Lina Basquette (born Lena Copeland Baskette; April 19, 1907 – September 30, 1994) was an American actress. She is noted for her 75-year career in entertainment, which began during the
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. Talented as a dancer, she was paid as a girl for performing and gained her first film contract at age nine. In her acting career, Basquette may have been best known for her role as Judith in ''
The Godless Girl
''The Godless Girl'' (1928) is an American dramatic silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shown for years as his last completely silent film. The cast features Lina Basquette, Marie Prevost, Tom Keene and Noah Beery.
Plot
This drama feat ...
'' (1929) The film was based on the life of Queen Silver, known as a 20th-century child prodigy, and
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
activist.
Basquette also was noted for her several marriages, including her first, to the much older noted producer,
Sam Warner
Samuel Louis Warner (born Szmuel Wonsal, August 10, 1885 – October 5, 1927) was an American film producer who was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. He established the studio along with his brothers Harry, Albert, and ...
, founder of
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
film studio.
When her film career declined, she returned for a period to dancing and stage performances. After she retired from the entertainment world, in 1947 Basquette moved to
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the Englis ...
, where she became a noted breeder of
Great Danes
The Great Dane is a large sized dog breed originating from Germany. The Great Dane descends from hunting dogs from the Middle Ages used to hunt wild boar and deer, and as guardians of German nobility. It is one of the largest breeds in the world ...
; her dogs won numerous professional show prizes. She wrote several books on dog breeding as well. Later living in West Virginia, she also served as a judge for the
American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kenn ...
, and wrote a column.
Early years
Basquette was born in April 19, 1907 as Lena Copeland Baskette, to parents Frank E. Baskette, a drugstore owner, and his wife Gladys Lee (née Rosenberg) Baskette in
San Mateo, California
San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...
. She began dancing as a child. A
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidia ...
representative saw her dancing to a record in her father's store. He hired her at the age of eight (through her parents) to advertise
Victrola
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...
s at the 1915
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely se ...
, held in San Francisco. Basquette later began studying ballet.
Baskette secured her first film contract at the age of nine in 1916 with
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
in Los Angeles for the silent film series ''Lena Baskette Featurettes''.
Shortly after she was signed with Universal, her father Frank Baskette committed suicide. Baskette later blamed her father's death on her mother's ambition for fame and fortune.
Within a year, Gladys Baskette married dance director Ernest Belcher. Their daughter Marjorie Belcher, half-sister to Lina, was born in 1919 in Los Angeles, where the family was then living. Marjorie became a dancer and choreographer known as Marge Champion.
Career
Early success
In 1923, Baskette and her mother traveled across the country by train to New York City, so that the girl could audition for John Murray Anderson
John Murray Anderson (September 20, 1886 – January 30, 1954) was a Canadian theatre director and producer, songwriter, actor, screenwriter, dancer and lighting designer, who made his career in the United States, primarily in New York City and ...
. Anderson urged her to change the spelling of her surname from "Baskette" to "Basquette". Producer Charles Dillingham
Charles Bancroft Dillingham (May 30, 1868 – August 30, 1934) was an American theatre manager and producer of over 200 Broadway shows.
Biography
Charles Bancroft Dillingham was born on May 30, 1868 in Hartford, Connecticut to Edmund Bancroft D ...
changed the spelling of her first name from "Lena" to "Lina" saying, "Lena is a cook, Lina is an artiste."
Before she could sign with Anderson, Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...
cast the 16-year-old Basquette in his 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 ...
and cast her as a featured dancer. The Follies producers officially dubbed her "America's Prima Ballerina." The girl gained notice from Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova
Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th ...
, who wanted to mentor her in classical ballet. Her mother Gladys Baskette decided that a career as a ballerina would not yield enough money and turned down Pavolva's offer. Basquette later said "I dreamed of being in a ballet company and it broke my heart."
Marriage and family
By 1925, at age 18, Basquette was appearing in two concurrent Ziegfeld productions. She was spotted in ''Louie the 14th'' by Sam Warner
Samuel Louis Warner (born Szmuel Wonsal, August 10, 1885 – October 5, 1927) was an American film producer who was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. He established the studio along with his brothers Harry, Albert, and ...
, film producer and co-founder of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
studio. Warner instantly fell in love with her and proposed marriage. Basquette did not want to marry him, as he was twenty years older than she. Her mother insisted that Basquette accept Warner's proposal, believing that the producer was wealthy (at the time, Warner Bros. was losing money).
Basquette and Warner were married in July 1925. After the marriage, Basquette grew to love and respect Warner; the couple had a daughter, Lita, in 1926. Warner died suddenly on October 5, 1927, the day before the opening of the highly anticipated Warner Bros. film, ''The Jazz Singer
''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated ...
'', which he had been working on tirelessly. Basquette was devastated by his death. She spent years battling Warner's family over money and custody of the couple's daughter.
Return to films
Basquette returned to work in 1928, appearing in four films. That year, she was named one of thirteen 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. ...
. The following year, she appeared in ''The Younger Generation
''The Younger Generation'' is a 1929 American part-talkie drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Ricardo Cortez. It was produced by Jack Cohn for Columbia Pictures. It was Capra's first sound film. While mostly silent, the film has t ...
'', directed by Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...
.
In 1929, she starred in the partial-sound film, ''The Godless Girl
''The Godless Girl'' (1928) is an American dramatic silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shown for years as his last completely silent film. The cast features Lina Basquette, Marie Prevost, Tom Keene and Noah Beery.
Plot
This drama feat ...
'', directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
. This is the role for which she is best known. Basquette plays the title character Judith, who is based on Queen Silver, a child prodigy who early made speeches as a socialist activist. Judith is the leader of a high school atheist society; she forces members to renounce the Bible while placing a hand on the head of a live monkey.
In the film's climactic scene, DeMille insisted on realism while filming the reformatory going up in flames. During the filming, Basquette's eyelashes and eyebrows were burned. ''The Godless Girl'' was not a box office success in the United States, but it did well in Austria and Germany. Basquette later recalled that she received a fan letter from Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
(before he achieved his political power) saying that she was his favorite movie star.
Decline
After appearing in ''The Godless Girl'', Basquette found her popularity declining and she was offered fewer film roles. She was unofficially blacklisted in Hollywood due to her legal battles with the Warner family, which was trying to take custody of her daughter with Sam Warner in order to rear her as Jewish, and challenged settlement of his estate. She made a successful transition to sound films and appeared in some 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 ...
films in the 1930s.
In January 1937, Basquette was offered a contract with the Universum Film AG
UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated as ...
studio in Germany after the Nazi Party had taken power. After arriving in Germany, she was driven to Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...
, where she met Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
, and Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
. She later claimed that Hitler made a pass at her, and she kicked him in the groin. When he persisted, Basquette told him that her maternal grandfather was Jewish. She left Germany the following day.
As her career in films continued to decline, Basquette returned to dancing. She performed in nightclubs and on the vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
circuit. In 1939, Basquette and her fifth husband, English actor Henry Mollison
Evelyn Henry Mollison (21 February 1905 – 19 July 1985) was a British theatre and film actor. He was the brother of the actor Clifford Mollison.
During World War II, he was held as a Prisoner of War for five years by the Nazis, after his ...
, appeared on stage together in ''Idiot's Delight'', which toured in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. After appearing in 1943's '' A Night for Crime'', Basquette retired from films.
Later years
On August 9, 1943, Basquette was raped and robbed in Burbank, California after she gave a ride to 22-year-old army private George Paul Rimke. Basquette later testified that after she picked up the soldier, he forced her into the backseat and raped her. Rimke denied the charges but was found guilty on August 26, 1943 and sentenced to life in prison.
In 1947, Basquette used money from a trust fund left to her by her first husband, Sam Warner, and purchased a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 1950, she and her sixth husband Warner Gilmore opened Honey Hollow Kennels; they began breeding and showing Great Danes. Basquette became the single biggest winner of Great Dane breed shows and was known as a noted dog breeder. She also wrote several books on the subject of dog breeding.
She retired from dog handling in 1983. Basquette moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, after her retirement. She continued to judge dog shows for the American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kenn ...
and wrote a monthly column for ''Kennel Review''.
Renewed interest in Basquette's films was sparked after a profile of her was published in 1989 in ''The New Yorker.'' Her films were screened in Washington, DC at the National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
and at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles.
Basquette published her autobiography, ''Lina: DeMille's Godless Girl'', in 1991. That same year she was cast in her first film in 48 years, an independent production titled ''Paradise Park''. She played a grandmother who dreamed God was coming to grant a wish to residents of an Appalachian trailer park. The film also stars Porter Wagoner
Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour.
In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Po ...
and Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greates ...
. It was her final film role.
Personal life
Marriages and children
Basquette was married 8 times. Basquette's first marriage was to Sam Warner
Samuel Louis Warner (born Szmuel Wonsal, August 10, 1885 – October 5, 1927) was an American film producer who was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. He established the studio along with his brothers Harry, Albert, and ...
, film producer and co-founder of Warner Bros. studio. The two were married on July 4, 1925 despite Warner's family's disapproval because Basquette was Catholic and not Jewish. They had a daughter, Lita (named after 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 wife Lita Grey
Lita Grey (born Lillita Louise MacMurray, April 15, 1908 – December 29, 1995), who was known for most of her life as Lita Grey Chaplin, was an American actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin.
Background
She was born in Hollywood, Cali ...
) in October 1926. After suffering severe headaches and a sinus infection aggravated by several abscessed teeth, Warner was admitted to California Lutheran Hospital in September 1927. Doctors discovered that he had developed a mastoid infection that was spreading to his brain. After four surgeries to remove the infection, Warner slipped into a coma. He died of pneumonia caused by sinusitis as well as epidural and subdural abscesses on October 5, 1927.
In January 1929, Basquette married cinematographer Peverell Marley. Shortly after the marriage, Harry Warner
Harry Morris Warner (born Hirsz Mojżesz Wonsal; December 12, 1881 – July 25, 1958) was an American studio executive, one of the founders of Warner Bros., and a major contributor to the development of the film industry. Along with his three y ...
, Sam Warner's older brother, asked Basquette give up custody of her daughter Lita. He was concerned that she would raise Lita as a Roman Catholic like her rather than in the Jewish faith. Basquette said that she and Sam Warner had agreed to raise any female children they had as Catholic and any male children as Jewish. Harry Warner and his wife offered Basquette large amounts of money to relinquish custody but she refused. She finally relented after Harry Warner promised her that Lita would receive a $300,000 trust fund. On March 30, 1930, Harry Warner and his wife were awarded legal custody of Lita. Basquette quickly regretted her decision and tried to regain custody of her daughter.
In August 1930, Basquette left Marley as she tried to regain custody of Lita. When custody was denied, she attempted suicide by drinking poison at a party. She was saved when a guest heard her screams. Marley and Basquette were divorced in September 1930.
Basquette was never financially stable enough to regain custody of her daughter. The Warner family filed several legal suits against her to win back Sam Warner's share of Warner Bros. studio. Over the next 20 years, Basquette saw Lita on only two occasions: in 1935, when Harry Warner and his family moved to Los Angeles, and in 1947, when Lita married Dr. Nathan Hiatt. Basquette and her daughter reconnected in 1977 when Basquette backed a lawsuit that Lita brought against her uncle Jack L. Warner
Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's career spanned some ...
's estate.
Basquette's third marriage was to actor Ray Hallam in 1931. He died of leukemia three weeks after they were married. On October 31, 1931, she married Theodore Hayes, the former trainer of world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...
. After discovering that Hayes was still married to another woman, Basquette was granted a Mexican divorce on September 10, 1932.
In her autobiography, Basquette said that, while she and Hayes were separated, she had an affair with Jack Dempsey. Dempsey ended the affair in July 1932 after which Basquette attempted suicide a second time. She and Hayes eventually reconciled and remarried in 1934. They had a son, Edward Alvin Hayes, in April 1934. The following year, they divorced in December 1935.
In April 1937, Basquette married British actor Henry Mollison
Evelyn Henry Mollison (21 February 1905 – 19 July 1985) was a British theatre and film actor. He was the brother of the actor Clifford Mollison.
During World War II, he was held as a Prisoner of War for five years by the Nazis, after his ...
in London. They separated in 1940, and divorced in October 1944.
In 1947, she married Warner Gilmore, the general manager of the St. Moritz Hotel. They divorced in 1951. Basquette's final marriage was to artist Frank Mancuso. They married in 1959 and separated that same year, but they were never divorced.
Death
On September 30, 1994, Basquette died of lymphoma at her home in Wheeling, West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, at the age of 87.
Legacy
For her contributions to the film industry, Basquette has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
located at 1529 Vine Street.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
Lina Basquette
Virtual History website
Wendy McElroy, ''Queen Silver: The Godless Girl''
official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basquette, Lina
1907 births
1994 deaths
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from California
Actresses from West Virginia
American animal care and training writers
American child actresses
American female dancers
American film actresses
American Roman Catholics
20th-century American memoirists
American women memoirists
American silent film actresses
American stage actresses
Deaths from cancer in West Virginia
Deaths from lymphoma
People from San Mateo, California
Actors from Wheeling, West Virginia
WAMPAS Baby Stars
Western (genre) film actresses
Vaudeville performers
Ziegfeld girls
20th-century American dancers
Warner family
Jewish American actresses