Florence La Badie (born Florence Russ; April 27, 1888 – October 13, 1917) was an American-Canadian actress in the early days of the

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, when ...

era. She was a major star between 1911 and 1917. Her career was at its height when she died at age 29 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

Early life

Florence La Badie was born Florence Russ on April 27, 1888, the second child of Horace Blancard and Marie Lynch (Chester) Russ in New York City. After the death of her father in 1890 and the subsequent inability of her mother to provide care, Florence, at age three, was adopted by Joseph E. and Amanda J. La Badie of Montreal, Canada.http://www.thanhouser.org/Research/Florence%20La%20Badie-WSS%20VIII-R2.pdf Florence's adoptive father, Joseph E. La Badie, was a prominent attorney in Montreal, and his wife, the former Amanda Victor, is said to have been born in Europe, possibly Paris. Her adoptive uncle, Oddiehon LaBadie, maintained an estate in nearby St. Lambert. Florence was educated in New York City schools and at the Convent of Notre Dame in Montreal. Florence La Badie was one of the most important and popular actresses of the early motion picture era. She appeared in 30 films for Biograph starting in 1909 and 166 silent films from 1911 through 1917 for the Thanhouser studio in New Rochelle, New York. A daredevil at heart, she was known as "Fearless Flo" for taking risks and performing many of her own stunts. She was a frequent subject for articles and letters in fan and trade magazines, and over a period of years, she was the most publicized and beloved of all Thanhouser players.

Career success

Having completed her studies, she was offered work as a fashion model in New York City. Once there, in early 1908 she obtained a small part in a stage play. Following this, she signed to tour with a road company for the next two years and appeared on stage in various places in the eastern part of the United States. During this period she met a fellow Canadian, the young actress

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

, who suggested she "try pictures"; and in

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

she invited Florence to watch the making of a motion picture at the Biograph studio in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Given an impromptu bit part, Florence was invited back to Biograph's studios to participate in another film later that year. She would go on to make several films under the renowned

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

, with her first credited film being in the 1909 film ''The Politician's Love Story'', starring

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

and

Kathlyn Williams Kathlyn Williams (born Kathleen Mabel Williams, May 31, 1879 – September 23, 1960) was an American actress, known for her blonde beauty and daring antics, who performed on stage as well as in early silent film. She began her career onstage in ...

. In

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

, her career took a leap forward when she was hired by

Edwin Thanhouser Edwin Thanhouser (November 11, 1865 – March 21, 1956) was an American actor, businessman, and film producer. He was most notable as a founder of the Thanhouser Company, which was one of the first motion picture studios. His wife Gertrude Th ...

of the

Thanhouser Film Corporation The Thanhouser Company (later the Thanhouser Film Corporation) was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser, his wife Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan. It operated in New York City until 1920, ...

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

. With her sophistication and beauty, Florence La Badie soon became Thanhouser's most prominent actress, appearing in dozens of films over the next two years. Her most remembered films of that period were '' The Tempest'' (1911), ''

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

'' (1912), a film adaptation of the

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

story, and the first film of Shakespeare's ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerni ...

'' (1914). Her most well-known work was in the

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

serial, ''

The Million Dollar Mystery ''The Million Dollar Mystery'' is a 23-chapter film serial released in 1914, directed by Howell Hansel, and starring Florence La Badie and James Cruze. It is presumed lost. Plot A prologue for ''The Million Dollar Mystery'' introduced the chara ...

''. In 1915, she was featured in the

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

''Reel Life'', which described her as "the beautiful and talented Florence La Badie, of the Thanhouser Studios, considered one of the foremost of American screen players". Over a course of six years La Badie's career had taken her to top-billing as a film actress.

World War I

When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in 1914, Canada immediately joined the war, and as a result, several of Florence La Badie's young male friends and relatives back home in Montreal were immediately shipped overseas. She had many movie fans in Canada and according to one New York newspaper, in 1915 a young soldier fighting in the trenches at the Front in Northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

wrote to her, sending dozens of photographs that graphically depicted the horrors of the war. Deeply affected, La Badie became a vigorous advocate for peace, traveling the United States with a

stereopticon A stereopticon is a slide projector or relatively powerful "magic lantern", which has two lenses, usually one above the other, and has mainly been used to project photographic images. These devices date back to the mid 19th century, and were a popu ...

slide show of the soldier's photographs, warning about the terrible dangers of going to war.

Personal life

For a time, La Badie was engaged to a Cadillac salesman named Val Hush. They broke up, and she became involved with

Daniel Carson Goodman Daniel Carson Goodman (August 24, 1881 – May 16, 1957) was an American screenwriter and licensed physician. Biography Goodman wrote the storyline for 28 silent films – the first of them was ''Sapho (1913 film), Sapho'' (1913). He w ...

, a writer who worked on the scenario for Thanhouser's serial ''Zudora''.

Death

In August 1917, La Badie was at the height of her motion picture success. She had appeared in 185 films since 1909, 32 fewer than

's 217 films during the same period. Her film '' The Woman in White'' had just been released in July 1917. Her latest two films, ''

The Man Without a Country "The Man Without a Country" is a short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published in ''The Atlantic'' in December 1863. It is the story of American Army lieutenant Philip Nolan, who renounces his country during a trial for t ...

'', a film adaptation of

Edward Everett Hale Edward Everett Hale (April 3, 1822 – June 10, 1909) was an American author, historian, and Unitarian minister, best known for his writings such as "The Man Without a Country", published in ''Atlantic Monthly'', in support of the Union dur ...

's ''

'', and ''War and the Woman'', would also soon be released, both on September 9, 1917. Although the Thanhouser Corporation had been struggling since the 1914 automobile accident death of

Charles J. Hite Charles Jackson Hite (June 7, 1876 – August 21, 1914) was an American businessman and film producer of the early 20th century, most importantly the president and chief executive officer of the Thanhouser Film Corporation from 1912 to 1914. ...

, her career was thriving and had been their saving grace. Less than a month earlier, she had announced that she was leaving Thanhouser, and she had several other film corporations willing to pick her up on contract immediately. On August 28, 1917, while driving near

Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: * Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossi ...

in the company of her

fiance An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

, Daniel Carson Goodman, the brakes on La Badie's car failed and the vehicle plunged down a hill, overturning at the bottom. While Goodman escaped with only a broken leg, La Badie was thrown from the vehicle and suffered serious injuries, including a compound fracture of the pelvis. Hospitalized, she clung to life for more than six weeks and seemed to be improving, but suddenly died on October 13, from

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

. She thus became the first major female film star to die while her career was at its peak, and the movie-going public mourned her death. After a large funeral, she was interred in an unmarked grave in the

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, the same cemetery included by Marie C. Russ in her legal proceedings days before her death, with Marie Russ claiming to have been her actual birth mother in sworn deposition. Obituary notices stated La Badie was survived by her mother, Amanda La Badie, with no mention of her having been adopted. The property of her estate was divided between Mr. and Mrs. Joseph La Badie. In 2014, Ned Thanhouser, the grandson of Edwin Thanhouser, raised money for a headstone for La Badie, which was installed on April 27 of that year, on what would have been her 126th birthday.

Selected filmography

*''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' (1911) *''The Indian Brothers'' (1911) *''Bobby'', ''The Coward'' (1911) *''The Thief and the Girl'' (1911) *''Fighting Blood'' (1911) *''Her Sacrifice'' (1911) *''The Primal Call'' (1911) *''Enoch Arden'' (1911) *''Dave's Love Affair'' (1911) *''The Manicure Lady'' (1911) *''The New Dress'' (1911) *''How She Triumphed'' (1911) *''A Knight of the Road'' (1911) *''Madame Rex'' (1911) *''Paradise Lost'' (1911) *''The Broken Cross'' (1911) *''The Spanish Gypsy'' (1911) *''The Diamond Star'' (1911) *''The Two Paths'' (1910) *''After the Ball'' (1910) *''The Troublesome Baby'' (1910) *''A Gold Necklace'' (1910) *''Serious Sixteen'' (1910) *''Taming a Husband'' (1909) *''Through the Breakers'' (1909) *''In the Window Recess'' (1909) *''Getting Even'' (1909 *''Comata, the Sioux'' (1909) *''The Seventh Day'' (1909) *''A Strange Meeting'' (1909) *''The Salvation Army Lass'' (1909), *''The Politician's Love Story'' (1909). *''Florence's Thanhouser Filmography ;1911 *''The Smuggler'' (7-25-1911) *'' Swords and Hearts'' (8-28-1911) *''The Buddhist Priestess'' (9-12-1911) *''In the Chorus'' (9-15-1911) *''The Satyr and the Lady'' (10-20-1911) *''Little Em'ly and David Copperfield'' (10-24-1911) *''The Last of the Mohicans'' (11-10-1911) *''A Mother's Faith'' (11-17-1911) *''

The Baseball Bug ''The Baseball Bug'' is a 1911 silent film comedy short produced by the Thanhouser Company. It starred John W. Noble and Florence La Badie. It also featured real-life baseball players Chief Bender Jack Coombs, Cy Morgan, and Rube Oldring. Cast *J ...

'' (11-24-1911) *''Beneath the Veil'' (12-1-1911) *''Cinderella'' (12-22-1911) ;1912 *''

'' (1-16-1912) *''Her Ladyship's Page'' (1-23-1912) *''East Lynne'' (1-26-1912) *''As It Was in the Beginning'' (1-30-1912) *''The Trouble Maker'' (2-6-1912) *''The Silent Witness'' (2-13-1912) *''The Guilty Baby'' (2-27-1912) *''The Arab's Bride'' (3-1-1912) *''Extravagance'' (3-5-1912) *''Flying to Fortune'' (3-12-1912) *''My Baby's Voice'' (3-29-1912) *''The Girl of the Grove'' (4-5-1912) *''A Love of Long Ago'' (4-9-1912) *''Rejuvenation'' (4-23-1912) *''The Saleslady'' (5-7-1912) *''Jilted'' (5-14-1912)'' *''Jess, Part 1 - ''A Sister's Sacrifice'' (5-21-1912) *''The Ring of a Spanish Grandee'' (5-24-1912) *''Jess, Part 2 -Through the Boer Lines'' (5-28-1912) *''Jess, Part 3 - Jess, the Avenger'' (5-28-1912) *''Whom God Hath Joined'' (5-31-1912) *''Dottie's New Doll'' (6-4-1912) *''Called Back'' (6-21-1912) *''In Blossom Time'' (6-25-1912) *''Ma and Dad'' (7-5-1912) *''Under Two Flags'' (7-7-1912) *''The Portrait of Lady Anne'' (7-23-1912) *''The Merchant of Venice'' (7-26-1912) *''Big Sister'' (8-11-1912) *''The Wrecked Taxi'' (8-16-1912) *''Lucile, Parts 1 and 2'' (8-27-1912) *''Lucile, Part 3'' (8-30-1912) *''The Voice of Conscience'' (9-3-1912) *''A Star Reborn'' (9-10-1912) *''Undine'' (9-24-1912) *''Miss Robinson Crusoe'' (10-8-1912) *''When Mercy Tempers Justice'' (10-15-1912) *''Mary's Goat'' (10-27-1912) *''Petticoat Camp'' (11-3-1912) *''Through the Flames'' (11-8-1912) *''A Noise Like a Fortune'' (11-10-1912) *''The County's Prize Baby'' (11-12-1912) *''Aurora Floyd'' (12-10-1912) *''The Race'' (12-20-1912) *''The Star of Bethlehem'' (12-24-1912) ;1913 *''A Poor Relation'' (1-3-1913) *''

The Evidence of the Film ''The Evidence of the Film'' is a 1913 American silent short crime film directed by Lawrence Marston and Edwin Thanhouser, starring William Garwood. The only known copy of this film was rediscovered in 1999 on the floor of the projection booth ...

'' (1-10-1913) *''Some Fools There Were'' (2-14-1913) *''The Pretty Girl in Lower Five'' (2-18-1913) *''The Two Sisters'' (2-21-1913) *''The Way to a Man's Heart'' (3-2-1913) *''An Honest Young Man'' (3-9-1913) *''Won at the Rodeo'' (3-21-1913) *''Her Gallant Knights'' (3-23-1913) *''Cymbeline'' (3-28-1913) *''Retribution'' (4-18-1913) *''Rosie's Revenge'' (4-27-1913) *''Her Sister's Secret'' (5-6-1913) *''The Other Girl'' (5-9-1913) *''Marble Heart'' (5-13-1913) *''In Their Hour of Need'' (5-23-1913) *''The Snare of Fate'' (6-17-1913) *''Tannhäuser'' (7-15-1913) *''In the Nick of Time'' (8-1-1913) *''Oh! Such a Beautiful Ocean'' (8-10-1913) *''The Lie That Failed'' (8-15-1913) *''An Unromantic Maiden'' (8-24-1913) *''The Ward of the King'' (8-26-1913) *''The Message to Headquarters'' (9-12-1913) *''When the Worm Turned'' (9-21-1913) *''Life's Pathway'' (9-30-1913) *''Louie, the Life Saver'' (10-7-1913) *''A Deep Sea Liar'' (10-12-1913) *''A Peaceful Victory'' (10-17-1913) *''Beauty in the Seashell'' (10-19-1913) *''The Mystery of the Haunted Hotel'' (10-21-1913) *''A Twentieth Century Farmer'' (10-31-1913) *''The Water Cure'' (11-2-1913) *''The Junior Partner'' (11-4-1913) *''Little Brother'' (11-7-1913) *''The Blight of Wealth'' (11-25-1913) *''Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight'' (11-28-1913) *''A Beauty Parlor Graduate'' (12-9-1913) *''The Head Waiter'' (12-28-1913) ;1914 *''Their Golden Wedding'' (1-2-1914) *''

Adrift in a Great City ''Adrift in a Great City'' is a 1914 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Film Corporation that stars Florence LaBadie. The film begins with Pat Moran who pays for the passage of his wife and daughter to join him in America, b ...

'' (1-13-1914) *''Turkey Trot Town'' (1-18-1914) *''The Elevator Man'' (1-25-1914) *''Twins and a Stepmother'' (2-3-1914) *''The Success of Selfishness'' (2-6-1914) *''A Leak in the Foreign Office'' (2-17-1914) *''Cardinal Richelieu's Ward'' (3-1-1914) *''The Cat's Paw'' (3-17-1914) *''A Debut in the Secret Service'' (4-7-1914) *''A Mohammedan Conspiracy'' (5-12-1914) *''The Somnambulist'' (5-17-1914) *''Out of the Shadows'' (6-2-1914) *''Under False Colors'' (12-22-1914) *''The Fall of Khartoum'' (12-31-1914) *1914-1915 Serial: ''

'' (23 episodes) ;1915 *''Graft vs. Love'' (1-19-1915) *''The Finger Prints of Fate'' (1-26-1915) *''The Smuggled Diamond'' (2-9-1915) *''The Adventure of Florence'' (2-23-1915) *''The Final Reckoning'' (3-9-1915) *''The Duel in the Dark'' (3-23-1915) *''The Cycle of Hatred'' (4-6-1915) *''Bianca Forgets'' (4-27-1915) *''Monsieur Nikola Dupree''(5-4-1915) *''God's Witness'' (5-20-1915) *''A Freight Car Honeymoon'' (6-6-1915) *''The Six-Cent Loaf'' (6-8-1915) *''The Country Girl'' (6-15-1915) *''Crossed Wires'' (6-29-1915) *''When the Fleet Sailed'' (8-3-1915) *''M. Lecoq'' (8-26-1915) *''Reincarnation'' (8-31-1915) *''A Disciple of Nietzsche'' (9-25-1915) *''The Price of Her Silence'' (9-30-1915) *''Mr. Meeson's Will'' (11-6-1915) *''All Aboard'' (11-28-1915) *''Her Confession'' (12-12-1915) ;1916 *''The Five Faults of Flo'' (1-20-1916) *''What Doris Did'' (3-1-1916) *''Master Shakespeare, Strolling Player'' (4-20-1916) *''The Fugitive'' (8-13-1916) *''The Fear of Poverty'' (9-10-1916) *''Saint, Devil and Woman'' (9-25-1916), *''The Pillory'' (10-8-1916) *''Divorce and the Daughter'' (12-3-1916) ;1917 * ''

Her Life and His ''Her Life and His'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Frederick Sullivan and starring Florence La Badie, Holmes Herbert and Ethyle Cooke.Connelly p.174 Plot Cast * Florence La Badie as Mary Murdock * Holmes Herbert as Ralph ...

'' (2-18-1917) * '' When Love Was Blind'' (4-15-1917) *''The Woman in White'' (7-1-1917), * '' War and the Woman'' (9-9-1917) *''

'' (Jewel 9-9-1917) The Fear of Poverty.jpg, ''The Fear of Poverty'' (1916) Saint, Devil and Woman.jpg, ''Saint, Devil and Woman'' (1916) Florence Labadie 1916.jpg, Advertisement (1916) The Fugitive 2.jpg, ''The Fugitive'' (1916)

References

Bibliography

* Foster, Charles. ''Stardust and Shadows'', 2000, Toronto: Dundern Press *'' Lima Daily News'', "Local Playhouses", January 29, 1918, p. 8

External links

*
Florence La Badie
profile and extant films a

*
Florence La Badie
portrait helping out the war effort (World War I) New York Public Library (Billy Rose Collection) {{DEFAULTSORT:Labadie, Florence 1888 births 1917 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Montreal American silent film actresses Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Canadian silent film actresses Deaths from sepsis Infectious disease deaths in New York (state) Actresses from New Rochelle, New York American film actresses Road incident deaths in New York (state) American emigrants to Canada