Diana Allen (1898 – June 12, 1949) was a Swedish-American actress and

Ziegfeld girl Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls and showgirls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the '' Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), in New York City, which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris. Desc ...

who starred in silent films such as 1921's ''

Miss 139 ''Miss 139'' is a 1921 American silent crime drama film produced by A. H. Fischer and distributed by Jans Film Service and Sherman Productions Corporation. B. A. Rolfe was the director and Charles A. Logue wrote the story and the screenplay. ...

'',Wollstein, Henry J
Strangers in Hollywood: the History of Scandinavian Actors in American Films from 1910 to World War II
(1994) which is now lost.

Biography

Allen was born in Gotland, Sweden, in 1898 and came to the United States at the age of 5. While a high school student in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, she began to perform with Eddie Wittstein.(20 June 1924)
He's a Star Maker
''Danville Bee'' Her stage debut was in a vaudeville act called "Girls' Gamble" with

Ned Wayburn Ned Wayburn ''(né'' Edward Claudius Weyburn; 30 March 1874 – 2 September 1942) was an American choreographer. Career Wayburn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Elbert Delos Weyburn and Harriet Landon Beach. Ned Wayburn spent much of ...

. She later appeared in '' Miss 1917'', the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

'' (1917–18), and ''Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic''.''Motion Pictures Studio Directory and Trade Annual'' (1921), p. 209 ("b. Gotland, Sweden; educ. New Haven, Conn.; stage career, "Follies," 1917–18; "The Frolic," 1919, "Miss 1917"; screen career ...... Hght., 5, 3; wght., 115; blond hair, blue eyes.") Allen starred in a number of silent film shorts and features between 1918 and 1925. Her first feature film appearance was in ''

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

'' in 1918.Soister, John T. et al
American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913–1929
p. 625 (2012)Vazzana, Eugene Michael
Silent Film Necrology
p. 13 (2001)Diana Allen Scores in Victor Kremer's "Voices"
''

The Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. I ...

'', August 14, 1920, p. 885Blond Swedish Maiden Plays Lead in "The Kentuckians"
''

'', September 25, 1920, p. 480 Allen married Samuel P. Booth on August 28, 1924 in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...

.https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/90157782:70865?_phcmd=u(%27https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=Diana_Allen&event=1949_Mount+Pleasant-Westchester-New+Yor-USA&birth=1898&count=50&gender=f&marriage=1924&name_x=1_1&spouse=Samuel+P._Booth&successSource=Search&queryId=9e594557aef45ae06b3632a6ed979c92%27,%27successSource%27) Booth was president of the Interborough News Company, and previously had been in charge of circulation for newspapers including the ''Chicago Journal'', ''

New York Evening Journal :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

'' and ''

The New York Globe ''The New York Globe'', also called ''The New York Evening Globe'', was a daily New York City newspaper published from 1904 to 1923, when it was bought and merged into ''The New York Sun''. It is not related to a New York City-based Saturday fami ...

''. He was over 30 years older than Allen. They did not have any children.(13 September 1924)
S.P. Booth Wed Actress
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''(3 April 1939)
S.P. Booth, Head of News Company (obituary)
''

'' Allen died in

Mount Pleasant, New York Mount Pleasant is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 44,436. The hamlets of Valhalla, Hawthorne, Pocantico Hills, and Thornwood, and the vill ...

, on June 12, 1949. Diana_Allen

Partial filmography

* ''

'' (1918) * '' Even as Eve'' (1920) * ''Voices'' (1920) * '' Man and Woman'' (1920) * '' Heliotrope'' (1920) *lost film * ''

The Face at Your Window ''The Face at Your Window'' is a 1920 American drama film directed by Richard Stanton and written by Edward Sedgwick. The film stars Gina Relly, Earl Metcalfe, Edward Roseman, Boris Rosenthal, Walter McEwen and Diana Allen. The film was releas ...

'' (1920) * ''

The Kentuckians ''The Kentuckians'' is a lost 1921 American silent drama film directed by Charles Maigne and written by Frank Tuttle based upon the novel of the same name by John Fox, Jr. The film stars Monte Blue, Wilfred Lytell, Diana Allen, Francis Joy ...

'' (1921) *lost film * '' The Conquest of Canaan'' (1921) * ''

'' (1921) *lost film * '' The Way of a Maid'' (1921) * '' Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford'' (1921) *lost film * ''

Beyond the Rainbow ''Beyond the Rainbow'' is a 1922 American silent drama film starring Billie Dove, Harry T. Morey and Clara Bow in her film debut. A 16mm print of the film is in the collection of the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Plot As described in a fi ...

'' (1922) (was also film debut of

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

) * '' Divorce Coupons'' (1922) * ''Man Wanted'' (or ''Male Wanted'') (1922) * '' The Beauty Shop'' (1922) *lost film * ''Salome'' (1923) (film directed by Malcolm Strauss; not the

Alla Nazimova Alla Nazimova (Russian: Алла Назимова; born Marem-Ides Leventon, Russian: Марем-Идес Левентон; June 3 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._May_22.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O ...

film of the same name) * ''

The Exciters ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1923) *lost film * ''Flying Fists'' (Series of shorts with boxer

Benny Leonard Benny Leonard (born Benjamin Leiner; April 7, 1896 – April 18, 1947) was a Jewish American professional boxer who held the world lightweight championship for eight years, from 1917 to 1925. Widely considered one of the all-time greats, he was ...

) (1924–25) * '' Roulette'' (1924)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Diana Ziegfeld girls 1898 births 1949 deaths American musical theatre actresses 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American silent film actresses People from Gotland Swedish emigrants to the United States 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers