Anna Luther (July 7, 1893 – December 16, 1960), sometimes credited as Ann Luther or Anne Luther, was an American actress. She was known as "the Poster Girl".

Early life and career

Anna Luther was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2769351:60525?_phcmd=u(%27https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=Anne_Luther&event=_Newark-Essex-New+Jersey-USA&birth=1897&successSource=Search&queryId=3c9b1750b49588b8431fee28ab3ff3ea%27,%27successSource%27) However, she appears on the 1905 census as a 12 year old. She was the youngest of four children to Jacob Luther, who was a New York sewing machine sales representative, and Sarah Limonick, a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

. Both of her parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia who arrived in the U.S. in 1891. She had two brothers, Elan and Hyman, and a sister, Pauline. She spent her childhood in Newark and Jersey City. Anne Luther

Luther made her film debut in the 1913 short ''Hearts of the Dark'', followed by ''The Fly Leaf of Fate'' (1913), and ''The Changeling'' (1914). Her first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

was ''The Wolf'' (1914), which credited her as Ann Luther. She starred with

William Garwood William Davis Garwood, Jr. (April 28, 1884 – December 28, 1950) was an American stage and film actor and director of the early silent film era in the 1910s. Between 1911 and 1913, Garwood starred in a number of early adaptions of popu ...

in '' Her Moment'' (1918). Among her other film credits include roles in '' Melting Millions'' (1917), '' The Governor's Lady'' (1923), and ''

Sinners in Silk ''Sinners in Silk'' is a 1924 silent romantic drama film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Eleanor Boardman, Adolphe Menjou, Hedda Hopper, Conrad Nagel, and Jean Hersholt. It was written by Benjamin Glazer and Carey Wilson. The film a ...

'' (1924). She appeared in 48 films from 1913 to 1957, her final screen appearance being in ''

The Wayward Bus ''The Wayward Bus'' is a novel by American author John Steinbeck, published in 1947. The novel's epigraph is a passage from 15th-century English play ''Everyman'', with its archaic English intact; the quotation refers to the transitory nature of ...

'' (1957), in which she played an uncredited role. Newspapers described her hair as having an orange hue. In 1915,

Motion Picture Classic ''Motion Picture'' was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977.Fuller, Kathryn H. “Motion Picture Story Magazine and the Gendered Construction of the Movie Fan.” ''At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences ...

said Luther had "one of the most magnificent bungalows in California."

Court litigation

Luther named

Peggy Hopkins Joyce Peggy Hopkins Joyce (born Marguerite Upton; May 26, 1893 – June 12, 1957) was an American actress, artist's model, and dancer. In addition to her performing career, Joyce was known for her flamboyant life, with numerous engagements, four ...

as a friend and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

mine operator and millionaire, Jack White, as a lover. White accompanied Luther to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as a theatrical producer. In June 1924 the actress brought a $100,000 breach of contract suit against White for allegedly promising to star her in four motion pictures. In a countersuit White demanded a $10,000 refund spent on the Luther film and charged Luther with having a bad reputation. White contended that he did not violate the

Mann Act The White-Slave Traffic Act, also called the Mann Act, is a United States federal law, passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, ; ''codified as amended at'' ). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann of Illinois. In its original form the act mad ...

merely by sharing the same drawing room with Luther on their journey west. Some of the witnesses anticipated for the trial were Charlie Chaplin,

Evelyn Nesbit Evelyn Nesbit (born Florence Evelyn Nesbit; December 25, 1884 or 1885 – January 17, 1967) was an American artists' model, chorus girl, and actress. She is best known for her years as a young woman in New York City, particularly her inv ...

Pearl White Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career on the stage at the age of six, and later moved on to silent films appearing in a number of popular serials. Dubbed the "Queen of ...

, and Mabel Normand. White's attorneys brought up the death of murdered silent film director

William Desmond Taylor William Desmond Taylor (born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner, 26 April 1872 – 1 February 1922) was an Anglo-Irish-American film director and actor. A popular figure in the growing Hollywood motion picture colony of the 1910s and early 1920s, ...

. They claimed Luther told White to pay or "watch out for what happened to Taylor." During court proceedings Luther admitted paying $2,500 in rent for her place in

Great Neck Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Point, and Russell Gardens, and a number of unincor ...

, although she possessed a bank balance of only $141 at the time. White admitted having a contract with Luther but his lawyers succeeded in getting Luther to make a number of admissions which hurt her case. The presiding judge dropped Luther's suit because of her failure to prove a legal contract between herself and White. After the trial's conclusion Luther filed notice of motion for a new trial.

Marriages and scandals

Luther's first marriage was to the New York attorney Samuel E. Dribben in 1913, but it ended in divorce that same year. She next married Edward Gallagher of the

Gallagher and Shean Gallagher & Shean was a highly successful musical comedy double act in vaudeville and on Broadway in the 1910s and 1920s, consisting of Ed Gallagher (1873–1929) and Al Shean (1868–1949); Shean was the maternal uncle of the Marx Brothers. C ...

vaudeville comedy team on December 5, 1923. She and Gallagher separated in February 1924, with her husband continuing to play on the road and Luther returning to making motion pictures. In March 1925 she was named as co-respondent in a lawsuit brought by actress

Dagmar Godowsky Mercedes Dagmar Godowsky (November 24, 1897 – February 13, 1975) was an American silent film actress. Biography Mercedes Dagmar Godowsky was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 24, 1897, the daughter of Polish-Jewish composer Leopold Godow ...

. Godowsky began divorce proceedings after claiming to have discovered Luther with her husband, actor Frank Mayo, in Mayo's apartment. Luther and Mayo later married, and Mayo's marriage to Godowsky was annulled in 1926 on the grounds that Mayo had another wife. In 1933, Luther and Mayo were residing in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Luther and

Juanita Hansen Juanita Hansen (born Juanita Cecilia Hanson; March 3, 1895 – September 26, 1961) was an American actress who performed in silent films. She became one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties and appeared in a variety of serials through the late 19 ...

were named as two co-respondents in a divorce suit brought by

against Jack Clifford. Clifford had left Nesbit in 1918, and she divorced him in 1933.

Death

Luther died at the

Motion Picture Country Home The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as temp ...

in Woodland Hills in 1960 at 63 years old. Her funeral was conducted by Pierce Brothers of Hollywood at Mount Sinai Cemetery Chapel, and she was buried at

Mount Sinai Memorial Park Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery is the largest Jewish cemetery organization in California. History Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries, owned by Sinai Temple of Los Angeles, refers to two Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles metrop ...

. Her burial plot gives her name as Anne Luther, and her epitaph reads "Beloved aunt".

Selected filmography

* ''

The Island of Desire ''The Island of Desire'' is a lost 1917 silent film adventure directed by Otis Turner, produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation and starring George Walsh. Cast *George Walsh - Bruce Chalmers *Patricia Palmer - Leila Denham * Anna Luther ...

'' (1917) * '' Melting Millions'' (1917) * '' Her Moment'' (1918) * ''

Why Women Sin ''Why Women Sin'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Burton L. King and starring Anna Luther, Charles K. Gerrard and Claire Whitney.Munden p.226 Cast * Anna Luther as Dorothy Pemberton * E.J. Ratcliffe as Philip Pemberton * ...

'' (1920) * ''

The Woman Who Believed ''The Woman Who Believed'' is a 1922 American silent drama film, directed by Jack Harvey. It stars Walter Miller and Anna Luther. References External links''The Woman Who Believed''at the Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviatio ...

'' (1922) * '' The Governor's Lady'' (1923) * ''

The Truth About Wives ''The Truth About Wives'' is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Lawrence C. Windom and starring Betty Blythe, Tyrone Power Sr. and William P. Carleton.Connelly p.424 Cast * Betty Blythe as Helen Frazer * Tyrone Power Sr. as Howard H ...

'' (1923) * ''

'' (1924)

References

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

Times, ''Producer Admits Contract With Ann Luther, Moving Picture Actress'', August 13, 1924, Page 7. *

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

, ''Ann Luther and Gallagher Decide To Part'', February 15, 1924, Page A11. *Los Angeles Times, ''Notice of New Trial is Posted by Ann Luther'', August 24, 1924, Page 16. *Los Angeles Times, ''Miss Ann Luther'', December 18, 1960, Page J11. *

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

Tribune, ''He Says She Did, She Says He Did, Who Made Love?, June 22, 1924, Page 83. *Oakland Tribune, ''Frank Mayo Accused By Screen Star'' Wednesday Evening, March 18, 1925, Page 1.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luther, Anna American film actresses American silent film actresses People from New Jersey 1893 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American actresses