Lew Cody (born Louis Joseph Côté; February 22, 1884 – May 31, 1934) was an American stage and film actor whose career spanned 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, w ...

and early sound film age. He gained notoriety in the late 1910s for playing "male vamps" in films such as '' Don't Change Your Husband.''

Early life and career

Cody was born on February 22, 1884 (some sources say 1885) to Louis Joseph Côté and Elizabeth Sarah Côté (née Herbert). His father was French Canadian, with his ancestral lineage dating back to France and Germany, and his mother was a native of Maine. Cody and his younger brothers and sisters were born in

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 census the population was 15,828. Along with Augusta, Waterville is ...

. After Elizabeth's death, Louis remarried to Marie Lena Rose Toussaint, and they had a daughter named Cecile Côté. The family moved to Berlin, New Hampshire, where Cody's father owned a drug store. In his youth, Cody worked at his father's drug store as a

soda jerk Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is an American term used to refer to a person — typically a young man — who would operate the soda fountain in a drugstore, preparing and serving soda drinks and ice cream sodas. The drinks were made by mixing fl ...

. He later enrolled at McGill University in Montreal where he intended to study medicine but abandoned the idea of setting up in practice and joined a theatre stock company in North Carolina. He made his debut on the stage in New York in ''Pierre of the Plains''. Cody moved to Los Angeles and began a minor film career at The Balboa Film Studios with Thomas Ince. Cody had at least 99 film credits from 1914 to 1934.

Personal life

Cody was married three times. His first two marriages were to actress Dorothy Dalton. They first married in 1910 and divorced in 1911. They remarried in 1913 and were divorced a second time in 1914. Playing the debonnaire leading man, Cody enjoyed the later single life of "a man's man", which added to his acting persona. In what may have been started as a mutual lark, Cody married

Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their ...

in 1926. Having pre-med schooling, Cody understood that Mabel had acute

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

and they lived separately and attended all he possibly could to Mabel's comfort. They remained married until Normand's death from tuberculosis in February 1930.

Death

After Mabel's passing, he successfully transitioned into talking pictures and to even better roles. On May 31, 1934, Cody died of a sudden heart attack in his sleep at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He is buried in St. Peter's Cemetery, Lewiston, Maine, in the family plot.

Partial filmography

References

External links

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Photographs and literature on Lew Cody
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cody, Lew 1884 births 1934 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male silent film actors American people of French-Canadian descent Burials in Maine Male actors from Maine Male actors from New Hampshire McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni People from Berlin, New Hampshire People from Waterville, Maine