Rebekah Isabelle LaemmleBiodata (with correct birthname)
, laemmle.us; accessed June 25, 2014. (October 20, 1909 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Carla Laemmle, was an American actress and dancer, and the niece of

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

studio founder

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

. As an actress/dancer, she is known primarily for her roles in ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'' (1925) and '' Dracula'' (1931). At the time of her death, she was one of the last surviving actors of the silent film era, with her career spanning almost nine decades, also with one of the longest gaps.

Career

Laemmle entered films in 1925, as "Carla Laemmle", in an uncredited role as a ballet dancer in the original silent film version of ''

'' (1925) and later had a small role in the early talkie version of '' Dracula'' (1931). In that classic film, she portrayed (again uncredited) a

bespectacled Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...

passenger riding in a bumpy horse-drawn carriage with Renfield as he is traveling to Dracula's castle, and had the first spoken line of dialogue in the film.DVD Documentary ''The Road to Dracula'', produced by David J. Skal, included in the 2-DVD set ''Dracula: The Legacy Collection'' (2004), Universal Home Entertainment release # 24455. Laemmle continued to appear in small roles until the late 1930s, when she disappeared from the movie screen. She briefly came out of retirement to play a vampire in ''The Vampire Hunters Club'' (2001). In 2009, the book ''Growing Up with Monsters: My Times at Universal Studios in Rhymes'', co-authored by Laemmle and Daniel Kinske, was released. The book was illustrated by the legendary Jack Davis (of

Mad magazine Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ...

fame) and details her life at Universal Studios from 1921 to 1937. On October 20, 2009, she celebrated her 100th birthday with a guestlist which included

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

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, Bela Lugosi Jr., Sara Karloff, and Ron Chaney. On October 3, 2010, she appeared in BBC Four documentary '' A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss'', sharing memories of her early film work with

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

and

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

. She also recited her opening lines from ''Dracula''. In November 2010, she made an appearance in the documentary ''Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood'' for

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

and in May 2011 she appeared in ''

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and somet ...

's Birth of Hollywood'' on the BBC. In March 2012, Turner Classic Movies presented a screening of ''Dracula'', where Laemmle appeared at the screening in connection with its Classic Movie Festival.

Death

Laemmle died at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 104 on June 12, 2014. She never married nor had children, but was the companion of actor-writer Raymond Cannon until his death in 1977. She was buried at

Home of Peace Cemetery (East Los Angeles) The Home of Peace Cemetery ( ''Beit Kvarot Beit Shalom'') is a Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Location It is located at 4334 Whittier Boulevard west of Interstate 710 in East Los Angeles, California. It is across from Calvary Catho ...

Filmography

References

External links

Antonia Carlotta's Official Family YouTube Channel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laemmle, Carla 1909 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American silent film actresses American centenarians American people of German-Jewish descent Burials at Home of Peace Cemetery Jewish American actresses Universal Pictures Actresses from Greater Los Angeles Actresses from Chicago Women centenarians