Edna Marie Flugrath (December 29, 1892 – April 6, 1966) was the eldest of three sisters who found fame as silent film stars.
Early life
Flugrath was the first born of Emil and Mary (née Dubois) Flugrath. Her father, a printer by trade, was the son of Polish-German immigrants and had at one time been considered a talented amateur athlete.
[''The Oakland Tribune'', October 2, 1921.] Mary Dubois was born in New York. Some years later when their daughters were working on films, the Flugraths moved to the West Coast where they became popular on movie sets conversing with curious Hollywood tourists.
Mary Flugrath died in Los Angeles in 1922 at the age of 55. Her husband died there 20 years later, aged 74.
Career
Flugrath began working on stage at a very early age appearing in vaudeville shows, legitimate theater and ballet. Before she had turned 20, she had tired of the road and decided to try her hand working in the fledgling film industry.
[Lowe, Denise. ''An encyclopedic dictionary of women in early American films, 1895-1930''] She began as a stock player with The Edison Film Company and eventually was given starring roles in one or two reel productions that were common for that period.
At some point during her time with Edison she became involved with director
Harold Marvin Shaw and later followed him to England after her contract with Edison had expired. Flugrath achieved some success as a leading lady working with Shaw in England but left acting after they married in Johannesburg, South Africa, while filming ''
De Voortrekkers'' (1916). Three years later she attempted a comeback working on a few films for the London Film Company and
Stoll Pictures
Stoll Pictures was a British film production and distribution company of the silent era, founded in April 1918.
Background
During the early to mid-1920s it was the largest film company in Britain and one of the biggest in Europe. Its major domes ...
before returning to America where she found it difficult to get work.
Later life
Eventually Flugrath gave up on acting and opened a beauty salon in Hollywood. Her husband later became secretary for the Motion Picture Directors’ Association. On January 30, 1926, while driving in Los Angeles, Harold Marvin Shaw was killed instantly in a head-on collision. He was 48 years old and a native of Tennessee. Coincidentally, all three of the Flugrath sisters married motion picture directors, Shaw,
Bernard Durning
Bernard Joseph Durning (August 24, 1893 – August 29, 1923) was an American silent film director and actor who worked primarily with Lon Chaney, Dustin Farnum, and Buck Jones.
William A. Wellman was his assistant director and protégé. His ...
and John Collins, who all died prematurely. Sometime around 1930 Flugrath married Halliburton (or Haliberton) Houghton, a broker from Dallas, Texas. In the years to follow, Flugrath became estranged from her sisters Leonie (
Shirley Mason) and Virginia (
Viola Dana
Viola Dana (born Virginia Flugrath; June 26, 1897 – July 3, 1987) was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films.
Early lif ...
), a rift that lasted until the end of her life.
Death
Flugrath died in San Diego in 1966,
[California Death Index] seven years after her husband's passing. Her sisters did not immediately learn of her death until notified by a stranger (most likely a reporter).
Selected filmography
* ''
What Happened to Mary
''What Happened to Mary'' (sometimes erroneously referred to as ''What Happened to Mary?'') is the first serial film made in the United States. Produced by Edison Studios, with screenplays by Horace G. Plympton, and directed by Charles Brabin, t ...
'' (1912) (short)
* ''The Dam Builder'' (1912) (short)
* ''
Hearts and Diamonds'' (1912) (short)
* ''
Like Knights of Old'' (1912) (short)
* ''The Third Thanksgiving'' (1912) (short)
* ''On Donovan's Division'' (1912) (short)
* ''Annie Crawls Upstairs'' (1912) (short)
* ''A Proposal Under Difficulties'' (1912) (short)
* ''The Photograph and the Blotter'' (1913) (short)
* ''Turtle Doves'' (1914) (short)
* ''Lil o' London'' (1914) (short)
* ''
Liberty Hall
Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest b ...
'' (1914)
* ''
The Ring and the Rajah'' (1914)
* ''The Ashes of Revenge'' (1915)
* ''A Garrett in Bohemia'' (1915) (short)
* ''
The Derby Winner'' (1915)
* ''The Third Generation'' (1915)
* ''
Mr. Lyndon at Liberty'' (1915)
* ''
The Heart of Sister Ann'' (1915)
* ''
The Firm of Girdlestone
''The Firm of Girdlestone'' is a novel by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was first published in 1890 by Chatto and Windus in London, England. In 1915 a silent film adaptation ''The Firm of Girdlestone'' was made. A 1958 BBC television ...
'' (1915)
* ''
Me and Me Moke'' (1916)
* ''The Man Without a Soul'' (1916)
* ''
De Voortrekkers'' (1916)
* ''The Two Roads'' (1916)
* ''True Tilda'' (1920)
* ''
The Pursuit of Pamela
''The Pursuit of Pamela'' is a 1920 British silent comedy drama film directed by Harold M. Shaw, starring Edna Flugrath, Templar Powell and Douglas Munro, and based on a play by C. B. Fernald.
Premise
Following her wedding a bride runs away ...
'' (1920)
* ''
London Pride'' (1920)
* ''The Land of Mystery'' (1920)
* ''Kipps'' (1921)
* ''A Case of Identity'' (1921) (short)
* ''
A Dear Fool'' (1921)
* ''
False Evidence
False evidence, fabricated evidence, forged evidence, fake evidence or tainted evidence is information created or obtained illegally in order to sway the verdict in a court case. Falsified evidence could be created by either side in a case (inc ...
'' (1922)
* ''
The Social Code'' (1923, lost film)
Sources
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flugrath, Edna
1892 births
1966 deaths
American stage actresses
American silent film actresses
American film actresses
American people of Polish descent
People from Brooklyn
Vaudeville performers
20th-century American actresses
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery