Nora Dorothy Bernard (June 25, 1890 – December 15, 1955) was an American actress of the

silent era 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 ...

. She appeared in nearly 90 films between 1908 and 1956.

Biography

She was born Nora Dorothy Bernard in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

British Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with th ...

, now part of South Africa, to William H Bernard and Roy Elizabeth Ayrd. Her father was from Auckland, New Zealand, and her mother was born in Sligo, Ireland. Although her birth date is listed as July 25, 1890 in many biographies, her death certificate and U.S. passport both state her birth date as June 25, 1890. An only child, she spent her formative years in Portland, Oregon where her father worked as a stock company manager and was a well-respected actor. As a child actress, Bernard appeared in several plays in Portland under "Dot Bernard" in the Baker Theater Company. Her stepmother, actress Nan Ramsey, also appeared in several productions. In 1905, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, and her father accepted a position to manage the Balasco theater. Bernard worked with stock theater companies in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Detroit. She also performed in vaudeville. She first worked in films in 1911 with D. W. Griffith and the

Biograph Company The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition ...

. On television, she portrayed Margaret, an Irish cook and housekeeper, in ''

Life With Father ''Life with Father'' is a 1939 play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, adapted from a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day. The Broadway production ran for 3,224 performances over 401 weeks to become the l ...

'' after originating the role on stage. She was married to actor A.H. Van Buren on July 5, 1909, in Washington D.C., and they had a daughter named Marjorie "Midge" Van Buren born in Jamaica, New York. Bernard died of a heart attack at her Hollywood home on December 15, 1955, aged 65. Her body was cremated, and her ashes were stored at Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.

Selected filmography

* '' A Woman's Way'' (1908) * '' An Awful Moment'' (1908) * '' The Cord of Life'' (1909) * '' The Girls and Daddy'' (1909) * ''

The Woman from Mellon's ''The Woman from Mellon's'' is a 1910 silent short film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Mary Pickford and Billy Quirk. It was produced and distributed by the Biograph Company. It is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.''Catalo ...

'' (1910) * '' A Flash of Light'' (1910) * ''

Ramona ''Ramona'' is a 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and ...

'' (1910) * '' The Two Paths'' (1911) * ''

His Trust Fulfilled ''His Trust Fulfilled'' is a 1911 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints of this film survive in the film archives of the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art. Cast * Wilfred Lucas – George * Claire McDowell – ...

'' (1911) * ''

His Trust ''His Trust'' is a 1911 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. It concerns "The faithful devotion and self- sacrifice of an old negro servant," who is played in blackface by Wilfred Lucas. The film's sequel is ''His Trust Ful ...

'' (1911) * ''

For His Son ''For His Son'' is a 1912 American short silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet. The film was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey when Biograph Company and other early film studios in America's first motion picture in ...

'' (1912) * '' The Root of Evil'' (1912) * ''

A Sister's Love ''A Sister's Love'' is a 1912 American short silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet. Cast * Wilfred Lucas * Dorothy Bernard * Blanche Sweet See also * D. W. Griffith filmography * Blanche Sweet filmography ...

'' (1912) * '' A String of Pearls'' (1912) * ''

The Girl and Her Trust ''The Girl and Her Trust'' is a 1912 American film directed by D. W. Griffith. Plot Grace is a telegraph operator at Hillville and a woman who is very popular with the men in town. She is most fond of Jack, her co-worker who attempts to steal a ...

'' (1912) * '' The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch'' (1912) * ''

One Is Business, the Other Crime ''One Is Business, the Other Crime'' is a 1912 American short silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet. Prints of the film survive in the film archives of the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art. Ca ...

'' (1912) * ''

An Outcast Among Outcasts ''An Outcast Among Outcasts'' is a 1912 American short film, short silent film, silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and Wilfred Lucas. It was Lucas' List of directorial debuts, debut film as a director. The film starred Blanche Sweet. ...

'' (1912) * '' The House of Darkness'' (1913) * ''

The Sheriff's Baby ''The Sheriff's Baby'' is a 1913 American silent Western film directed by D. W. Griffith. Cast * Alfred Paget as The Sheriff * Henry B. Walthall as First Bandit * Harry Carey as Second Bandit * Lionel Barrymore as Third Bandit * John T. Di ...

'' (1913) * ''

Near to Earth ''Near to Earth'' is a 1913 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Cast * Lionel Barrymore as Gato * Robert Harron as Gato's Brother * Gertrude Bambrick as Gato's Sweetheart * Mae Marsh as One of Gato's Sweetheart's Friends ...

'' (1913) * '' A Chance Deception'' (1913) * '' The Little Tease'' (1913) * ''

The Song of Hate ''The Song of Hate'' is a lost 1915 silent film drama directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Betty Nansen. It was produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. Rex Ingram wrote the script. Cast *Betty Nansen - Floria Tosca *Arthur Hoops ...

'' (1915) * ''

The Little Gypsy ''The Little Gypsy'' is a lost 1915 silent film drama directed by Oscar Apfel and starring Dorothy Bernard. It was produced by William Fox and released through Fox Film Corporation. Cast *Dorothy Bernard - Babbie *Thurlow Bergen - Gavin *Raymond ...

'' (1915) * '' A Soldier's Oath'' (1915) * ''

A Man of Sorrow ''A Man of Sorrow'' is a lost 1916 American drama film produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation and starring William Farnum. Oscar Apfel directed and wrote the scenario based on a play, ''Hoodman Blind'', by Wilson Barrett.

'' (1916) * ''

The Bondman ''The Bondman'' is a later Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, first published in 1624. The play has been called "the finest of the more serious tragicomedies" of Massinger. Performance and publication ''The ...

'' (1916) * '' The Final Payment'' (1917) * ''

The Rainbow ''The Rainbow'' is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, first published by Methuen & Co. in 1915. It follows three generations of the Brangwen family living in Nottinghamshire, focusing particularly on the individual's struggle to growth ...

'' (1917) * '' The Accomplice'' (1917) * ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives ...

'' (1918) * '' The Great Shadow'' (1920)

References

*California Death Index, Ancestry.com. *U.S. Passport Applications, 1795–1925, Ancestry.com. *District of Columbia Wedding Applications, https://web.archive.org/web/20101124092809/http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#givenName=A.H.&searchType=close&placeId=1&surname=van%20buren&p=recordResults&alivePlaceLoc1=United%20States.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Dorothy 1890 births 1955 deaths South African emigrants to the United States American film actresses American silent film actresses People from Port Elizabeth 20th-century American actresses American child actresses American stage actresses American television actresses