Frances Lee (born Merna Phyllis Tibbetts; May 5, 1906 – November 5, 2000) was an American

film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

during

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, ...

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, and well into the sound film era of the 1930s.

Dancing career

Frances Lee was born Merna Phyllis Tibbetts to William George and Nellie (née Leach) Tibbetts in Eagle Grove, Iowa. She initially began pursuing a career as a teacher but began taking

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

lessons, which led to her being spotted by Gus Edwards, who owned a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Edwards persuaded Lee to perform at his theater, and she joined the cast of ''

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 Air ...

'' in 1923, when she was hired by

Al Christie Charles Herbert Christie (April 13, 1882 – October 1, 1955) and Alfred Ernest Christie (November 23, 1886 – April 14, 1951) were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs. Early life Charles Herbert Christie was born between April 13, 1 ...

to perform in his ''Christie Comedies''. Later that year, cover artist

Neysa McMein Neysa Moran McMein (born Marjorie Frances McMein; January 24, 1888 – May 12, 1949) was an American illustrator and portrait painter who studied at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and Art Students League of New York. She began her car ...

chose her as one of the best of six different types of beauties.

Silent film career

Moving to Hollywood in the mid-1920s to pursue acting, Lee received her first film role in 1924, starring in ''Hello and Goodbye'', a comedy short film. That brought her to the attention of the studios and launched her into a very successful and busy silent film career. In 1925, Lee had roles in three films, and in 1926 her number of films jumped to seven. Lee was a frequent guest at the home of

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 ...

and

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...

and became friends with other notable Hollywood legends, to include

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

until his death in 1926. In 1927 she had roles in five films and was selected as one of thirteen girls to be

WAMPAS Baby Stars The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. ...

, which that year included silent film star

Sally Phipps Sally Phipps (born Byrnece Beutler; May 25, 1911 – March 17, 1978) was an American actress. Early life and career The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Edward Bogdon, Sally Phipps was born Nellie Bernice Bogdon in Oakland, California on M ...

and actress

Barbara Kent Barbara Kent ( Barbara Cloutman) December 16, 1907 – October 13, 2011) was a Canadian film actress, prominent from the silent film era to the early talkies of the 1920s and 1930s. In 1925, Barbara Kent won the Miss Hollywood Beauty Pageant. ...

. The year 1928 was a big year for Lee, as she starred in nine films, the most memorable of which was ''Sweeties'' with

Bobby Vernon Bobby Vernon (born Sylvion de Jardin) (March 9, 1897 – June 28, 1939) was an American comedic actor in silent films. He later became a writer and comedy supervisor at Paramount for W. C. Fields and Bing Crosby, when the sound era arrived. Blue ...

. Her biggest year by far was 1929, when she starred in ten films, including the lead role in ''Stage Struck Susie'' opposite Eddie Barry and ''Divorce Made Easy'' starring alongside

Marie Prevost Marie Prevost (born Marie Bickford Dunn; November 8, 1896 – January 21, 1937) was a Canadian-born film actress. During her 20-year career, she made 121 silent and sound films. Prevost began her career during the silent film era. She was d ...

and

Douglas MacLean Charles Douglas MacLean (January 10, 1890 – July 9, 1967) was an American stage and silent film actor who later worked as a producer and screenwriter in the sound era. Early life and stage career Born in Philadelphia, MacLean was educated at ...

. In 1934, she married Alexander Bennett, brother to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n silent film actress

Enid Bennett Enid Eulalie Bennett (15 July 1893 – 14 May 1969) was an Australian silent film actress, mostly active in American film. Early life Bennett was born on 15 July 1893 in York, Western Australia, the daughter of Nellie Mary Louise (''née'' Wa ...

. Their wedding was attended by such Hollywood legends as Enid Bennett's husband, film producer

Fred Niblo Fred Niblo (born Frederick Liedtke; January 6, 1874 – November 11, 1948) was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer. Biography He was born Frederick Liedtke (several sources give "Frederico Nobile", apparently erroneously) in Yo ...

; actresses

Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...

and

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...

; and actors

Rod La Rocque Roderick Ross La Rocque (November 29, 1898 – October 15, 1969) was an American actor. Biography La Rocque was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edmund La Rocque and Ann (née Rice) La Rocque. His father was of French-Canadian descent and his mo ...

and John Gilbert.Frances Lee obituary
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Transition to "talking films" and later life

Lee made a semisuccessful transition to " talking films", while the majority of silent film stars did not. Her first film in 1930 was ''Down with Husbands'' followed by ''The Stronger Sex'', starring

Carmel Myers Carmel Myers (April 9, 1899 – November 9, 1980) was an American actress who achieved her greatest successes in silent film. Early life Myers was born in San Francisco, the daughter of Isidore Myers, a Russian-Jewish rabbi who was born in ...

. However, Lee's career had slowed considerably from the silent film years, and from 1931 to 1935 she had roles in only seven films. Lee auditioned for the female lead role in ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'' and was one of two actresses finally considered for the role, losing it ultimately to

Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong (1933 film), King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray a ...

Later years

Lee retired from film acting after 1935, living with her husband in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

. She began working in

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

and studied for and received a degree in teaching. Lee and her husband lived in Brentwood, where she began one of the early Head Start programs at Knox Presbyterian Nursery School. She also taught dance, society behavior, and etiquette at the Elisa Ryan Studio, where she instructed the daughters of President Richard M. Nixon. In 1972, Lee and Alex moved to Cardiff-by-the-Sea. She worked as a children's librarian at the Rancho Santa Fe Library until only a few years before her death. Lee died on November 5, 2000, in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, aged 94.

Partial filmography

* '' Good as Gold'' (1927) * '' The Little Snob'' (1928) * ''

Nifty Numbers Nifty Numbers is a 1928 2-reel short film subject from Al Christie Studios. It is part a series called ''Confessions of a Chorus Girl''. ''Nifty Numbers'' is the fourth installment in this series. The 5th and 6th installments were called ''Footlig ...

'' (1928) * '' Chicken a La King'' (1928) * '' The Carnation Kid'' (1929) * ''

Divorce Made Easy ''Divorce Made Easy'' is a 1929 American Pre-Code sound comedy film directed by Neal Burns and Walter Graham and written by Alfred A. Cohn, Wilson Collison, and Garrett Graham. The film stars Douglas MacLean, Marie Prevost, Johnny Arthur, Fran ...

'' (1929) * ''

The Show of Shows ''The Show of Shows'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost $850,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor. ''The Show of Sho ...

'' (1929) (uncredited) * ''

Phantom Thunderbolt ''Phantom Thunderbolt'' is a 1933 American pre-Code Western (genre), Western film directed by Alan James. Cast *Ken Maynard as Thunderbolt Kid *Frances Lee as Judy Lane *Frank Rice (actor), Frank Rice as Nevady *William Gould (actor), William G ...

'' (1933) * ''

Her Splendid Folly Her is the objective and possessive form of the English-language feminine pronoun she. Her, HER or H.E.R. may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Music * H.E.R. (born 1997), American singer ** ''H.E.R.'' (album), 2017 * HIM (Finnis ...

'' (1933)

References

External links

*
WAMPAS Baby Stars, Frances Lee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Frances Ziegfeld girls People from Eagle Grove, Iowa American silent film actresses American film actresses Actresses from Iowa 1906 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American actresses WAMPAS Baby Stars