child and it was cut from the final release. Studio stills exist of the cut scene.

Louis Shank

Born: unknown

Died: unknown

The Unholy Three (1925) as Newboy (uncredited)

William Humphrey

Born: 2 January 1863, Chicopee Falls, Chicopee, Massachusetts, USA

Died: 4 October 1942, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Attorney for the Defense (Credited as William Humphreys)

William Humphrey stands next to a seated Matt Moore.

Edward Connelly

Born: 30 December 1859, New York City, New York, USA

Died: 21 November 1928, Hollywood, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Judge

John Merkyl

Born: 2 June 1885, Keokuk, Iowa, USA

Died: 1 May 1954, Los Angeles, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Jeweler (uncredited)

Charles Wellesley

Born: 17 November 1873, Dublin, Ireland

Died: 24 July 1946, Amityville, New York, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as John Arlington (uncredited)

Carrie Daumery

Born: 25 March 1863, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Died: 1 July 1938, Los Angeles, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Pet Shop Customer (uncredited)

With Matt Moore.

Margie Angus

Born: 10 September 1903, Texas, USA

Died: 22 April 1971, Los Angeles, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Conjoined Twin (The Thimate Twins) (uncredited)

Mary and Margie Angus were not really conjoined.

Mary Angus

Born: 10 September 1903, Texas, USA

Died: 7 January 1957, Los Angeles, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Conjoined Twin (The Thimate Twins) (uncredited)

Mary and Margie Angus were not really conjoined.

Alice Julian

Born: 22 March 1893, Wylie, Texas, USA

Died: 25 November 1955, Dallas, Texas, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Fat Lady (uncredited)

This was Alice's only film appearance.

Carrie Clark Ward

Born: 9 January 1862, Virginia City, Nevada, USA

Died: 6 February 1926, Hollywood, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Mother Watching Hercules' Act (uncredited)

The little boy holding Carrie Clark Ward's hand is Mickey McBan.

Mickey McBan

Born: 27 February 1919, Spokane, Washington, USA

Died: 30 October 1979, Los Angeles, California, USA

The Unholy Three (1925) as Boy Watching Hercules' Act (uncredited)

Mickey McBan holds Carrie Clark Ward's hand.

Edmund Burns

Born: 27 September 1892, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Died: 2 April 1980, Los Angeles, California, USA

Made for Love (1926) as Nicholas Ainsworth / Aziru

Donald Keith

Born: 6 September 1903, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Died: 1 August 1969, Los Angeles, California, USA

The Way of All Flesh (1927) as August Jr.

This is a Lost Film. Only two fragments survive.

Emil Jannings

Born: 23 July 1884, Rorschach, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Died: 2 January 1950, Strobl, Salzburg, Austria

The Way of All Flesh (1927) as August Schilling

This is a Lost Film. Only two fragments survive. Emil Jannings won the very first 'Best Actor' Academy Award in 1929 for this performance and for his leading role in the film 'The Last Command (1928)'.

Monday, 30 May 2022

Alyce Mills

Born: 16 February 1899, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Died: 27 April 1990, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Too Many Kisses (1925) as Betty Vernon (uncredited)

Albert Tavernier

Born: 1859

Died: 3 November 1929, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Too Many Kisses (1925) as Manuel Hurja

This was Albert's last film.

Frances Howard

Born: 4 June 1903, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Died: 2 July 1976, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Frances Howard was a stage actress. She married Samuel Goldwyn of Samuel Goldwyn Productions and made a few films in 1925 before retiring from acting.

Too Many Kisses (1925) as Yvonne, His Daughter

With Richard Dix.

Arthur Ludwig

Born: 24 September 1884, New York, New York, USA

Died: unknown

Too Many Kisses (1925) as Miguel

Arthur Ludwig is in between William Powell and Paul Panzer.

Sunday, 29 May 2022

Frank Currier

Born: 4 September 1857, Norwich, Connecticut, USA

Died: 22 April 1928, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Too Many Kisses (1925) as Richard Gaylord, Sr.

Joseph Burke

Born: 8 August 1870, England, UK

Died: 7 March 1933, New York, New York, USA

Too Many Kisses (1925) as Joab Simmons (Credited as Joe Burke)

Saturday, 28 May 2022

Guy Oliver

Born: 25 September 1878, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Died: 1 September 1932, Hollywood, California, USA

Old Ironsides (1926) as First Mate

Guy Oliver is on the right, with Wallace Beery.

Friday, 27 May 2022

Effie Ellsler

Born: 17 September 1855, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Died: 8 October 1942, Hollywood, California, USA

Old Ironsides (1926) as Esther's Mother

Effie Ellsler is the older lady on the right. Here she is in a scene with Esther Ralston and William Conklin.

William Conklin

Born: 25 December 1872, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Died: 21 March 1935, Hollywood, California, USA

Old Ironsides (1926) as Esther's Father

William Conklin is the older man in the middle of Esther Ralston on the left and Effie Ellsler on the right.

George Godfrey

Born: 25 January 1897, Mobile, Alabama, USA

Died: 13 August 1947, Los Angeles, California, USA

George Godfrey was a heavyweight boxer who appeared in several films from the late silent era until 1937.

Old Ironsides (1926) as The Cook

Blog Updates

After 10 years of doing this blog I've decided to add a 'Blog Updates' post so that you can see the new additions, some of which are just additional entries on existing posts ('Additional pictures added'). I may also post my thoughts on some of the identifications I've come across. All of my pictures are captured from the films and are not studio stills. There are a handful of exceptions where it was impossible to get a picture any other way because the film is lost or tucked away in a private collection.

Please remember that I do this alone and unpaid. So please don't upload any of my pictures to websites that make millions of dollars, like IMDB. Those websites should be employing people to do it for them not relying on free handouts from you and me.

New updates will be added at the top of the post.

1st October 2023

As I've not been updating this part of the blog the way I first intended, I thought it would be better if I used it to report on important updates and landmarks only. I just don't have the time to continue the way I was before. I think this will speed things up in making this blog a more complete place to find the actor and actresses you are looking for.

12th July 2023

Been a long time since I posted here although things have been happening on this blog. Finished watching Private Number (1936).

New actors added: Robert Taylor, Marjorie Gateson, Monroe Owsley, Frank Dawson, Prince (Dog), Edna Mae Harris, Bob Kortman, Tom McGuire, Lutra Winslow,

Additional pictures added: Loretta Young, Patsy Kelly, Basil Rathbone, Joe E. Lewis. Paul Harvey, Jane Darwell, Paul Stanton, John Miljan, Billy Bevan, George Irving, May Beatty, Jack Pennick, Kane Richmond, Anne Howard, Herbert Ashley, Douglas Fowley, Bud Geary, Fred Kelsey, Scotty Mattraw, Paul McVey,

Also sorted out the problem with Eleanor Fredericks and Lilyan Irene. Both are now correct. [Credit must go to the site Another Nice Mess for sorting this one out.]

20th January 2023

New actors added: Charles Starrett, Jock Mahoney, Smiley Burnette, Angela Stevens, Chris Alcaide, Estelle Winwood, Lorena Carr

Additional pictures added: Snub Pollard, Tristram Coffin, Edgar Dearing, Pat O'Malley, Edward Hearn, Frank O'Connor, John L. Cason, Dorothy Vernon, Lloyd Corrigan,

19th January 2023

Watched two shorts starring Elsa Lanchester, The Tonic (1928) and Blue Bottles (1928), both written by H.G. Wells for Elsa.

New actors added: Leslie Banks,

Additional pictures added: Elsa Lanchester, Charles Laughton, Madeline Hurlock, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Donat,

18th January 2023

Watched 'The Bell Hop (1921)' starring Larry Semon.

New actors added: Larry Semon (don't know why it took so long to add him), Norma Nichols, Eugene Jackson,

Additional pictures added: Oliver Hardy,

17th January 2023

New actors added: Wanda Wiley, Al Alt, George A. Williams,

Additional pictures added: Dorothy Vernon,

25th December 2022

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays.

21st December 2022

I have been doing a bit of skimming over the past month and a half. This is where I go against my own rules and flick through a film in order to find some of the more obvious actors in it. The reason that I'm doing this is simply to move this blog on a bit. I feel that after ten years I should be much further along. Work over the Holiday Season has increased for me to the point where I find myself struggling to put in the hours I would like to watch rare films, identifying new and obscure actors.

Additional pictures added: ZaSu Pitts,

3 December 2022

I was watching a short comedy from Hal Roach Studios called 'Number, Please? (1920)' starring Harold Lloyd. There in the opening sequence was a wide shot of a casino. In the middle was an easily identifiable Lyle Tayo, although she was not in focus. This appears to be the earliest known film that Lyle appeared in.

11th November 2022

New actors added: Jean Carmen,

1st November 2022

Trying to make some major updates to the year sections with cross referencing lists for films of each year. There will be many without links on them at all to begin with, but I hope to improve on this soon.

New actors added: Robert Donat,

Additional pictures added:

28th October 2022

New actors added: Edward Kilroy,

Additional pictures added: Alphonse Martell, Broderick O'Farrell, Paul Sutton, Monte Vandergrift,

27th October 2022

Continuing to add actors from the film 'Miracles for Sal (1939)'. Also watched 'The Tiniest of Stars (1913)'.

New actors added: Suzanne Kaaren, Frances MacInerney, Helen Badgley, Marguerite Snow,

Additional pictures added: Harold Minjir, Truman Bradley, Marie Eline, Cyril Ring,

26th October 2022

The whole point of me watching the film 'Miracles for Sale (1939)' was because IMDB gave Field Norton a character name. This is another instance where I am relying entirely on the information handed to me and at the moment I'm not able to confirm Mr. Norton's identity. I haven't been able to find this particular face in 'Foreign Correspondent (1940)' but I will endeavour to prove one way or another the validity of the information.

New actors added: Gloria Holden, Harry J. Vejar, Walter Kingsford, Field Norton, Frederick Worlock, John Picorri,

Additional pictures added: Robert Young, Margaret Bert, Eddie Acuff, Charles Lane, Frank Craven, Armand Kaliz, Matt McHugh, Henry Hull, Harry Tyler, Edward Earle, Chester Clute, Richard Loo,

22nd October 2022

Watched 'Miracles for Sale (1939)'.

Additional pictures added: E. Alyn Warren, James C. Morton, William Demarest,

21st October 2022

New actors added: Carl M. Leviness, Eric Mayne, Sam Harris,

Additional pictures added: Edmund Mortimer, Lee Bowman,

20th October 2022

I have had an extended break during which I have hardly looked at this blog. I am quite looking forward to jumping back in and adding new stuff as well as revisiting films I still need to finish.

Additional pictures added: Jack Rice, Peter Vaughan, Bernard Cribbins, Larry Wheat, James Bell,

Blog Update Archives

July to September 2022

April to June 2022

This is the beginning of this section of the blog.