c. 1916
Born Juanita Horton
September 10, 1898
Midland, Texas
Died April 26, 1986 (aged 87)
London, England
Spouse(s) William Hawks
Table of Contents
Biography
Bessie Love (September 10, 1898 - April 26, 1986) was an American motion picture actress who achieved fame largely in the silent films and early talkie era. Petite and very pretty, she played innocent young girls, flappers, and wholesome leading ladies. Besides being an actress, she wrote the 1919 movie A Yankee Princess.
Love was born Juanita Horton on September 10, 1898 in Midland, Texas. She attended school in Midland until she was in the eighth grade, when her chiropractor father moved his family to Hollywood. Bessie graduated from Los Angeles High School and then received from her parents (as a graduation present) of a trip around the United States. After six months of traveling, she finally returned home to Los Angeles.
The Silent Era
To help with the family's financial situation, Love's mother sent her to Biograph Studios, where she met pioneering film director D.W. Griffith. Griffith, who introduced Bessie to films, also gave the actress her screen moniker. He gave her small roles in his films The Birth of a Nation (1915) and in Intolerance (1916).She also appeared opposite William S. Hart in The Aryan and with Douglas Fairbanks in The Good Bad Man, Reggie Mixes In, and The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (all 1916).
In 1922 Love was selected one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. As her roles got larger, so did her popularity. She performed the Charleston in the movie The King on Main Street in 1925. Also that same year she starred in The Lost World, a science fiction adventure based on the novel of the same name by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Three years later she starred in The Matinee Idol, a romantic comedy directed by a young Frank Capra.
Bessie Love and Douglas Fairbanks
in The Good Bad Man (1916), here listed
under the title, Coyote o' The Rio Grande.
The Sound Era
Love was able to successfully transition to talkies, and in
1929 she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best
Actress for The Broadway Melody.
She also appeared in several other early musicals including
The Hollywood Revue of 1929, Chasing Rainbows,
Good News, and They Learned About Women.
However, by 1932 her American film career was declining.
(R) Bessie Smith and Cliff Edwards
from The Broadway Melody.
She moved to England in 1935 and did stage work and occasional films there. As war came in Europe she returned to the US for a while, worked for the Red Cross, and entertained the troops. After the war she moved back to Britain where she kept her main residence, and continued to play small film roles for film companies in both the US and Britain. She appeared in films like The Barefoot Contessa (1954) with Humphrey Bogart, and as an American tourist in The Greengage Summer (1961) starring Kenneth More. She also played a small role as an American tourist in the James Bond thriller On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).
Her career came to a quick halt soon after that however, and she moved to the United Kingdom, where she had roles in several films. She made a comeback in the 1980s with roles in Ragtime (1981), Warren Beatty's Reds (1981), and (her final film) The Hunger (1983) starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon. In her lifetime, Love starred in 131 films and TV episodes.
Personal life
Love was married once, from 1929 to 1935, to film producer William Hawks (the brother of film director Howard Hawks), and she had a daughter from that marriage.She died in London, England from natural causes on April 26, 1986.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6777 Hollywood Blvd.
Cliff Edwards & Bessie Love
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Links
- Bessie Love - Biography
- Bessie Love on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more...
- Bessie Love - Silent and Sound Film Actress - goldensilents.com
- Golden Silents:
Bessie Love (1898-1986)
Silent film star Bessie Love was born Juanita Horton on September 10th, 1898 in Midland, Texas. - Silent Ladies
- Silent Ladies photo gallery of silent film star Bessie Love.
- Bessie Love
- Page with links on actress Bessie Love
- Bessie Love
- Filmography
- Human Wreckage
- Reporting on the world of early and silent cinema
USA 1923Director: John Griffith Wray
Starring Bessie Love - :: The Midnight Palace :: Bessie Love
- Classic and obscure films from the silent era through the golden age.
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