Camille Astor (born before 1900 – died September 16, 1944) was an American actress in silent films.

Early life

Astor usually said to have been born in 1896 in Warsaw, then a part of the Russian Empire. During 1910 court testimony, she gave a different story, saying that she was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as "Grace Curry", sometime before 1890, though this may also have been an embellished account. She trained as a dancer and was a proficient swimmer as well.

Career

Astor was a dancer and actress in Los Angeles from at least 1910. Films featuring Astor included''

Chimmie Fadden ''Chimmie Fadden'' is a 1915 American silent comedy film directed, written and edited Cecil B. DeMille. The film starred Victor Moore in the title role and is based on the play and short story of the same name by Edward W. Townsend. It was f ...

and

Chimmie Fadden Out West ''Chimmie Fadden Out West'' is a 1915 American silent Western comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was made as a sequel to '' Chimmie Fadden''. Once lost, a print is now held in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection. Plot ...

'' (both 1915, directed by

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

),'' The Thousand-Dollar Husband'' (1916, starring

Blanche Sweet Sarah Blanche Sweet (June 18, 1896 – September 6, 1986) was an American silent film actress who began her career in the earliest days of the Hollywood motion picture film industry. Early life Born Sarah Blanche Sweet (though her first nam ...

)'', For the Defense'' (1916, directed by

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in Mu ...

)'',' To Have and to Hold'' (1916, directed by

George Melford George H. Melford (born George Henry Knauff, February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and director. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMil ...

)'',' The Garden of Allah'' (1916, starring

Helen Ware Helen Ware ( Remer; October 15, 1877 – January 25, 1939) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Born to John August Remer and Elinor Maria (née Ware), Ware adopted her mother's maiden name as her professional name. She had ...

)'', ''and'' For Those We Love'' (1921, directed by

Arthur Rosson Arthur Henry Rosson (24 August 1886 – 17 June 1960) was an English film director. From 1917 to 1948, Rosson directed 61 feature films (including co-direction of '' Red River''). He also worked on many major films as a second unit director ...

). She earned an assistant director's credit on ''

The Sowers ''The Sowers'' is a surviving 1916 silent film drama produced by Jesse Lasky, released through Paramount Pictures and directed by William C. deMille. The feature stars Blanche Sweet and Thomas Meighan and is based on the 1896 novel ''The Sowers' ...

'' (1916), working with William C. deMille and Frank Reicher. She was adept at languages, and helped with interpreting on some film sets. In 1915 she offered her services as a "Polish Red Cross nurse" and danced at war relief benefit events in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Astor was named co-respondent in the first divorce of real estate broker DeKalb Spurlin in 1910, and married him as his second wife in 1915. Based on claims of infidelity and cruelty, they divorced in 1919, but she was threatened by a judge with jail time when she continued to harass her ex-husband in 1920. She married again in 1922, to engineer Jack Moore. She died in Los Angeles in 1944, in her fifties.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Astor, Camille 1944 deaths Year of birth unknown American film actresses American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses American women film directors