Christine Maple (born Christine Raphael; November 16, 1912 – January 13, 1947) was an American actress in the 1930s who appeared in

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 and serials.

Biography

Maple was born in

Belle Plaine, Kansas Belle Plaine is a city in Sumner County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,467. History Belle Plaine was founded in 1871. Belle Plaine is a French name meaning "beautiful plain". In 1883, Belle Pl ...

. Her parents divorced and she lived with her mother who remarried and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Maple competed in beauty pageants which led to her being offered a role in the

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

''Fifty Million Husbands'' (1930). She became a controversial figure and was at one time committed to a sanatorium after an alleged nervous breakdown. She signed a contract with

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

in 1936 and appeared in four films including the Westerns '' The Big Show'' and ''

Roarin' Lead ''Roarin' Lead'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and Mack V. Wright and was the third entry of the 51-film series of Western " Three Mesquiteers" B-movies. Plot summary Hackett is out to take over the Cattlemen's Pro ...

''. In the latter, she was the female lead alongside

The Three Mesquiteers ''The Three Mesquiteers'' is the umbrella title for a Republic Pictures series of 51 American Western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943. The films, featuring a trio of Old West adventurers, was based on a series of Western novels by W ...

. Her career collapsed and she had health issues for many years. Eventually, she moved to

Langhorne, Pennsylvania Langhorne Borough is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,622 at the time of the 2010 census. The mailing address "Langhorne" is used for Langhorne Borough, but it is also used broadly to describe the majority of surrou ...

and worked in a department store. On January 12, 1947, she committed suicide by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

. The source displays a scan of her death certificate. Her body was cremated.

Filmography

* ''Fifty Million Husbands'' (1930; short) as Pansy Chase * ''

Whoopee! ''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...

'' (1930) as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) * ''The Naggers at the Dentist's'' (1931; short) – ''undetermined role'' * ''

Good Sport ''Good Sport'' is a 1931 American comedy film directed by Kenneth MacKenna and written by William Hurlbut. The film stars Linda Watkins, John Boles, Greta Nissen, Minna Gombell, Hedda Hopper and Alan Dinehart. The film was released on December ...

'' (1931) as Party Girl * ''Then Came the Yawn'' (1932; short) as Joan Clifton * '' The Big Show'' (1936) as Elizabeth van Every * ''

'' (1936) as Doris Moore * ''

Beware of Ladies ''Beware of Ladies'' is a 1936 American crime film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Donald Cook, Judith Allen and George Meeker.Gates p.95 A female newspaper reporter is sent by her editor to cover a political contest between a naïve new ...

'' (1936) as Randall's Secretary (uncredited) * '' A Man Betrayed'' (1936) as Helen Vincent

References

External links

* * 1912 births 1947 deaths 20th-century American actresses American film actresses Film serial actresses Western (genre) film actresses Suicides by hanging in Pennsylvania {{US-film-actor-1910s-stub