Derelys Perdue (born Geraldine Perdue; March 22, 1902 – September 30, 1989) 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, wh ...

actress and popular dancer during the 1920s.

Biography

Born Geraldine Perdue in Kansas City, Missouri, following high school, she attended a private school for girls. Standing 5' 2.5", she began her career as a dancer (she had been dancing since the age of six), gaining much popularity. She first received attention in Hollywood during a stage production entitled ''Attila and the Huns'', with

Ramón Novarro José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...

playing Attila and Perdue playing one of the Huns. Perdue went on to appear as a dancer with Novarro in the 1921 film ''

A Small Town Idol ''A Small Town Idol'' is a 1921 American silent feature comedy film produced by Mack Sennett and released through Associated First National. The film stars Ben Turpin and was made and acted by many of the same Sennett personnel from his previo ...

''. Her first film credit was the 1923 film ''Daytime Wives''. She was named one of the

WAMPAS Baby Stars The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. ...

that year. Derelys Perdue The Blue Book of the Screen

Perdue reportedly got on poorly with fellow actress

Grace Darmond Grace Darmond (born Grace Marie Glionna; November 20, 1893 – October 8, 1963) was a Canadian-American actress. Early life Grace Marie Glionna was born in Toronto on November 20, 1893. Her parents were Vincent Baptiste "James" Glionna, an I ...

, with whom she starred with in ''A Dangerous Adventure'' (1922). It was later told that the two women were actually fighting it out for real in several scenes, nearly pulling each other's hair out. However, she still went on to appear in many more films, including the 1924 film '' The Last Man on Earth''. She later played Mrs. Newlywed in ''The Newlyweds'' film series of short comedies in 1928 and 1929. Soon enough, though, Perdue's career was beginning to fall apart. Her boss, future presidential father

Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...

, insisted that she change her name to Ann Perdue, a more sensible name compared to Derelys. She sued him, but lost, and her film career ended in 1929. The suit was brought against Film Booking Inc. Distributing Agency for Robertson-Cole Photoplays in April 1923. Movie distributors had conducted a contest in a picture magazine asking fans to suggest a name for Miss Perdue. Her last film was ''The Smiling Terror'' (1929), a low-budget serial. Throughout her career, she was especially noted for her great talent for dancing in her films. She even organized dancing episodes in several films. She also performed solo or in group at a variety of locations in Los Angeles.

Personal life

She was divorced from Louis M. Feldman in

Los Angeles, California 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' ...

in November 1926.

Death

Derelys Perdue died in 1989 in Los Angeles, California, aged 87.

Selected filmography

*''

Man, Woman & Marriage ''Man, Woman & Marriage'' is a 1921 American silent drama film produced and directed by Allen Holubar and starring Dorothy Phillips. It was released through Associated First National Pictures. It is also known under the title ''Man-Woman-Marriag ...

'' (1921) *''

Daytime Wives ''Daytime Wives'' is a 1923 American drama film directed by Émile Chautard, and written by Helmer Walton Bergman and Wyndham Gittens. The film stars Derelys Perdue, Wyndham Standing, Grace Darmond, William Conklin, Guy Edward Hearn, and Kathe ...

'' (1923) * '' Blow Your Own Horn'' (1923) *''

Untamed Youth ''Untamed Youth'' is a 1957 American teen film directed by Howard W. Koch, written by John C. Higgins and Stephen Longstreet, and starring Mamie Van Doren and Lori Nelson as two starstruck sisters who are sentenced to farm labor. Plot Sisters ...

'' (1924) *'' The Last Man on Earth'' (1924) *''

Paint and Powder ''Paint and Powder'' is a surviving 1925 American silent drama film produced and released by the Chadwick Pictures. The director of the film was Hunt Stromberg, later be best known as a producer and one of Louis B. Mayer's right hand men over a ...

'' (1925) * ''

Where the Worst Begins ''Where the Worst Begins'' is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by John McDermott and starring Ruth Roland Ruth Roland (August 26, 1892 – September 22, 1937) was an American stage and film actress and film producer. Early life ...

'' (1925) *'' The Gingham Girl'' (1927) *'' The Mystery Rider'' (1928) *'' Quick Triggers'' (1928)

Sources

*The

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

Bee, ''Change of Name Results In Suit'', Monday, April 23, 1923, Page 12. *The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

, ''Rivals Are Neck and Neck'', March 16, 1923, Page II 1. *

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

Tribune, ''Movieland'', Sunday, November 7, 1926, Page W-3.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perdue, Derelys 1902 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American dancers Actresses from Kansas City, Missouri American female dancers American silent film actresses WAMPAS Baby Stars