Olive Mary Borden (July 14, 1906 – October 1, 1947) was an American film and stage actress who began her career during the

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) ...

era. She was nicknamed "the Joy Girl", after playing the lead in the 1927 film of that same title. Borden was known for her jet-black hair and stunning overall beauty. At the peak of her career in the mid-1920s, Borden was earning $1,500 a week. In 1927, she walked out on her contract with

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

after refusing to take a pay cut. By 1929, her career began to wane due to her rumored reputation for being temperamental and her difficulty transitioning to sound films. She made her last film, '' Chloe, Love Is Calling You'', in 1934 and moved on to stage work for a time. By the late 1930s, she had declared bankruptcy and stopped acting. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she joined the

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States ...

. She was later honorably discharged with distinction after sustaining a foot injury during service. Borden attempted a comeback in films, however, she was hindered by her alcoholism and health problems. In 1945, she began working at the Sunshine Mission, a home for impoverished women located in the

skidrow A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

section of Los Angeles. She died there in October 1947 of a stomach ailment and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

at the age of 41.

Early life

Borden was born in Richmond, Virginia on July 14, 1906. It was often erroneously reported that Sybil Tinkle was Borden's real name until the 1990s, when it was discovered that another woman had been confused with Borden. In a 1910 census report, her name is listed as Borden. Her father Harry Robinson Borden (1880–1907) died when she was a baby and she was raised by her mother Cecelia "Sibbie" Shields (1884–1959) in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Virginia, and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland, where she attended

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

boarding schools. Through her father, she was a fourth cousin of

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ost ...

. As a teenager, she persuaded her mother to take her to Hollywood to pursue a career in show business. To support themselves they opened a candy store and Olive worked as a telephone operator.

Career

Borden began her career as one of the

Sennett Bathing Beauties Sennett Bathing Beauties was a bevy of women performing in bathing costumes assembled by film producer Mack Sennett during the silent film era. Description The Sennett Bathing Beauties appeared in Mack Sennett comedy short subjects, in promotion ...

in 1922 and was soon appearing as a vamp in

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter, ...

comedy shorts. Producer

Paul Bern Paul Bern (born Paul Levy; December 3, 1889September 5, 1932) was a German-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he became the assistant to Irving Thalberg. He helped launch the career of Jean Harl ...

chose her for an uncredited role in his film ''

The Dressmaker from Paris ''The Dressmaker from Paris'' is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy drama film directed by Paul Bern. The story was written by Howard Hawks and Adelaide Heilbron. Heilbron also wrote the screenplay. The film starred Leatrice Joy and was her ...

'' (1925). She was signed by

after being named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1925 (along with her cousin,

Natalie Joyce Natalie Joyce (born Natalie Marie Johnson; November 6, 1902 – November 9, 1992) was an American actress. Biography Born as Natalie Marie Johnson on November 6, 1902, one of eight children to Henry and Elizabeth Johnson in Norfolk, Virginia, ...

). Borden quickly became one of their most popular and highest paid stars earning a salary of $1,500 a week. She had starring roles in eleven films at Fox, including ''

3 Bad Men ''3 Bad Men'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by John Ford. Bob Mastrangelo has called it "One of John Ford's greatest silent epics." The film possibly inspired the title for Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film ''Three Bad Men in a Hidde ...

'' and ''

Fig Leaves ''Fig Leaves'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, released by Fox Film Corporation, and starring George O'Brien and Olive Borden. The film had a sequence, a fashion show, that was filmed in 2-strip Technicolor. ...

'', both of which costarred her then-boyfriend George O'Brien. ''3 Bad Men'' has also been featured at the Museum of Modern Art. During this time she worked with some directors who would go on to achieve major fame, including

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

, Howard Hawks, and

Leo McCarey Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 films, the most well known today being '' Duck Soup'', ''Make Way for Tomorrow'', '' The Awful T ...

. Paramount Studios began a policy of 10% paycuts on any salary over $50 to recoup production costs, when Fox tried the same and cut her salary in 1927, Borden left the studio. By this point she was a major

star. In making the transition to "

talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

" she worked with a voice coach (to suppress her Southern accent). She was less successful, but still remained in demand as an actress, continuing to work for Columbia and

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

. She had cut her trademark hair into a short bob, and turned herself into a modern

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered accepta ...

. But Borden had trouble with the new look, losing her identity; she couldn't find her audience and this confused her waning public. She made few movies in the early 1930s and her once promising career stalled, producing but one picture in 1932 (''The Divorce Racket''), and three in 1933 ('' Leave it to Me'', ''

Hotel Variety A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

'', and '' The Mild West''). Her last screen credit came in the 1934 film '' Chloe, Love Is Calling You'', where she played a woman kidnapped at birth and raised as a child of mixed race. Some say that this once-lost film "is so bad it should've stayed lost." A

pre-code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

movie made under Will Hays, it had little box office success and in some states (mostly southern) it was banned at the time of its release. Borden then moved to New York, where she had a brief stage career, and made a living on the waning

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.

Later years

During her acting career, Borden was one of the highest paid stars. She spent her money freely and by the late 1930s, she was broke. Borden then found work as a postal clerk and mail carrier and also worked as a nurse's aide. In December 1942, Borden joined the Women's Army Corps (the Women's Army Corps, the only non-Nurse Corps element that women could serve in the Army at that time) where she served as an ambulance driver and received an Army citation for bravery in turning over an enemy ammunition truck. Her Army career ended in 1944, with an honorable discharge after she was hospitalized in Walter Reed Medical Center with a severe foot injury. After her discharge, she attempted an unsuccessful comeback in films. Borden struggled with alcoholism and numerous health problems. She spent her final years in the

skid row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

section of

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 ...

working and living at the Sunshine Mission, a home for women alongside her mother Sibbie, who got Borden the work.

Personal life

Borden had several relationships with men, in and out of the motion picture industry. For the majority of her life, she lived with her mother, Sibbie, who was known as a "stage mother", helping Borden with most decisions and spending of money until Borden's death. From 1926 to 1930, Borden was romantically involved with actor George O'Brien and the press reported they were engaged. She also dated director Marshall Neilan, producer

, and had a long affair with Arthur Benline, a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Construction Battalion. Borden was married twice. Her first marriage was to stockbroker Theodore Spector, whom she married on March 28, 1931, in Harrison, New York. The marriage was rocky from the start, and the couple separated in early 1932 after news of scandal broke that she was involved in a love triangle. Spector had not divorced his first wife, Pearl, whom he married in 1919, and he was arrested for

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

after his first wife came forward and claimed they were still married. In November 1932, Borden petitioned the court for an annulment, which was granted on November 22. Spector was ultimately cleared of bigamy, but Borden with the marriage annulled, moved on from the entire incident. She married her second husband, 26-year-old railroad technician, John Moeller, in November 1934 under the pseudonym Mary Borden. That marriage ended in divorce seven years later.

Death

Borden died on October 1, 1947, from complications of

at the age of 41. The only possession she had when she died was a signed photo of herself. Borden's funeral was held on October 3 at the Sunshine Mission home for women, where she had worked and lived since 1945. The mission's founder, Essie Binkley West, officiated at the service. Borden was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Her mother was interred in the grave next to her when she died of a heart attack in 1959. For her contributions to the film industry, Borden has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

. She was one of the first eight stars chosen to receive a star in 1958.

Selected filmography

Footnotes

Works cited

* Ankerich, Michael G. (2010). ''Dangerous Curves Atop Hollywood Heels: The Lives, Careers, and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen''. BearManor. * * * * * *

External links

* * *
Olive Borden
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Borden, Olive 1906 births 1947 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Virginia American film actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses Deaths from pneumonia in California Actors from Norfolk, Virginia Vaudeville performers Actresses from Baltimore WAMPAS Baby Stars Women's Army Corps soldiers