Evelyn Nelson (November 13, 1899 – June 16, 1923) was an American silent film actress whose career encompassed 12 films over three years.
Biography
Nelson was born in
Chloride, Arizona
Chloride is a onetime silver mining camp in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, and is considered the oldest continuously inhabited mining town in the state. The town is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population at the 2020 census of ...
,
to William Henry and Georgia P. Nelson. Her sister, Pauline D. Nelson, was a year older.
Nelson's brief film career began with a 1920 comedy short called ''Springtime''. The actress played the role of the daughter to ''The Commissioner'', who was portrayed by
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...
. Her screen credits number only fifteen. Nelson was last seen in the western ''Desert Rider'' (1923) in the role of Carolyn Grey. She worked for Century, Christie, Fox, and Hal Roach studios.
[ Nine of her films had her cast as leading lady in Westerns that starred ]Jack Hoxie
John Hartford Hoxie (January 11, 1885 – March 28, 1965) was an American rodeo performer and motion-picture actor whose career was most prominent in the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1930s. Hoxie is best recalled for his roles in ...
.Wallace Reid
William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver.
Early life
Reid was born in St. Louis, M ...
, who was married, and he chose to remain with his wife rather than have a relationship with Nelson.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' ...
.Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
comedies had not been seen for days and it was presumed she had been dead for some time.
Police said that two notes were found in her room. One stated that she intended to end her life because she was tired.[ The other said "I am just about gone and will soon be with my friend Wally."]narcotics
The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...
dependency, just a few months before Evelyn. She was 23 years old. A police investigation into her death evidently did not contradict the apparent suicide.
Partial filmography
* ''Springtime
Springtime may refer to:
* Spring (season), one of the four temperate seasons
Film and television
* ''Springtime'' (1920 film), an American silent comedy starring Oliver Hardy
* ''Springtime'' (1929 film), a ''Silly Symphonies'' animated Disney ...
'' (1920)
* ''The Decorator
''The Decorator'' is a 1920 American silent short comedy film directed by Jess Robbins and featuring Oliver Hardy.
Cast
* Jimmy Aubrey as Jimmy
* Oliver Hardy as Babe, a millionaire (credited as Babe Hardy)
* Kathleen Myers as The girl (credi ...
'' (1920)
* ''The Trouble Hunter
''The Trouble Hunter'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy.
Cast
* Jimmy Aubrey as A social error
* Evelyn Nelson as The Salvation Army lassie
* Oliver Hardy as The Bouncer (as Babe Hardy)
* Kathleen Myers as His sis ...
'' (1920)
* '' The Backyard'' (1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
)
* ''His Jonah Day
''His Jonah Day'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy.
Cast
* Jimmy Aubrey as The tourist
* Oliver Hardy as The life saver (as Babe Hardy)
* Evelyn Nelson as The girl
* Rosa Gore as Her maiden aunt
* Estelle Harrison ...
'' (1920)
* '' The Broken Spur'' (1921)
* ''The Double O
''The Double O'' is a 1921 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Roy Clements (director), Roy Clements and starring Jack Hoxie, Steve Clemente and Evelyn Nelson.
Cast
* Jack Hoxie as Happy Hanes
* Steve Clement ...
'' (1921)
* '' Dead or Alive'' (1921)
* '' Hills of Hate'' (1921)
* ''Cyclone Bliss
''Cyclone Bliss'' is a 1921 American silent Western film directed by Francis Ford and starring Jack Hoxie, Evelyn Nelson and Fred Kohler.
Plot
Cast
* Jack Hoxie as Jack Bliss
* Frederick Moore as Bill Turner
* Evelyn Nelson as Helen ...
'' (1921)
* ''A Motion to Adjourn
''A Motion to Adjourn'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Roy Clements and starring Harry L. Rattenberry, Roy Stewart and Marjorie Daw.Munden p.528
Synopsis
The playboy son of a wealthy New York financier is disinherited when ...
'' (1921)
* '' The Crow's Nest'' (1922)
* ''The Forbidden Trail
''The Forbidden Trail'' is a 1923 American silent Western film written and directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring Jack Hoxie.
A print is preserved in the Library of Congress.
Cast
* Jack Hoxie - Jack Merriwell/Colonel Jim Merriwell
* Ev ...
'' (1923)
* ''Desert Rider
''Desert Rider'' is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring Jack Hoxie, Frank Rice and Evelyn Nelson.
Cast
* Jack Hoxie as Jack Sutherland
* Frank Rice as Toby Jones
* Evelyn Nelson as Carolyn Grey
...
'' (1923)
References
*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 Un ...
, ''Film Actress Ends Life'', June 16, 1923, Page 11.
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Evelyn
Actresses from Arizona
American film actresses
American silent film actresses
People from Mohave County, Arizona
Western (genre) film actresses
1899 births
1923 suicides
Suicides in California
20th-century American actresses
Suicides by gas
1923 deaths
Female suicides