Georgia Theodora Hale (June 25, 1900 — June 17, 1985) was an actress of the

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Cae ...

era.

Career

Hale was Miss Chicago 1922 and competed in the

Miss America Pageant Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

. She began acting in the early 1920s, and achieved one of her most notable successes with her role in

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

's ''

The Gold Rush ''The Gold Rush'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film written, produced, and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film also stars Chaplin in his Little Tramp persona, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, and Malcolm Waite. Chapl ...

'' (1925). She played Myrtle Wilson in the first filmed version (1926) of ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts First-person narrative, first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious mil ...

''. Chaplin cast Hale in his film based on her performance in ''

The Salvation Hunters ''The Salvation Hunters'' is a 1925 American silent drama film which marked the directorial debut of the 30-year old Josef von Sternberg. The feature stars Georgia Hale and George K. Arthur, and would bring Sternberg, "a new talent", to the at ...

'', which also came out in 1925. ''The Gold Rush'' temporarily made her a star, but she did not survive the transition from silent film to sound, and she only made one more film after 1928. The documentary ''

Unknown Chaplin ''Unknown Chaplin'' is a three-part 1983 British documentary series about the career and methods of the silent film luminary Charlie Chaplin, using previously unseen film for illustration. The series consist of three episodes, with title ''My H ...

'' revealed that Hale was hired by Chaplin to replace actress

Virginia Cherrill Virginia Cherrill (April 12, 1908 – November 14, 1996) was an American actress best known for her role as the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin's ''City Lights'' (1931). Early life Virginia Cherrill was born on a farm in rural Carthag ...

as the female lead in the film ''

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and ...

'' (1931) during a brief period after he had fired Cherrill (and before he re-hired her). Approximately seven minutes of test footage of Hale in the role survives; this is included in the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

release of the film, and excerpts appear in ''Unknown Chaplin''. The editor's introduction to Hale's memoir also reveals that she was Chaplin's original choice for the female lead in his film '' The Circus'', a role eventually played by

Merna Kennedy Merna Kennedy (born Maude Kahler; September 7, 1908 – December 20, 1944) was an American actress of the late silent era and the transitional period into talkies. Career She was born in Kankakee, one of two children to Maud (''née'' Reed) a ...

Personal life

Hale was a close companion of Chaplin in the late 1920s and early 1930s. She went on to teach dance, and later became wealthy through real estate investments in Southern California. She never married, but she lived with a male companion for the last 15 years of her life, and he received most of her estate upon her death on June 17, 1985.Lamparski, p. 69 According to her memoir, Hale became a follower of

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

. She met with Chaplin during his brief return to the United States in 1972.

Writings

Hale spoke warmly of her time with Chaplin in ''Unknown Chaplin''. She also wrote a book about her experiences with him, titled '' Charlie Chaplin: Intimate Close-Ups''. Written in the 1960s, it was published in 1995, a decade after her death, by The Scarecrow Press; Heather Kiernan edited the manuscript.

Filmography

References

External links

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Georgia Hale
at Virtual History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Georgia 1900 births 1985 deaths Actresses from Missouri Actors from St. Joseph, Missouri American Christian Scientists American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses Converts to Christian Science