Gertrude Astor

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gertrude Astor in You shall not covet your neighbor's wife (1922)

Gertrude Astor (* 9. November 1887 in Lakewood , Ohio as Gertrude Eyster ; † 9. November 1977 in Woodland Hills , California ) was an American actress.

life and work

Born in Ohio, Gertrude Astor had her first stage appearances in a repertory theater in 1900 , where she stayed for two years. She later played the trombone in a women's band that performed in vaudeville theaters and on so-called showboats , a kind of floating theater that was touring the great waterways in the USA at the time .

Silent movie era

In 1914 she came to Hollywood for the film Under Two Flags , where she stayed after filming was over. In 1915 she was one of the first actresses to get a contract with Universal . As a good rider she was also used as a stunt woman, sometimes together with the young John Ford . She played the female lead in the 1917 short film Cheyenne's Pal , one of the first films that John Ford made. In the following years she was seen in many films and mostly had bigger roles in them. She was often used in aristocratic roles , as a gold digger or as a friend of the female lead, primarily in comedies. The blonde, blue-eyed Gertrude Astor was considered the best-dressed actress in Hollywood and one of Hollywood's first sex symbols at the height of her career. Nevertheless, her main roles, especially romantic ones, were denied because of her height. She stated her height as 5 feet, 7½ inches (about 1.71 meters), other sources go up to 5 feet, 11 inches (about 1.80 meters). In any case, she was physically taller than most male stars of her time. At the beginning of 1927 she also adopted her previous artist name as her real name; her name had previously been Gertrude Eyster. The reason given was that, as Gertrude Astor, she had acquired considerable real estate and wanted to avoid legal difficulties. At this time she also had her greatest successes in films such as The Strong Man , Alles Schwindel , Spuk im Schloß , Uncle Tom's Hut or Dames Ahoy.

Later career

Gertrude Astor was constantly receiving roles even in the sound film era, but they became noticeably smaller. In 1931 she played Oliver Hardy's wife in the Laurel and Hardy short film Come Clean . From the mid-1930s she practically only had roles that were not mentioned in the film opening credits. These included very successful or well-known films such as The Great Ziegfeld , The Women , Monsieur Verdoux - The Woman Murderer of Paris , Boulevard of Twilight , All About Eva , My Friend Harvey , Around the World in 80 Days or My Songs - My Dreams . John Ford in particular used them frequently in his films; Examples are Chopping Weather , Footprints in the Sand , The Black Hawk , The Last Order , Two Rode Together, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance . In 1967 she ended her career after a back injury. On September 30, 1975, film critic Kevin Thomas organized a celebration at Universal in her honor , attended by old friends, including directors George Cukor , Henry Hathaway, and Allan Dwan .

death

Gertrude Astor died of a stroke on her 90th birthday . She was buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Gertrude Astor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The years of birth are also given as 1877 and 1889.
  2. ↑ a b Gertrude Astor's Pro Name . In: Variety . January 26, 1927 ( online at Archive.org [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Bruce Eder: Gertrude Astor. In: Allmovie . Accessed March 10, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b George A. Katchmer: A Biographical Dictionary of Silent movie Western Actors and Actresses . McFarland, Jefferson 2015, ISBN 978-1-4766-0905-8 , pp. 10–11 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  5. ↑ a b c AL Wooldridge: It Was About Time! In: Picture Play Magazine . December 1927, LCCN  2005-210253 , p. 67–68 ( online at Archive.org [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  6. ↑ Jess L. Hoaglin: Gertrude Astor . In: Hollywood Studio Magazine . June 1972, ISSN  0894-2188 , LCCN  87-640704 , p. 15:17 ( online at Archive.org [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  7. ↑ a b c d Gertrude Astor, 90, an Actress In Silent Films and the Talkies . In: The New York Times . November 12, 1977, p.  24 ( online at NYTimes.com [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  8. ↑ Ivan St. Johns: She Outgrew Stardom . In: Photoplay Magazine . July 1927, ISSN  0732-538X , LCCN  82-177839 , p. 72 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  9. ↑ a b c Ivan St. Johns: She Outgrew Stardom . In: Photoplay Magazine . July 1927, ISSN  0732-538X , LCCN  82-177839 , p. 127 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  10. ↑ Gertrude Astor in the Internet Movie Database (English). Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  11. ↑ AL Wooldridge: It Was About Time! In: Picture Play Magazine . December 1927, LCCN  2005-210253 , p. 110 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  12. ↑ a b c Anthony Slide: Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins . University Press of Mississippi, Jackson 2012, ISBN 978-1-61703-474-9 , pp. 177–179 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  13. ^ Gertrude Astor in the Find a Grave database . Accessed March 10, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Astor, Gertrude
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eyster, Gertrude (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH November 9, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Lakewood , Ohio , United States
DATE OF DEATH November 9, 1977
Place of death Woodland Hills , California , United States