Jane Fearnley (née Sadie J. Fearnley; –1952), was an American stage and film actress who appeared in

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 ...

s. Her name was sometimes spelled Jane Fernley.

Early life and education

Fearnley was born Sadie J. around 1885 in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

, the daughter of Joseph and Sarah who immigrated to the United States from England. She graduated from Dean Academy in 1904.

Career

After college, Fearnley moved 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 ...

and began her acting career performing both on stage and film until the early 1920's. In 1907 she made her national debut in the leading role in the play ''Raffles'' as Gwendolin Conron with S. Miller Kent, then in 1909 as Hope Georgia in the play ''The Gentleman from Mississippi''. After tiring of traveling, she joined

Reliance Film Company Reliance Film Company (1910–1915) was an early movie production studio in the United States. It was established in 1910 in Coney Island by Adam Kessel Jr. and Charles O. Baumann. Harry Aitken purchased the Reliance Film Company in 1911 from Cha ...

, then later joined

Independent Moving Pictures The Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP) was a motion picture studio and production company founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle. The company was based in New York City, with production facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1912, IMP merged with ...

(IMP) and the

Famous Players Film Company The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful New York City theatre impresario. History Discussions to form the company were held at The Lambs, a famous th ...

among others. By 1913, she had solidified herself as a leading film actress, often starring opposite

King Baggot William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, B ...

in films such as the ''Human Hearts'', ''Lady Audrey's Secret'' and ''

A Cave Man Wooing ''A Cave Man Wooing'' is a 1912 American silent comedy short film starring King Baggot and directed by Otis Turner. It was produced by Independent Moving Pictures (IMP). As of 2012, a print of this film survives, with Dutch intertitles, in the ho ...

.'' She was also noted for her roles in '' The Little Gray Lady and

The Scales of Justice ''The Scales of Justice'' was a series of thirteen British cinema featurettes produced between 1962 and 1967 for Anglo-Amalgamated at Merton Park Studios in London. The first nine episodes were made in black and white, the last four in colour. ...

''. She returned to the stage 1916, touring with a company playing the role of Ruth Goldman in ''

Potash and Perlmutter ''Potash and Perlmutter'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger. The film is based on an ethnic Jewish comedy with characters created by Montague Glass and Charles Klein for a 1913 Broadway play of the same name ...

'' then in the early 1920s as Mrs. Marshall in ''

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

.''

Personal life

Fearnley married twice, first to Richard Clark in 1907 then to Charles Carey in 1923.

Pearl White Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career on the stage at the age of six, and later moved on to silent films appearing in a number of popular serials. Dubbed the "Queen of ...

lived with Fearnely for a short time around 1913 and traveled to Bermuda together. In 1952 Fearnley died while residing New York City, outside of Harlem.

Filmography

*'' Making Good'' (1912) *'' In Old Tennessee'' (1912) *''

Human Hearts ''Human Hearts'' is an album by the indie pop band Maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes ...

'' (1912) *'' Lady Audrey's Secret'' (1912) *'' King, the Detective and the Opium Smugglers'' (1912) *'' Officer 174'' (1912) *''

Jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust. ...

'' (1912), part of the Library of Congress' film collection *''

'' (1912) *'' The New Magdalen''(1912) *'' In a Woman's Power'' (1913) *'' The Stranglers of Paris'' (1913) as Mathilde *'' The Golden Pathway'' (1913) *''

Kathleen Mavourneen (1913 film) Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of Silent film, silent films through the 1930s. Brenon was among t ...

'' *'' The Christian'' (1914) *'' The Little Gray Lady'' (1914) *''

'' (1914) *''The Marble Heart'' (1915) *'' Bubbles'' (1916) *''

The Black Stork ''The Black Stork'', also known as ''Are You Fit To Marry?'', is a 1917 American motion picture film both written by and starring Harry J. Haiselden, who was the chief surgeon at the German-American Hospital in Chicago. ''The Black Stork'' ...

'' (1917) *'' The Eternal Sin'' (1917)

References

External links

*
Jane Fearnley at BFI

Jane Fearnley at AFI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fearnley, Jane American silent film actresses American stage actresses 1885 births 1952 deaths People from Fall River, Massachusetts