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{{short description|American actress}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2013}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| image = File:W. Lightner.jpg
| name = Winnie Lightner
| image = W. Lightner.jpg
| caption =
| caption = Lightner in 1930
| image_size = 267px
| image_size =
| name = Winnie Lightner
| birth_name = Winifred Josephine Reeves
| birth_name = Winifred Josephine Reeves
| birth_date = {{birth date|1899|9|17|mf=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1899|9|17|mf=y}}
| birth_place =
| birth_place = [[Greenport, Suffolk County, New York|Greenport, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1971|3|5|1899|9|17|mf=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1971|3|5|1899|9|17|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Sherman Oaks, California]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Sherman Oaks, California]], U.S.
| restingplace = San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, Los Angeles County California US<ref name=celebs>[https://books.google.ca/books?id=ZraJCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA197&dq=winnie+lightner+San+Fernando+Mission&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiA-NOO2KXfAhXbJDQIHXHaBMQQ6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=winnie%20lightner%20San%20Fernando%20Mission&f=false ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries'']</ref>
| restingplace = San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, Los Angeles County California US<ref name=celebs>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZraJCgAAQBAJ&dq=winnie+lightner+San+Fernando+Mission&pg=PA197 ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries'']</ref>
| yearsactive = 1922–1934
| yearsactive = 1922–1934
| spouse = George Holtry<br>John Patrick<br>William Harold<br>[[Roy Del Ruth]] (1934-1961) (his death) 1 Child [[Thomas Del Ruth]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Roy Del Ruth]]|1934|1961|end=his death}}
| children = [[Thomas Del Ruth]]
}}
}}


'''Winnie Lightner''' (September 17, 1899 – March 5, 1971) was an American [[Musical theatre|stage]] and [[motion picture]] actress.<ref>[http://www.allmovie.com/artist/winnie-lightner-p42380 Winnie Lightner bio allmovie.com] Retrieved July 1, 2015</ref> Perhaps best known as the gold-digging Mabel in ''[[Gold Diggers of Broadway]]'' (1929), Lightner was often [[typecasting (acting)|typecast]] as a wise-cracking gold-digger and was known for her talents as a comedian and singer. She is also noted for introducing the song "[[Singin' in the Bathtub]]" in the 1929 motion picture ''[[The Show of Shows]]''.
'''Winnie Lightner''' (born '''Winifred Josephine Reeves;'''<ref name=":0" /> September 17, 1899 – March 5, 1971) was an American [[Musical theatre|stage]] and [[motion picture]] actress.<ref>[http://www.allmovie.com/artist/winnie-lightner-p42380 Winnie Lightner bio allmovie.com] Retrieved July 1, 2015</ref>
Perhaps best known as the man-hungry Mabel in ''[[Gold Diggers of Broadway]]'' (1929), Lightner was often [[typecasting (acting)|typecast]] as a wise-cracking gold-digger and was known for her talents as a comedian and singer. She is also noted for introducing the song "[[Singin' in the Bathtub]]" in the 1929 motion picture ''[[The Show of Shows]]''.


==Life and career==
==Life and career==
[[File:The Lightner Sisters and Newton Alexander.jpg|thumb|As a young vaudevillian, Lightner (left) partnered with the longtime vaudeville team of Theodora Lightner (from whom she took her stage surname) and Newton Alexander]]
⚫
Born '''Winifred Josephine Reeves'''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19480816&id=J-RXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uvUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3645,192489&hl=en|title=Film Celebrities Begin Honeymoon |work=[[The Spokesman Review|Spokane Daily Chronicle]]|date=August 16, 1948|page=12|accessdate=August 6, 2016}}</ref> was born in [[Greenport, Suffolk County, New York]] (on [[Long Island]]) but was raised in Manhattan's [[Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan|Hell's Kitchen]] by her aunt and uncle, Margaret and Andrew Hansen,{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}} and known as Winifred Hanson.<ref name="Shaw">{{Cite book|author=Arnold Shaw|title=The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920s|date=30 November 1989|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-536298-5|pages=236–}}</ref><ref name="Clarke">{{Cite book|title=Pseudonyms|author=Joseph F. Clarke|publisher=BCA|date=1977|page=103}}</ref>
{{Moresources|section|date=June 2023}}
⚫
Also known as Winifred Hansen (using the last name of her [[foster family]]),<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19480816&id=J-RXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uvUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3645,192489&hl=en|title=Film Celebrities Begin Honeymoon |work=[[The Spokesman Review|Spokane Daily Chronicle]]|date=August 16, 1948|page=12|accessdate=August 6, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Shaw">{{Cite book|author=Arnold Shaw|title=The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920s|date=30 November 1989|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-536298-5|pages=236–}}</ref><ref name="Clarke">{{Cite book|title=Pseudonyms|author=Joseph F. Clarke|publisher=BCA|date=1977|page=103}}</ref> she started off in [[vaudeville]] at age fifteen and adopting Winnie Lightner as her stage name, she was an immediate success and played the fabled Palace theater in New York City only three months after beginning her career.{{Citation needed |date=August 2021}}


She had a successful career in [[vaudeville]] and finally made it to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], where she performed in [[George White's Scandals]] of 1922, 1923, and 1924, in the musical revue ''Gay Paree'' in 1925 and '26, and in ''Harry Delmar's Revels'' of 1927.<ref>{{ibdb name|49780|Winnie Lightner}}</ref>
With vaudeville in decline in the early 1920s, she switched to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] revues, where she starred in [[George White's Scandals]] of 1922, 1923, and 1924, in ''Gay Paree'' in 1925 and 1926, and in ''Harry Delmar's Revels'' in 1927.<ref>{{ibdb name|49780|Winnie Lightner}}</ref>


She was the first movie performer in history ever to be censored for what she said or sang on screen rather than for anything she did visually. {{citation needed|date=May 2017}} In 1928, she made a [[Vitaphone]] short in which she sang "We Love It", "God Help a Sailor on a Night Like This", "That Brand New Model of Mine", and "We've Got a Lot to Learn." A censorship board in Pennsylvania held the release of the film because of the content of Lightner's songs. According to film historian [[Alexander Walker (critic)|Alexander Walker]], "Warners asked the censors to merely pass judgment on the visuals &ndash; the censors refused."
In 1928, she made a [[Vitaphone]] short in which she sang "We Love It", "Heaven Help a Sailor on a Night Like This", "That Brand New Model of Mine", and "We've Got a Lot to Learn". A censorship board in Pennsylvania held up the release of the film because of the content of Lightner's songs. According to film historian [[Alexander Walker (critic)|Alexander Walker]], "Warners asked the censors to merely pass judgment on the visuals &ndash; the censors refused."{{Citation needed |date=August 2021}}


The musical ''[[Gold Diggers of Broadway]]'' was a 1929 triumph, and made her a star. Warner Bros. quickly signed her up for a number of musical comedies. The first of these was ''[[Hold Everything (1930 film)|Hold Everything]]'', a lavish all-[[Technicolor]] feature based on a Broadway hit. This was followed by ''[[She Couldn't Say No (1930 film)|She Couldn't Say No]]'' (1930), in which Lightner was cast in a maudlin dramatic role which did not suit her talents. The picture, consequently, was not very successful. This was followed by another successful picture,''[[The Life of the Party (1930 film)|The Life of the Party]]'', which was also shot entirely in Technicolor and was an even bigger hit than ''[[Hold Everything (1930 film)|Hold Everything]]''.
The musical ''[[Gold Diggers of Broadway]]'' was a 1929 triumph and made her a star. Warner Bros. quickly signed her up for additional films. The first of these was ''[[She Couldn't Say No (1930 film)|She Couldn't Say No]]'' (1930), in which Lightner was cast in a maudlin dramatic role that did not suit her talents. This was followed by ''[[Hold Everything (1930 film)|Hold Everything]]'', a lavish all-[[Technicolor]] musical comedy that was a huge hit. It was followed by another highly successful picture, ''[[The Life of the Party (1930 film)|The Life of the Party]]'', which was also shot entirely in Technicolor but from which most of the songs were cut prior to release.


By the end of 1930 audiences had grown tired of musicals, while Lightner was in the process of shooting three musicals: ''[[Sit Tight]]'' (1931), ''[[Gold Dust Gertie]]'' (1931), and ''[[Manhattan Parade]]'' (1932). They were all released with most of the music cut. This was especially noticeable on ''Sit Tight'' and ''Manhattan Parade'', on which even the background music was completely removed. In response to the change in public taste, Warner Bros. decided to try another dramatic role for Lightner; the result was a picture called ''[[Side Show (film)|Side Show]]'' (1931) which proved to be unsuccessful. She appeared in two more comedies, in which she co-starred with [[Loretta Young]] &ndash; without songs &ndash; before she left Warner Bros. In the first of these, ''[[Play-Girl]]'' (1932), she was billed with her name above the title, but in the second, ''[[She Had to Say Yes]]'' (1933), Young received star billing.
By the end of 1930, audiences had grown tired of musicals, while Lightner was in the process of shooting three of them: ''[[Sit Tight]]'' (1931), ''[[Gold Dust Gertie]]'' (1931), and ''[[Manhattan Parade]]'' (1932). They all were released with most of the music cut. This was especially noticeable on ''Manhattan Parade'', in which even the background music was completely removed.


In response to the changes in public tastes, Warner Bros. decided to try another dramatic role for Lightner; the result was a picture called ''[[Side Show (film)|Side Show]]'' (1931) which proved to be unsuccessful. She appeared in two more comedies, in which she co-starred with [[Loretta Young]] &ndash; without songs &ndash; before she left Warner Bros. In the first of these, ''[[Play Girl (1932 film)|Play Girl]]'' (1932), she was billed with her name above the title, but in the second, ''[[She Had to Say Yes]]'' (1933), Young received first billing.
After this, Lightner left Warner Bros. to go freelance. She played as a supporting actor in two more features, for [[MGM]] and [[Columbia Pictures]] respectively, before retiring in 1934. {{Citation needed|date=April 2013}}


==Family==
==Family==
Lightner was the mother of multiple-Emmy-award-winning cinematographer [[Thomas Del Ruth ]] and was married to film director [[Roy Del Ruth]] until his death in 1961<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/06/archives/winivie-lightiver-71-of-stage-and-films.html|title=WINNIE LIGHTNER, 71, OF STAGE AND FILMS|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 6, 1971|accessdate=August 13, 2018}}</ref>. She died in 1971, aged 71, and was interred in the [[San Fernando Mission Cemetery]].<ref name=celebs/>
Lightner was the mother of multiple-Emmy-award-winning cinematographer [[Thomas Del Ruth]] and was married to film director [[Roy Del Ruth]] until his death in 1961.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/06/archives/winivie-lightiver-71-of-stage-and-films.html|title=WINNIE LIGHTNER, 71, OF STAGE AND FILMS|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 6, 1971|accessdate=August 13, 2018}}</ref> She died in 1971, aged 71, and was interred in the [[San Fernando Mission Cemetery]].<ref name=celebs/>


==Filmography==
==Filmography==
Line 41: Line 47:
! Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
|1929|| ''[[Gold Diggers of Broadway]]'' || Mabel ||
| rowspan=2 | 1929 || ''[[Gold Diggers of Broadway]]'' || Mabel || '''Incomplete''' film
|-
|-
|1929|| ''[[The Show of Shows]]'' || Performer in 'Pingo Pongo' & 'Singing in the Bathtub' Numbers ||
| ''[[The Show of Shows]]'' || Performer in "Pingo Pongo" & "Singing in the Bathtub" Numbers ||
|-
|-
|1930|| ''[[She Couldn't Say No (1930 film)|She Coundn't Say No]]'' || Winnie Harper ||
|rowspan=3 | 1930 || ''[[She Couldn't Say No (1930 film)|She Coundn't Say No]]'' || Winnie Harper || '''Lost''' film
|-
|-
|1930|| ''[[Hold Everything (1930 film)|Hold Everything]]'' || Toots Breen ||
| ''[[Hold Everything (1930 film)|Hold Everything]]'' || Toots Breen || '''Lost''' film
|-
|-
|1930|| ''[[The Life of the Party (1930 film)|The Life of the Party]]'' || Flo ||
| ''[[The Life of the Party (1930 film)|The Life of the Party]]'' || Flo || Cut black-and-white print survives, full Technicolor version is '''lost'''
|-
|-
|1931|| ''[[Sit Tight]]'' || Winnie ||
| rowspan=5 | 1931 || ''[[Sit Tight]]'' || Winnie || Cut black-and-white print survives, full Technicolor version is '''lost'''
|-
|-
|1931|| ''[[The Stolen Jools]]'' || Winnie || Short
| ''[[The Stolen Jools]]'' || Winnie || Short
|-
|-
|1931|| ''[[Gold Dust Gertie]]'' || Gertrude 'Gertie' Dale ||
| ''[[Gold Dust Gertie]]'' || Gertrude "Gertie" Dale || Cut print survives, full version is '''lost'''
|-
|-
|1931|| ''[[Side Show (film)|Side Show]]'' || Pat ||
| ''[[Side Show (film)|Side Show]]'' || Pat || Cut print survives, full version is '''lost'''
|-
|-
|1931|| ''[[Manhattan Parade]]'' || Doris Roberts ||
| ''[[Manhattan Parade]]'' || Doris Roberts || Cut black-and-white print survives, full Technicolor version is '''lost'''
|-
|-
|1932|| ''[[Play Girl (1932 film)|Play Girl]]'' || Georgine Hicks ||
|1932|| ''[[Play Girl (1932 film)|Play Girl]]'' || Georgine Hicks ||
|-
|-
|1933|| ''[[She Had to Say Yes]]'' || Maizee ||
|rowspan=2 | 1933 || ''[[She Had to Say Yes]]'' || Maizee ||
|-
|-
|1933|| ''[[Dancing Lady]]'' || Rosette LaRue ||
| ''[[Dancing Lady]]'' || Rosette LaRue ||
|-
|-
|1934|| ''[[I'll Fix It]]'' || Elizabeth || (final film role)
| 1934 || ''[[I'll Fix It]]'' || Elizabeth || (final film role)
|}
|}


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[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:Disease-related deaths in California]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]

Latest revision as of 19:20, 3 March 2024

Winnie Lightner
Lightner in 1930
Born
Winifred Josephine Reeves

(1899-09-17)September 17, 1899
DiedMarch 5, 1971(1971-03-05) (aged 71)
Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Resting placeSan Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, Los Angeles County California US[1]
Years active1922–1934
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1934; died 1961)​
ChildrenThomas Del Ruth

Winnie Lightner (born Winifred Josephine Reeves;[2] September 17, 1899 – March 5, 1971) was an American stage and motion picture actress.[3]

Perhaps best known as the man-hungry Mabel in Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929), Lightner was often typecast as a wise-cracking gold-digger and was known for her talents as a comedian and singer. She is also noted for introducing the song "Singin' in the Bathtub" in the 1929 motion picture The Show of Shows.

Life and career[edit]

As a young vaudevillian, Lightner (left) partnered with the longtime vaudeville team of Theodora Lightner (from whom she took her stage surname) and Newton Alexander

Also known as Winifred Hansen (using the last name of her foster family),[2][4][5] she started off in vaudeville at age fifteen and adopting Winnie Lightner as her stage name, she was an immediate success and played the fabled Palace theater in New York City only three months after beginning her career.[citation needed]

With vaudeville in decline in the early 1920s, she switched to Broadway revues, where she starred in George White's Scandals of 1922, 1923, and 1924, in Gay Paree in 1925 and 1926, and in Harry Delmar's Revels in 1927.[6]

In 1928, she made a Vitaphone short in which she sang "We Love It", "Heaven Help a Sailor on a Night Like This", "That Brand New Model of Mine", and "We've Got a Lot to Learn". A censorship board in Pennsylvania held up the release of the film because of the content of Lightner's songs. According to film historian Alexander Walker, "Warners asked the censors to merely pass judgment on the visuals – the censors refused."[citation needed]

The musical Gold Diggers of Broadway was a 1929 triumph and made her a star. Warner Bros. quickly signed her up for additional films. The first of these was She Couldn't Say No (1930), in which Lightner was cast in a maudlin dramatic role that did not suit her talents. This was followed by Hold Everything, a lavish all-Technicolor musical comedy that was a huge hit. It was followed by another highly successful picture, The Life of the Party, which was also shot entirely in Technicolor but from which most of the songs were cut prior to release.

By the end of 1930, audiences had grown tired of musicals, while Lightner was in the process of shooting three of them: Sit Tight (1931), Gold Dust Gertie (1931), and Manhattan Parade (1932). They all were released with most of the music cut. This was especially noticeable on Manhattan Parade, in which even the background music was completely removed.

In response to the changes in public tastes, Warner Bros. decided to try another dramatic role for Lightner; the result was a picture called Side Show (1931) which proved to be unsuccessful. She appeared in two more comedies, in which she co-starred with Loretta Young – without songs – before she left Warner Bros. In the first of these, Play Girl (1932), she was billed with her name above the title, but in the second, She Had to Say Yes (1933), Young received first billing.

Family[edit]

Lightner was the mother of multiple-Emmy-award-winning cinematographer Thomas Del Ruth and was married to film director Roy Del Ruth until his death in 1961.[7] She died in 1971, aged 71, and was interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery.[1]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1929 Gold Diggers of Broadway Mabel Incomplete film
The Show of Shows Performer in "Pingo Pongo" & "Singing in the Bathtub" Numbers
1930 She Coundn't Say No Winnie Harper Lost film
Hold Everything Toots Breen Lost film
The Life of the Party Flo Cut black-and-white print survives, full Technicolor version is lost
1931 Sit Tight Winnie Cut black-and-white print survives, full Technicolor version is lost
The Stolen Jools Winnie Short
Gold Dust Gertie Gertrude "Gertie" Dale Cut print survives, full version is lost
Side Show Pat Cut print survives, full version is lost
Manhattan Parade Doris Roberts Cut black-and-white print survives, full Technicolor version is lost
1932 Play Girl Georgine Hicks
1933 She Had to Say Yes Maizee
Dancing Lady Rosette LaRue
1934 I'll Fix It Elizabeth (final film role)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries
  2. ^ a b "Film Celebrities Begin Honeymoon". Spokane Daily Chronicle. August 16, 1948. p. 12. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  3. ^ Winnie Lightner bio allmovie.com Retrieved July 1, 2015
  4. ^ Arnold Shaw (30 November 1989). The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920s. Oxford University Press. pp. 236–. ISBN 978-0-19-536298-5.
  5. ^ Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 103.
  6. ^ Winnie Lightner at the Internet Broadway Database
  7. ^ "WINNIE LIGHTNER, 71, OF STAGE AND FILMS". The New York Times. March 6, 1971. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

Further reading[edit]

Lightner, David L. (2016) Winnie Lightner: Tomboy of the Talkies. University of Mississippi Press. ISBN 978-1496809834.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Winnie Lightner.
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