Joan Meredith (January 28, 1907 – October 13, 1980) was an American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...

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 (), li ...

Biography

Meredith was born in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

, and moved to Hollywood in the mid-1920s after winning a beauty contest that brought her to the attention of talent scouts. She was pretty, with a petite build and was 5 feet tall. Her first credited role was in the 1925 film '' Blue Blood'', starring alongside

George Walsh George Frederick Walsh (March 16, 1889 – June 13, 1981) was an American actor. An all-around athlete, who became an actor and later returned to sport, he enjoyed 40 years of fame and was a performer with dual appeal, with women loving hi ...

and Cecille Evans. She starred in two films that year, and was one of thirteen girls selected 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. ...

", a list which included

June Marlowe June Marlowe (born Gisela Valaria Goetten, November 6, 1903 – March 10, 1984) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. She was best known for her performance of "Miss Crabtree" in the ''Our Gang'' sho ...

, now famous for her role on the '' Our Gang'' serials. Her second film of 1925 was opposite

Dorothy Dwan Dorothy Dwan (April 26, 1906 – March 17, 1981) was an American film actress. Biography Born Dorothy Ilgenfritz in Sedalia, Missouri, Dwan was a WAMPAS Baby Star. She appeared in 40 films between 1922 and 1930, several of which were dir ...

in ''The Perfect Clown''. In 1926 she would star in four films, the first of which would place her alongside George Walsh once again, this time in ''

The Count of Luxembourg ''The Count of Luxembourg'' is an operetta in two acts with English lyrics and libretto by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross, music by Franz Lehár, based on Lehár's three-act German operetta ''Der Graf von Luxemburg'' which had premiered in Vienna in ...

''. Her second film that year was ''The Fighting Boob'', followed by a

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

placing her in the role of

heroine A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

opposite early cowboy film star

Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

. However, her career never really took off as hoped, and she would leave acting behind after only six films. Her last film of her short-lived career was her best remembered, due to it helping to launch the career of

Mae Busch Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch; 18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian-born actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, frequ ...

, titled ''The Truthful Sex'', and which also starred

Huntley Gordon Huntley Ashworth Gordon (October 8, 1879 – December 7, 1956) was a Canadian actor who began his career in the Silent Film era. Profile Gordon was born in Montreal, Quebec, educated in both Canada and England. He had various jobs including w ...

. Meredith left acting following that film, working for a time as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

, eventually settling in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where she resided until her death on October 13, 1980.

Partial filmography

* '' The Last Man on Earth'' (1924) * '' Free to Love'' (1925) * ''

Darwin Was Right ''Darwin Was Right'' is a 1924 American comedy film directed by Lewis Seiler and written by Eddie Moran. The film stars Nell Brantley, George O'Hara, Stanley Blystone, Dan Mason, Lon Poff and Bud Jamison. The film was released on October 26, ...

'' (1925) * '' Blue Blood'' (1925) * '' The Perfect Clown'' (1925) * ''

King of the Saddle ''King of the Saddle'' is a 1926 American silent Western comedy film directed by William James Craft and starring Bill Cody, Joan Meredith and Billy Franey. Cast * Bill Cody as Billy * Joan Meredith as Mary * Billy Franey William Gerald F ...

'' (1926) * ''

'' (1926) * '' The Truthful Sex'' (1926)

External links

*
WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1925
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Joan American film actresses American silent film actresses Actors from Hot Springs, Arkansas 1907 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American actresses WAMPAS Baby Stars