Luella Gear (September 5, 1897 – April 3, 1980) was an American actress. She appeared in numerous films, TV series and theatrical productions throughout the 1910s to the 1960s

Early life

Gear was born in New York in 1897. She attended the

Spence School , motto_translation = Not for school, but for life we learn , founder = Clara B. Spence , tuition = $60,880 (2022-2023) , chair = , head_label = , head ...

and was educated in Brussels, Belgium.

Career

She made her acting debut in 1917, appearing in the Broadway musical ''

Love O' Mike ''Love O' Mike'' is a musical comedy in two acts and a prologue with book by Thomas Sydney, lyrics by Harry B. Smith, and music by Jerome Kern. The show was produced by Elisabeth Marbury and Lee Shubert at the Shubert Theatre, and opened January ...

''. She subsequently appeared in Broadway productions such as ''The Gold Diggers'', ''

A Dangerous Maid ''A Dangerous Maid'' is a musical with a book by Charles W. Bell, music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin (writing under the pseudonym "Arthur Francis"). The script is based on Bell's 1918 play ''A Dislocated Honeymoon''. The story ...

'', ''Poppy'', ''The Optimists'', ''

Gay Divorce ''Gay Divorce'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Dwight Taylor, adapted by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein. It was Fred Astaire's last Broadway show and featured the hit song " Night and Day" in which Astaire d ...

'' and '' Life Begins at 8:40''. During World War II, she toured with the wartime comedy play ''Count Me In'' as part of the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

, entertaining the troops. She also appeared in films like ''

Queen High ''Queen High'' is the title of an American pre-Code musical comedy film, produced by Paramount Pictures in 1930. Based upon the 1926 stage musical ''Queen High'' that Buddy DeSylva, Lewis Gensler, and Laurence Schwab had adapted from Edward P ...

'', ''Carefree'', ''

Lady in the Dark ''Lady in the Dark'' is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fictional fashion magazine ...

'', ''

The Perfect Marriage ''The Perfect Marriage'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Lewis Allen and written by Leonard Spigelgass. The film stars Loretta Young, David Niven, Eddie Albert, Charlie Ruggles, Virginia Field, and Rita Johnson. The film was re ...

'' and ''Jigsaw'' and TV series like ''

Broadway Television Theatre ''Broadway Television Theatre'' is a one-hour syndicated television anthology series produced by WOR-TV in New York City. The series premiered April 14, 1952 and ran through January 25, 1954. Overview ''Broadway Television Theatre'' featured a ne ...

'', ''The Big Story'', ''

The Elgin Hour ''The Elgin Hour'' (also known as ''The Elgin TV Hour'') is a 60-minute live American anthology drama that aired from October 5, 1954 to June 14, 1955, on ABC, alternating with '' The U.S. Steel Hour''. A total of 19 episodes featured actors Jo ...

'' and ''

Joe and Mabel ''Joe and Mabel'' is an American comedy series about a cab driver and his girlfriendTim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 – Present, 1st Edition'', pages 307-308, Ballantine Books, 197 ...

''.

Personal life

Gear was married three times: to New York playboy Byron Chandler, aviator

Gustave Maurice Heckscher Gustave Maurice Heckscher (May 15, 1884 – June 11, 1967), was a pioneer aviator with seaplanes. and later a real estate developer in California. Early life Heckscher was born on May 15, 1884, in Philadelphia. He was the son of Anna (née At ...

, and Frederick W.A. Engel. She had no children. Gear died in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

on April 3, 1980 at the age of 82. She was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Selected filmography

Film

* ''

Adam and Eva ''Adam and Eva'' is a 1923 American comedy silent film directed by Robert G. Vignola and adapted by Luther Reed from the play by Guy Bolton and George Middleton. The film stars Marion Davies, T. Roy Barnes, Tom Lewis, William Norris, Percy Ame ...

'' (1923) as Julie Dewitt * '' Carefree'' (1938) as Aunt Cora * ''

'' (1947) as Dolly Haggerty * ''

Jigsaw Jigsaw may refer to: * Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves * Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces Arts and media Comics * Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...

'' (1949) as Pet Shop Owner * ''

Phffft ''Phffft'' is a 1954 American comedy romance film starring Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, and Jack Carson and featuring Kim Novak in a supporting role. The picture was written by George Axelrod and directed by Mark Robson. It was the second film s ...

'' (1954) as Edith Chapman

Television

* '' The Trap'' - "Chocolate Cobweb" (1950), TV episode * ''

Sure as Fate ''Sure as Fate'' is a 60-minute American anthology mystery drama series that aired on CBS from 1950–51. It was produced live and was narrated by Paul Lukas. Its guest stars included Robert Cummings, E.G. Marshall, Kim Stanley, John Carradine ...

'' - "Tremolo" (1950), TV episode * ''

The Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...

'' - "Death Mask" (1952), TV episode * ''

'' - "The Patsy" (1952), TV episode, as Ma Harrington * '' The Big Story'' - "Arthur Mielke of the Washington Times Herald" (1954), TV episode, as Mrs. Ferill * ''

'' - "Falling Star" (1954), TV episode, as Mom Morton * ''

Producers' Showcase ''Producers' Showcase'' is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth M ...

'' - "Happy Birthday" (1956), TV episode, as Emma * ''

'' - "Joe's Bankbook" (1956), TV episode, as Mrs. Spooner * ''

Play of the Week Play of the Week may refer to: *''ITV Play of the Week'', British TV anthology series broadcast from 1956 to 1966 *''The Play of the Week'', American TV anthology series broadcast from 1959 to 1961 See also *''Play of the Month ''Play of the M ...

'' - "Juno and the Paycock" (1960), TV episode * '' The Defenders'' - "The Search" (1962), TV episode, as Mrs. Carney and "Conflict of Interests" (1964), TV episode, as Delia Leary

Selected stage credits

*''

'' (1917) *'' The Gold Diggers'' (1919) *'' Elsie'' (1923) *''

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...

'' (1923) *''

'' (1926) *''

'' (1932) *'' Life Begins at 8:40'' (1934) *''

On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dol ...

'' (1936) *''

Sabrina Fair ''Sabrina Fair'' (subtitled "''A Woman of the World''") is a romantic comedy written by Samuel A. Taylor and produced by the Playwrights' Company. It ran on Broadway for a total of 318 performances, opening at the National Theatre on November 11 ...

'' (1953)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gear, Luella 1897 births 1980 deaths American film actresses American silent film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses People from New York City 20th-century American actresses Spence School alumni