Louise Carter (born Betty-Lee Carter; March 17, 1875 – November 10, 1957) was an American

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and

film 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 ...

. She appeared in 48 films between 1924 and 1940, mostly in maternal supporting roles. Among her roles were the mother of Paul Muni in ''

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang ''I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'' is a 1932 American pre-Code crime-drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Paul Muni as a wrongfully convicted man on a chain gang who escapes to Chicago. It was released on November 10, 1932. The f ...

'' (1932), the wife of Lionel Barrymore in '' Broken Lullaby'' (1932) and the wife of

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...

in '' You're Telling Me!'' (1934).

Early years

Carter was born Betty-Lee Carter on March 17, 1875, in

Denison, Iowa Denison is a city in Crawford County, Iowa, United States, along the Boyer River, and located in both Denison Township and East Boyer Township. The population was 8,373 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crawford County. ...

. Her parents, Lawrence "Louis" J. Carter and Philomine Richards Carter, were French-Canadian. She had five younger siblings, and she was a graduate of Denison High School.

Career

By 1902, Carter had acted in Boston, New London, and New York City. She became the leading lady of the Gotham Stock Company in New York City in 1911. The company performed in Orpheum Company vaudeville houses owned by

Percy G. Williams Percy Garnett Williams (May 4, 1857 – July 21, 1923) was an American actor who became a travelling medicine salesman, real estate investor, amusement park operator and vaudeville theater owner and manager. He ran the Greater New York Circuit ...

, who often had the cast of a play present it in one theater, then hurry to a second theater in the chain for another performance in the same evening. In 1928, Carter and her daughter Betty-Lee acted together in Skidding at the Bayes Theatre in New York City. Carter also wrote plays, including the one-act ''The Soldiers'', which was presented in Toronto by a stock touring company headed by Miss

Percy Haswell Percy Haswell (April 30, 1871 – June 24, 1945), frequently billed as Miss Percy Haswell or Mrs. George Fawcett to clarify her gender, was an American stage and film actress. Percy Haswell was born in Austin, Texas, the daughter of George Ty ...

. She went on to write at least six more plays. In 1931,

Thomas Nelson and Sons Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in West Bow, Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1798, as the namesake of its founder. It is a subsidiary of HarperCollins, the publishing unit of News Corp. It describes itself as a "world leading publisher a ...

published ''Bible Jingle Rymes'', Carter's adaptation of Bible stories into "delightful children's verse".

Personal life

When Carter was 21, she married Frederick Seymour. They had two daughters (the second of whom was named Betty-Lee Carter, like her mother and became an actress) before they separated. By that time Carter was living in

Silver City, New Mexico Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat and the home of Western New Mexico University. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,315. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,704. History ...

, to which the rest of her family had moved. By 1915, the two had apparently divorced. She had married Cobrun Broun, and they were living in Toronto.

Partial filmography

* ''

The Truth About Women ''The Truth About Women'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Laurence Harvey, Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling and Diane Cilento. Plot When his son-in-law comes to him with a woeful tale of an unhappy relationship and ...

'' (1924) - Bronson's Mother * '' Scandal Street'' (1925) - Cora Forman * ''

The Lost Chord "The Lost Chord" is a song composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1877 at the bedside of his brother Fred during Fred's last illness. The manuscript is dated 13 January 1877; Fred Sullivan died five days later. The lyric was written as a poem by Adel ...

'' (1925) - Phyllis * '' The Substitute Wife'' (1925) - Evelyn Wentworth * '' In Borrowed Plumes'' (1926) - Clara Raymond * ''

Striving for Fortune ''Striving for Fortune'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Nat Ross and starring George Walsh, Beryl Roberts and Tefft Johnson.Munden p.773 Synopsis In Newport News, Virginia, a shipbuilder working on a new vessel has to thwa ...

'' (1926) * '' Broken Lullaby'' (1932) - Frau Holderlin * '' Are You Listening?'' (1932) - Mrs. O'Neil (uncredited) * ''

The Strange Case of Clara Deane ''The Strange Case of Clara Deane'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and Max Marcin, written by Max Marcin, and starring Wynne Gibson, Pat O'Brien, Dudley Digges, Frances Dee, George Barbier, Russell Gleason ...

'' (1932) - Couturiere (uncredited) * ''

Week-End Marriage ''Week-End Marriage'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Loretta Young. It was produced by First National Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. It is based on the 1932 novel, ''Week-End Marriag ...

'' (1932) - Mrs. Davis * '' Stranger in Town'' (1932) - Mrs. Croaker (uncredited) * ''

The Last Mile The Last Mile may refer to: * The Last Mile (prison rehabilitation program), a program for inmates in the California corrections system * ''The Last Mile'' (play), a 1930 play by John Wexley * ''The Last Mile'' (1932 film), an American adaptatio ...

'' (1932) - Mrs. Walters * ''

Blondie of the Follies ''Blondie of the Follies'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Edmund Goulding and written by Anita Loos and Frances Marion. Plot In a crowded New York tenement on the upper east side, Blondie and Lottie are neighbors and best f ...

'' (1932) - Ma Callahan * '' Two Against the World'' (1932) - Mrs. Polansky (scenes deleted) * '' Hell's Highway'' (1932) - Mrs. Ellis * '' Trouble in Paradise'' (1932) - Woman with Wrong Handbag (uncredited) * ''

'' (1932) - James Allen's Mother * '' Tess of the Storm Country'' (1932) - Mrs. Garfield (uncredited) * ''

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...

'' (1932) - Suzuki * ''

The Monkey's Paw "The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by English author W. W. Jacobs, first published in the collection '' The Lady of the Barge'' in 1902. In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with ...

'' (1933) - Mrs. White * ''

Ladies They Talk About ''Ladies They Talk About'' is a 1933 pre-Code American crime drama directed by Howard Bretherton and William Keighley, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, and Lyle Talbot. The film is about an attractive woman who is a member of a ba ...

'' (1933) - Lefty's Landlady (uncredited) * ''

Jennie Gerhardt ''Jennie Gerhardt'' is a 1911 novel by Theodore Dreiser. Plot summary Jennie Gerhardt is a destitute young woman. While working in a hotel in Columbus, Ohio, Jennie meets George Brander, a United States Senator, who becomes infatuated with her. ...

'' (1933) - Mrs. Gerhardt * ''

Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

'' (1933) - Mrs. Rogers * '' This Day and Age'' (1933) - Grace Smith * ''

Beauty for Sale ''Beauty for Sale'' is a 1933 American pre-Code film about the romantic entanglements of three beauty salon employees. Based on the 1933 novel ''Beauty'' by Faith Baldwin, it stars Madge Evans, Alice Brady, Otto Kruger and Una Merkel. Plot Smal ...

'' (1933) - Mrs. Lawson * '' Doctor Bull'' (1933) - Mrs. Ely, New Winton's Gossip (uncredited) * ''

Footlight Parade ''Footlight Parade'' is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell and featuring Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Ruth Donnelly. The film was written by Manuel Seff and Ja ...

'' (1933) - Old Maid in Elevator in 'Honeymoon Hotel' (uncredited) * ''

The Right to Romance ''The Right to Romance'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film starring Ann Harding and Robert Young and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Premise Ann Harding plays a successful plastic surgeon who meets a local playboy, played by Robert Young ...

'' (1933) - First Face Lift Patient * '' East of Fifth Avenue'' (1933) - Mrs. Mary Lawton * ''

Beloved Beloved may refer to: Books * ''Beloved'' (novel), a 1987 novel by Toni Morrison * ''The Beloved'' (Faulkner novel), a 2012 novel by Australian author Annah Faulkner *''Beloved'', a 1993 historical romance about Zenobia, by Bertrice Small Film ...

'' (1934) - Mrs. Tarrant * '' You're Telling Me!'' (1934) - Mrs. Bessie Bisbee * '' Ready for Love'' (1934) - Mrs. Sarah Thompson (uncredited) * ''

Here Is My Heart ''Here Is My Heart'' is a 1934 American musical comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Bing Crosby, Kitty Carlisle, and Roland Young. Based on the play ''La Grande-duchesse et le garçon d'étage'' by Alfred Savoir, the film is about a ...

'' (1934) - Charity Lady (uncredited) * ''

The Mystery of Edwin Drood ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium ...

'' (1935) - Mrs. Crisparkle (uncredited) * '' Straight from the Heart'' (1935) - Mother in Breadline * ''

Party Wire A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

'' (1935) - Grandma Kern (uncredited) * ''

Reckless Roads ''Reckless Roads'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by Burt P. Lynwood and starring Judith Allen, Regis Toomey and Lloyd Hughes.Palmer p.462 Cast * Judith Allen as Edith Adams * Regis Toomey as Speed Demming * Lloyd Hughes as Fred ...

'' (1935) - Mrs. Adams * '' Rose of the Rancho'' (1936) - Guadalupe * ''

Paddy O'Day ''Paddy O'Day'' is a 1936 American comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Seiler and released by 20th Century Fox. It stars Jane Withers, Pinky Tomlin, and Rita Hayworth (credited as Rita Cansino). The story follows the adventures of a plucky Iri ...

'' (1936) - Aunt Jane * ''

The Bold Caballero ''The Bold Caballero'' is a 1936 American Western film written and directed by Wells Root. It is based on the character Zorro, created by Johnston McCulley. The characters Don Alejandro Vega (Don Diego's father) and Bernardo are notably absent. ...

'' (1936) - Indian woman (uncredited) * ''

The Last Train from Madrid ''The Last Train from Madrid'' is a 1937 American war drama film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Dorothy Lamour, Lew Ayres and Gilbert Roland. It is set during the Spanish Civil War. The film was one of the few contemporary Hollywood film ...

'' (1937) - Rosa Delgado (uncredited) * ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

'' (1937) - Flower Woman (uncredited) * '' Inside Story'' (1939) - Dora * ''

Unmarried Civil status, or marital status, are the distinct options that describe a person's relationship with a significant other. ''Married'', '' single'', '' divorced'', and ''widowed'' are examples of civil status. ''Civil status'' and ''marital stat ...

'' (1939) - Mrs. Charles * '' Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase'' (1939) - Miss Floretta Turnbull * ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' (1939) - Bandleader's Wife (uncredited) * '' Brother Orchid'' (1940) - Scrub Woman at End (uncredited) (final film role)

References

Bibliography

* Tag Gallagher. ''John Ford: The Man and His Films''. University of California Press, 1988.

External links

* *
Images
(New York City Public Library) 1875 births 1957 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses {{US-film-actor-stub