Leila Hyams
Leila Hyams (born May 1, 1905 in New York City , † December 4, 1977 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actress .
life and career
Leila Hyams was born in New York as the daughter of the actor couple John Hyams (1869–1940) and Leila McIntyre (1882–1953). As a child she stood next to her parents on vaudeville stages, in adolescence she worked as an advertising model for various companies. Her images as a model in several newspapers and magazines brought Hyams the invitation to Hollywood, where she made her debut in 1924 with a supporting role in the film Sandra . At first only her good looks were perceived as her main quality, but she subsequently also proved herself to be a capable actress. At the end of the 1920s, unlike other silent film actors, she made the leap into talkies with no problems. In Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's first sound film, alias Jimmy Valentine , Hyams played the female lead alongside William Haines and Lionel Barrymore .
As a result, she was mostly confined to conventional roles as a female leading actress, but she also had some more interesting roles, such as a murder suspect in the crime film The Thirteenth Chair (1929) and as a bookseller who falls in love with a prisoner in the Oscar-winning prison drama Hell Behind Bars (1930). In 1932, Hyams played the friendly circus lady Venus in Tod Browning's horror classic Freaks, probably her best-known role today. Also in 1932, she also starred alongside Charles Laughton in Islands of the Lost Souls , another horror film. With Laughton she played again in 1935 in the comedy A Butler in America by Leo McCarey , where she was seen in a supporting role as a kind-hearted saloon girl.
After a total of 52 films in twelve years, Leila Hyams withdrew into her private life in 1936. However, she lived in Los Angeles until her death and remained friends with many filmmakers. Leila Hyams was married to acting agent Phil Berg from 1927 until her death. She died of a heart attack in 1977 at the age of 72.
Filmography (selection)
- 1924: Sandra
- 1928: Blue Boys - Blonde Girls (A Girl In Every Port)
- 1928: aka Jimmy Valentine
- 1929: Wonder of Women
- 1929: The Thirteenth Chair
- 1929: The imperfect marriage (Spite Marriage)
- 1930: The Girl Said No.
- 1930: Way Out West
- 1930: Hell Behind Bars (The Big House)
- 1931: The Phantom of Paris
- 1932: The Big Broadcast
- 1932: The Island of Lost Souls (Iceland of Lost Souls)
- 1932: freaks
- 1932: Fire Head (Red-Headed Woman)
- 1933: The Constant Woman
- 1935: A Butler in America (Ruggles of Red Gap)
- 1935: 1,000 dollars a minute
- 1936: Yellow Dust
Web links
- Leila Hyams in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hyams, Leila |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American film actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1905 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City , New York , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th December 1977 |
| Place of death | Los Angeles , California , United States |