Alice Lake (September 12, 1895 – November 15, 1967) was an American film actress. She began her career during the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

era and often appeared in comedy shorts opposite

Roscoe Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked ...

Career

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Lake began her career as a dancer. She made her screen debut in 1912, and she appeared in a number of comedy shorts by

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

. Lake was often the leading lady of Roscoe Arbuckle in comedies like '' Oh Doctor!'' (1917) and '' The Cook'' (1918). Arbuckle directed both films and was joined by

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

who had a leading role in ''Oh Doctor!''. Lake also played dramatic roles with

Bert Lytell Bertram Lytell (February 24, 1885 – September 28, 1954) was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films. Background Born in New York City, Lyt ...

in ''Blackie's Redemption'' and ''The Lion's Den'', both from 1919. During the 1920s she appeared in a number of Metro silent film features as the lead actress. At the height of her career she earned $1,200 per week as a motion picture actress. Lake had only limited success in dramatic roles. Following the introduction of

talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

, her parts in films began to wane and she only performed in supporting roles. Her last appearance in film was in 1935 with a bit part in ''Frisco Kid''. In all her screen credits numbered ninety-six.

Personal life

In March 1924, Lake married fellow actor Robert Williams, but they were divorced in 1925. The couple separated and reunited three times before they permanently separated. Williams was a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer who had appeared in a number of stage plays. He was previously married to singer

Marion Harris Marion Harris (born Mary Ellen Harrison; April 4, 1896 – April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer who was most successful in the late 1910s and the 1920s. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.Ward, Elij ...

. She is the aunt of Filipina actress

Anita Linda Alice Bueñaflor Lake (November 23, 1924 – June 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Anita Linda, was a Filipino film actress. A romantic lead in her youth, she later gained critical acclaim for her portrayals in maternal or elderly r ...

Death

Lake died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at Paradise Sanitarium in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. She was 72. She is buried at

Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. The cemetery has an entrance called the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation that is the final resting place for aviation ...

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Alice Lake has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

at 1620

Vine Street Vine Street is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north–south between Franklin Avenue and Melrose Avenue. The intersection with Hollywood Boulevard was once a symbol of Hollywood itself. The famed intersection fell into ...

Selected filmography

Footnotes

References

* ''

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 Un ...

'', "Another Romance Of Films On Rocks", March 16, 1925, Page 20. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Ex-Actress Alice Lake Dies at 71", November 17, 1967, Page 29.

External links

* *
Alice Lake
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Alice Actresses from New York (state) American film actresses American silent film actresses Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery People from Brooklyn Western (genre) film actresses 1895 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American actresses