Sylvia Ashton (January 26, 1880 – November 18, 1940) was an American film actress of 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. Ashton was born in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She bore a heavyset resemblance to

Jane Darwell Jane Darwell (born Patti Woodard; October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. With appearances in more than 100 major movies spanning half a century, Darwell is perhaps best remembered for her p ...

and like Darwell was playing mother and grandmother roles, though more famously than Darwell in the silents, while still in her 30s and 40s. In 1912, Ashton was an actress in D.W. Griffith's stock company. After that, she acted for Famous Players-Lasky. For years she was a regular member of

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 ...

's troupe of character actors. She appeared in more than 130 films between 1912 and 1929. She retired from movies almost immediately at the dawn of

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

, one of her later films being the part-sound film ''

The Barker ''The Barker'' is a 1928 part-talkie pre-Code romantic drama film produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., acquired in September 1928. The film was directed by George Fitzmaurice and stars Milton Sills, ...

'' (1928).

Ashton died on November 18, 1940, aged 60.

Partial filmography

* '' The Nick of Time Baby'' (1916) * '' Matching Dreams'' (1916) * '' Viviana'' (1916) * '' A Sanitarium Scramble'' (1916) * ''

Haystacks and Steeples ''Haystacks and Steeples'' is a 1916 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson. Cast * Sylvia Ashton * Helen Bray * George Felix * Reggie Morris * Della Pringle * Gloria Swanson * Josef Swickard ...

'' (1916) * ''

Whose Baby? ''Whose Baby?'' is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame a ...

'' (1917) * ''

Old Wives for New ''Old Wives for New'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Prints of the film survive at the International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House. Plot As described in a film magazine, disgusted by ...

'' (1918) * ''

We Can't Have Everything ''We Can't Have Everything'' was a 1918 American silent drama film directed and written by Cecil B. DeMille based upon a novel by Rupert Hughes. The film is considered to be lost. Plot As described in a film magazine, very much in love with ...

'' (1918) * ''

A Pair of Silk Stockings "A Pair of Silk Stockings" is an 1897 short story written by Kate Chopin. The story follows Mrs. Sommers who prefers spending a windfall on herself, rather than on her children. Plot summary Mrs. Sommers comes into the small fortune of $15. Aft ...

'' (1918) * '' The Goat'' (1918) * ''

Fuss and Feathers ''Fuss and Feathers'' is a 1918 American silent comedy film directed by Fred Niblo. It is not known whether the film currently survives,Don't Change Your Husband ''Don't Change Your Husband'' is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson. The film was the third of six "marriage films" directed by DeMille and the first DeMille film starring Gloria Swanso ...

'' (1919) * ''

Peggy Does Her Darndest ''Peggy Does Her Darndest'' is a lost 1919 silent film comedy directed by George D. Baker and starring May Allison. It was produced and distributed by Metro Pictures. Melodramatic comedy of an athletic girl Peggy Ensloe played by May Allison. ...

'' (1919) * '' For Better, for Worse'' (1919) * ''

Men, Women, and Money ''Men, Women, and Money'' is a lost 1919 American drama silent film directed by George Melford and written by Beulah Marie Dix and Cosmo Hamilton. The film stars Ethel Clayton, James Neill, Jane Wolfe, Lew Cody, Sylvia Ashton, Irving Cummings, ...

'' (1919) * ''

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

'' (1920) * ''

Mrs. Temple's Telegram ''Mrs. Temple's Telegram'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film directed by James Cruze and starring Bryant Washburn and Wanda Hawley. It is based on the 1905 Broadway play ''Mrs. Temple's Telegram'' by Frank Wyatt. It was produced by Famous Pla ...

'' (1920) * '' Sweet Lavender'' (1920) * '' Jenny Be Good'' (1920) * ''

Why Change Your Wife? ''Why Change Your Wife?'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson. Plot Frumpy wife Beth devotes herself to bettering her husband's mind and expanding his appreciation for the finer thin ...

'' (1920) * '' Thou Art the Man'' (1920) * ''

The Soul of Youth ''The Soul of Youth'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor, produced and distributed by Realart Pictures. Produced under the working title ''The Boy'', it stars Lewis Sargent and Lila Lee. The film has been p ...

'' (1920) * ''

Conrad in Quest of His Youth ''Conrad in Quest of His Youth'' is a 1920 American silent comedy-drama film directed by William C. deMille and starring Thomas Meighan. The film is based on the 1903 novel ''Conrad in Search of His Youth'' by Leonard Merrick which was adapted ...

'' (1920) * '' Sham'' (1921) * ''

Hold Your Horses "Hold your horses", sometimes said as "Hold the horses", is an English-language idiom meaning " wait, slow down". The phrase is historically related to horse riding or travelling by horse, or driving a horse-drawn vehicle. A number of explanation ...

'' (1921) * ''

Garments of Truth ''Garments of Truth'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by George D. Baker and starring Gareth Hughes, Ethel Grandin and John Steppling.Munden p.282 Cast * Gareth Hughes as Lester Crope * Ethel Grandin as Catherine Willis * John ...

'' (1921) * '' The Snob'' (1921) * '' Saturday Night'' (1922) * '' For the Defense'' (1922) * '' Our Leading Citizen'' (1922) * '' While Satan Sleeps'' (1922) * ''

Manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

'' (1922) * ''

Youth to Youth ''Youth to Youth'' is a 1922 American silent melodrama film directed by Emile Chautard and starring Billie Dove, Edythe Chapman, and Hardee Kirkland. It was released on October 16, 1922. Cast * Billie Dove as Eve Allinson * Edythe Chapman as M ...

'' (1922) * ''

The White Flower (''For a similar-sounding film from the same year by D. W. Griffith, see The White Rose'') ''The White Flower'' is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film written and directed by Julia Crawford Ivers and starring Betty Compson and Edmund L ...

'' (1923) * ''

Desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...

'' (1923) * ''

Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as Social status, status, or Power (social and politica ...

'' (1924) * ''

Dancing Days "Dancing Days" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It appears on their 1973 album, ''Houses of the Holy'', and was released as a single in the US. It was recorded at Stargroves, England in 1972. It was inspired by an Indian tune tha ...

'' (1926) * '' Cheating Cheaters'' (1927) * ''

Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath ''Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath'' is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline. It is based on the 1920 play ''Ladies' Night'' by Charlton Andrews and Avery Hopwood. It was released on April 1, 1928 by First National Pictu ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Head Man ''The Head Man'' is a 1928 American drama film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Gerald Duffy, Howard J. Green, Sidney Lazarus and Harvey F. Thew. The film stars Charles Murray, Loretta Young, Larry Kent, Lucien Littlefield, E. J. Ra ...

'' (1928) * '' The Crash'' (1928) * ''

Bachelor's Paradise ''Bachelors' Paradise'' (german: Paradies der Junggesellen) is a 1939 German comedy film directed by Kurt Hoffmann and starring Heinz Rühmann, Josef Sieber, and Hans Brausewetter. It was based on a novel by Johannes Boldt. It was shot at the B ...

'' (1928) * ''

Queen Kelly ''Queen Kelly'' is an American silent film produced in 1928–29 and released by United Artists. The film was directed by Erich von Stroheim, starred Gloria Swanson, in the title role, Walter Byron as her lover, and Seena Owen. The film was pro ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Leopard Lady ''The Leopard Lady'' is a 1928 American silent horror film directed by Rupert Julian, written by Beulah Marie Dix, and starring Jacqueline Logan, Alan Hale and Robert Armstrong. The film, based on a play by Edward Childs Carpenter, is about a ...

'' (1928)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Sylvia 1880 births 1940 deaths American silent film actresses Actresses from Denver 20th-century American actresses