Alice White

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Alice White (1933)

Alva "Alice" White (born August 25, 1904 in Paterson , New Jersey ; † February 19, 1983 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actress who, in her career from 1927 to 1949, played in more than 40 silent and sound films could be seen. She gained fame in 1927 for her role in The Love Life of Beautiful Helena .

Life

Alice White was the only child of actress Marian Alexander and Audler White, who separated shortly after their child was born. Her mother died when White was three years old. So she grew up with her maternal grandparents in her native Paterson, where she also went to school. She later attended a school in East Orange .

After completing her school career, White became secretary and script supervisor to director Josef von Sternberg . After an argument with von Sternberg, White became Charlie Chaplin's secretary , which gave her her first roles and a contract with Warner Brothers .

White's film debut was in the 1927 silent drama The Sea Tiger . She became famous in the same year in The love life of beautiful Helena . After other minor roles, she got the lead role of Dixie Dugan in the tragic comedy Show Girl in 1928 , also a silent film. In 1930 White was seen in the same role in the sequel Showgirl in Hollywood , which was now a sound film. The year before, she had played leading roles in the sound films The Girl from Woolworth’s and Broadway Babies , the latter being one of the first film musicals to be produced.

After further film roles, White ended her career for a long time in 1931 to take acting classes. In 1933 she returned to Hollywood. A short time later she got into a scandal through an open affair with the actor John Warburton and the film producer Sy Bartlett . Although White married Bartlett that same year, she did not receive any major film offers after this incident and henceforth had to be content with supporting roles. Another reason for the decline of White's film career is cited as a financial dispute between her and the film studio, through which she fell into the disapproval of the producers. For example, in a later interview, White complained that she was a star but got paid like an extra. Her few leading roles after this time include Didi Bonfee in the 1934 horror film Secret of the Chateau alongside Claire Dodd . Both actresses were on loan from Warner Brothers to Universal Studios . White played her last role in 1949 in The Street of the Successful , then she ended her film career and worked as a secretary again.

Alice White and Sy Bartlett divorced in 1937. In 1941 she married the screenwriter Jack Roberts. This marriage also divorced in 1949. White continued to live in Los Angeles, where she died of complications from a stroke on February 19, 1983 at the age of 78. She was buried in the Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood .

Alice White received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1511 Vine Street for her services as an actress .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1927: The Sea Tiger
  • 1927: Breakfast at Sunrise
  • 1927: The Love Life of Helen of Troy (The Private Life of Helen of Troy)
  • 1927: The Dove
  • 1928: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
  • 1928: Mad Hour
  • 1928: The Big Noise
  • 1928: Show Girl
  • 1928: Naughty Baby
  • 1929: Hot Stuff
  • 1929: Broadway Babies
  • 1929: The Girl from Woolworth's
  • 1929: The Show of Shows
  • 1930: Playing Around
  • 1930: Showgirl in Hollywood
  • 1930: Sweet Mama
  • 1930: The Widow from Chicago
  • 1931: The Naughty Flirt
  • 1933: Employees' Entrance
  • 1933: Picture Snatcher
  • 1934: Jimmy the Gent
  • 1934: A Very Honorable Guy
  • 1934: Gift of Gab
  • 1934: Secret of the Chateau
  • 1935: Coronado
  • 1937: Big City
  • 1941: The Night of January 16th
  • 1949: The Road of the Successful (Flamingo Road)

Web links

Commons : Alice White  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Edwin M. Bradley: The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 through 1932 . McFarland, Jefferson 2004, ISBN 978-0-7864-2029-2 , p. 47.
  2. ↑ Cliff Aliperti: Alice White's Bad Rap: Sex, Money or the Times? In: Immortal Ephemera. January 28, 2011, accessed June 8, 2019 .
  3. ↑ John T. Soister: Of Gods and Monsters: A Critical Guide to Universal Studios' Science Fiction, Horror and Mystery Films, 1929-1939 . McFarland, Jefferson 2015, ISBN 978-1-4766-0499-2 , 190.
personal data
SURNAME White, Alice
ALTERNATIVE NAMES White, Alva
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH August 25, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Paterson , New Jersey , United States
DATE OF DEATH February 19, 1983
Place of death Los Angeles , California , United States