Florence Reed (January 10, 1883 – November 21, 1967) was an American stage and film actress. She is remembered for several outstanding stage productions, including ''The Shanghai Gesture'', ''The Lullaby'', ''

The Yellow Ticket ''The Yellow Ticket'' is a 1931 pre-Code American drama film based on the 1914 play of the same name by Michael Morton, produced by the Fox Film Corporation, directed by Raoul Walsh, and starring Elissa Landi, Lionel Barrymore and Laurence Oli ...

'' and ''The Wanderer''. Her best remembered movie role was as Miss Havisham in the 1934 production of ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

''. In this version, however, Miss Havisham was changed from a completely insane woman to an eccentric, who did not wear her wedding veil constantly, and who dies peacefully rather than as a result of suffering burns in a fire. In the 1950s Reed performed in several early television shows, such as ''

The Philco Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golde ...

'', ''

Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...

'' and ''

The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the U.S. Steel, United States Steel Corpor ...

''. She is a member of the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

Early life and career

Reed was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, to comedy actor Roland Lewis Reed and his wife, Johanna (née Sommer) Reed. Her grandfather was John "Pop" Reed, a longtime stagehand of the old

Walnut Street Theatre The Walnut Street Theatre, founded in 1809 at 825 Walnut Street, on the corner of S. 9th Street in the Washington Square West neighborhood of Philadelphia, is the oldest operating theatre in the United States. The venue is operated by the Walnut ...

, who donated his skull to be performed in future theatrical versions of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. Her father died in 1901 when Florence was 17 years old. Afterward she and her mother came to

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 ...

to seek a career in the theater. She made her first appearance on the stage at Proctor's

Fifth Avenue Theatre Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City in the United States located at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway (1185 Broadway). It was demolished in 1939. Built in 1868, it was managed by Augustin Daly in the mid-1870s. In 1877, ...

in New York in 1904 where she gave a monologue by

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

. She stayed with the Fifth Avenue Theater for years honing her craft. She also trouped the country with

May Irwin May Irwin (born Georgina May Campbell; June 27, 1862 – October 22, 1938) was an actress, singer and star of vaudeville. Originally from Canada, she and her sister Flo Irwin found theater work after their father died. She was known for her per ...

in ''The Widow Jones'' and played Ophelia to E. H. Sothern's Hamlet. Reed appeared with

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

in ''The Yellow Ticket'' (1914) which proved a popular play of the season. In 1943 she created the role of The Fortune Teller in '' The Skin of Our Teeth '' by

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...

, reprising it in a 1955 Broadway revival.

Movies

Reed started making movies in the silent era around 1915. She was a stage star by then and her first movie was '' The Dancing Girl'' for

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; hu, Zukor Adolf; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produ ...

Famous Players Famous Players Limited Partnership, DBA Famous Players, is a Canadian-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a film exhibitor and cable television service provider. Famous Players operated numerous m ...

studio built around her talents. She also made films for several different production companies such as Popular Plays & Players, Astra, Arrow, Tribune, and

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

. In all, Reed made 15 silent pictures, the last being ''

The Black Panther's Cub ''The Black Panther's Cub'' is a 1921 American silent melodrama film produced by William K. Ziegfeld, Florenz Ziegfeld's younger brother. It stars stage actress Florence Reed in her last silent screen portrayal where she plays multiple roles. ...

'' (1921). After 13 years she made her first talking film in ''

'' (1934). She made two more films but preferred the theater.

Personal life

Reed was married to actor Malcolm Williams from February 1908 until his death in 1937. They often appeared in stage productions together. They had no children. She died on November 21, 1967. She was interred in the same burial plot with her good friend, actress

Blanche Yurka Blanche Yurka (born Blanch Jurka, June 19, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American stage and film actress and director. She was an opera singer with minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera and later became a stage actress, making her Broadway debu ...

, in the Actors Fund of America section of Kensico Cemetery,

Valhalla, New York Valhalla is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The name was in ...

Filmography

Silent films *''Our Mutual Girl'' (1914) as Herself (episode 20) *'' The Dancing Girl'' (1915) as Drusilla Ives *''

Her Own Way ''Her Own Way'' is a lost 1915 silent film drama directed by Herbert Blaché and starring Florence Reed. It is based on a 1903 Broadway play by Clyde Fitch that was a starring vehicle for Maxine Elliott. Cast *Florence Reed - Georgiana Carley * ...

'' (1915) as Georgiana Carley *''

The Cowardly Way ''The Cowardly Way'' is a lost 1915 silent film drama directed by John Ince and starring Florence Reed. Plot Cast * Florence Reed - Eunice Fielding *Isabel MacGregor - Marjorie Harcourt *Maude Hill - Nance St. Germain *Bennett Southard - Hac ...

'' (1915) as Eunice Fielding *''

At Bay ''At Bay'' is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Florence Reed. It is based on a 1913 Broadway play, ''At Bay'', by George Scarborough and produced by the Shuberts. On stage, Reed's starring part was pl ...

'' (1915) as Aline Graham *''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' (1916) as Nora Nelson, later Mrs. King *''

The Woman's Law ''The Woman's Law'' is a lost 1916 American silent drama film directed by Lawrence B. McGill and starring Florence Reed. It was distributed through Pathé Exchange.The Eternal Sin'' (1917) as Lucretia Borgia *'' To-Day'' (1917) as Lily Morton *'' The Struggle Everlasting'' (1918) as Body, aka Lois *''

Wives of Men ''Wives of Men'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by John M. Stahl and starring Florence Reed. Stahl also wrote the screenplay with movie being produced by Grace Davison, who has a role in the film. Cast * Florence Reed as Lucille ...

'' (1918) as Lucille Emerson *''

Her Code of Honor ''Her Code of Honor'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by John M. Stahl and starring Florence Reed. Its alternate title was ''The Call of the Heart''. A print of it is held by the British Film Institute's National Film and Televisio ...

'' (1919; *BFI Natl. Film & TV archive, London) as Helen / Alice *''

The Woman Under Oath ''The Woman Under Oath'' is a 1919 American silent mystery film directed by John M. Stahl and starring stage star Florence Reed. As with the previous Stahl and Reed film, ''Her Code of Honor'', it was produced by Tribune Productions and released ...

'' (1919; *copy: BFI Natl. Film & TV archive, London) as Grace Norton *''

Her Game ''Her Game'' is a lost 1919 silent drama directed by Frank Hall Crane and starring Florence Reed and Conway Tearle. Cast * Florence Reed - Carol Raymond *Conway Tearle - Alan Rutherford/Bruce Armitage * Jed Prouty - Bobby McAllister *Florence Bi ...

'' (1919) as Carol Raymond *'' The Eternal Mother'' (1920) as Laura West *''

'' (1921) as The Black Panther / Mary Maudsley / Faustine Sound films *''

'' (1934) as Miss Havisham *'' Frankie and Johnny'' (1936) as Lou *''

Stage Door ''Stage Door'' is a 1937 RKO film directed by Gregory La Cava. Adapted from the play of the same name, it tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film s ...

'' (1937) (uncredited)

References

External links

* *
Florence Reed
gallery at NY Public Library(Billy Rose Collection)
Florence Reed in November 1922 Vanity Fair
photographed by

Nickolas Muray Nickolas Muray (born Miklós Mandl; 15 February 1892 – 2 November 1965) was a Hungarian-born American photographer and Olympic saber fencer. Early and personal life Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary, and was History of the Jews in Hungary, Je ...

Broadway Photographs - Florence ReedUniversity of Washington Digital Collections - Florence Reed

Florence Reed blogspotFlorence Reed
kinotv)
Reed with Barrymore
in ''The Yellow Ticket'' play, 1914 {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Florence 1883 births 1967 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Philadelphia Burials at Kensico Cemetery