Bessie Learn (30 August 1888 – 5 February 1987) was an American actress who appeared in 86 films between 1911 and 1919.

Biography

Elizabeth “Bessie” Learn was born in San Diego''Photoplay: the Aristocrat of Motion Picture Magazines'', Volume 9 by Ruth Waterbury the middle of three daughters raised by Eugene and Lizzie Learn. Her father was a native of New York who served in the U.S. Army before marrying Lizzie MacBride on October 11, 1883, in Buffalo County, Nebraska. Eugene Learn was a house painter by trade and by the time of the birth of his first daughter he and Lizzie were living in California. Soon after Bessie's birth her family relocated to Chicago where her father found work as a printer. A few years later Bessie's mother died in Chicago leaving her father to care for three young daughters. Bessie Learn’s first known stage appearance came at age eight with Amelia Bingham, in ''Hearts are Trumps''; playing a baby in a stroller. She later played in ''The Little Princess'', with Millie James, ''Lover's Lane'' on Broadway, with

Mary Ryan Mary Ryan may refer to: Actresses * Mary Ryan (actress) (1885-1948), American stage and screen actress * Mary Nash (1884–1976), American vaudevillian, later stage/screen actress, whose birth name was Mary Ryan Characters * Mary Ryan (a.k.a. Bl ...

and had a two-year run with Edwin Arden in '' Home Folks''. She next appeared with Harry Brodribb Irving in ''Paola and Francesca'' and '' Midsummer Night's Dream'' and in vaudeville with Robert Hilliard and William Harcourt as the boy, and in the stage play ''Polly of the Circus''. She became the ingenue of the Edison Company at the age of 22, and in her short time before the camera made an enviable record for vivacious and appealing comedy. Little Miss Learn was featured in some of the best comedies Edison released, and was considered a serious player with marked ability. Her death was recorded on February 5, 1987, in Los Angeles under the name Betty Robbins, aged 98.California Death Index

Selected filmography

* '' For the Cause of the South'' (1912) * '' On The Broad Stairway'' (1913) * ''

The Girl of the Gypsy Camp The Girl of the Gypsy Camp, from Edison Studios, is a three-act silent film written by Lee Arthur and directed by Langdon West. The film was released on July 30, 1915. Cast *Harry Eytinge as Sam *Carlton S. King as Franko, Rigo’s son * Bes ...

'' (1915) * '' The Lost Battalion'' (1919)

References

External links

*
There's Something About Bessie
at Classic Images
Bessie Learn
portrait University of Washington
Bessie Learn portrait,larger version
{{DEFAULTSORT:Learn, Bessie 1888 births 1987 deaths American film actresses American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from San Diego