Louise Lester (August 8, 1867 – November 18, 1952) was an American

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 ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. She was the first female star of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

films.

Biography

Lester was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, on August 8, 1867. In 1884, Lester headed the Louise Lester Opera Company. Lester made her debut in movies as a member of the Flying A Company in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

after a career on stage. She starred in over 150 films before her retirement in 1935. Lester is most famous for starring as Calamity Anne in a series of films based around the character. She also 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 popula ...

in films such as ''

The Oath of Pierre ''The Oath of Pierre'' is a 1913 American silent short film directed by Sydney Ayres starring William Garwood and Charlotte Burton. The film was based on a story by M.H. McKinstry. Cast *Charlotte Burton as Julia Naughton, of the border line ...

''. The actress' married name was Louise Lester Beal. She was the widow of

Frank Beal Frank Beal (September 11, 1862 – December 20, 1934) was an American actor and film director of the silent film era. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1862, Beal began acting in 1880 and gained fame as a director and an actor. In 1908, ...

, a film director. She was also married to actor Jack Richardson. On November 18, 1952, Lester died at the

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, aged 85. Her funeral was conducted in the chapel of the Utter-McKinley Strouthers Mortuary, 6240

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. The services were conducted by the

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Calamity Anne

Lester created the Calamity Anne character and was dramatist for the series. She starred as Calamity Anne in a series of fifteen short films based around the character, playing the lead role in films such as '' Calamity Anne's Inheritance'', '' Calamity Anne's Vanity'', ''

Calamity Anne's Beauty ''Calamity Anne's Beauty'' is a 1913 American silent short Western comedy film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Louise Lester as Calamity Anne. Other cast * Charlotte Burton * J. Warren Kerrigan * Phyllis Gordon * Jack Richardson * Jessaly ...

'', and ''

Calamity Anne, Heroine ''Calamity Anne, Heroine'' is a 1913 American short silent Western film directed by Lorimer Johnston starring Louise Lester as Calamity Anne. It is the fourth film in the Calamity Anne series. Other cast * Charlotte Burton * J. Warren Kerrig ...

'' all in 1913. The series continued for another four years, with the final film being '' Calamity Anne's Protégé'', released in 1917.

Selected filmography

* ''The Opium Smuggler'' (1911, Short) - Mrs. Watson * ''Calamity Anne's Ward'' (1912, Short) - Calamity Anne * '' Calamity Anne's Inheritance'' (1913, Short) - Calamity Anne * '' Calamity Anne's Vanity'' (1913, Short) - Calamity Anne * '' Calamity Anne, Detective'' (1913, Short) - Calamity Anne * ''