Winifred Westover

Winifred Westover, birth name Winifred Heide,Heide Divorce Revealed
/ref> (November 9, 1899 – March 19, 1978) was an actress of the 1910s and 1920s. Her career included films made in Hollywood, Sweden and New York.Bill Hart Is Married Here, ''The Los Angeles Times'', December 8, 1921, page 25

Early years

Winifred Helena Heide was the daughter of Thomas C. Heide and Sophia Heide. On July 14, 1904 Sophia Heide filled for divorce on the grounds of cruelty, non-support and desertion. She later married Clyde C. Westover, a writer best known for his 1912 novel ''The Dragon’s Daughter''.

When Winifred was thirteen years old she adopted her stepfather's last name. She graduated from the Dominican College of San Rafael.

Career

In 1915 Westover met D. W. Griffith,Winifred Westover Hart, early film star, is dead
/ref> and was given several small roles in his epic 1916 film ''Intolerance''.

In 1919 she starred in ''John Petticoats'' with western star William S. Hart. Hart took an interest in Westover, and introduced her to Thora Holm, who was looking for an actress to make films in Sweden. Westover went to Stockholm with her mother, and made three films there, before returning to the United States to make films in New York.Ronald L. Davis, ''William S. Hart'', pages 166-167 & 170, University of Oklahoma Press, 2003

Marriage and birth of son

When Westover was working in New York City William S. Hart came to see her, and escorted her to dinner and shows. She was about to sign a five year film contract with Lewis J. Selznick when Hart sent her a telegram, telling her not to sign anything until she’d received a letter he was mailing to her. The letter contained a marriage proposal. She telegraphed her acceptance.

On December 7, 1921 Westover married Hart in Los Angeles. She was twenty-two-years-old, and Hart was fifty-seven. The only guests at the ceremony were Westover’s mother, Hart’s sister Mary, and Hart's attorney. On the day of her wedding Westover signed an agreement to retire from acting.

Westover moved into the house shared by Hart and his invalid sister, Mary. Six months into the marriage Hart told his pregnant wife to leave his home, and she went to live with her mother in Santa Monica. During the divorce hearing Westover testified that Hart’s sister was the reason for the separation, and that her husband had insisted on keeping open the door that separated their bedroom from his sister’s room.

The couple’s son, William S. Hart, Jr., was born on September 22, 1922. Hart went to see his child eight days later. On February 11, 1927 Westover was granted a divorce in Reno, Nevada. She received $100,000, with the understanding she would not return to acting or have her photograph published. A trust fund of $100,000 was established for her son, to be used for his support and education. Hart, Jr. became a professor of land economics at the University of Southern California.

Lummox, Westover’s final film

Westover petitioned the court for the right to act under her maiden name, and she was allowed to return to work. She had read the Fannie Hurst novel ''Lummox'' and wanted to star in the film version. She contacted both Hurst and the film’s director, Herbert Brenon, and was chosen for the role of Bertha Oberg in the 1930 film '' Lummox''.Hart’s Divorced Wife Returns to the Screen
/ref>

In order to portray the heavyset servant, who’d been given the derogatory nickname of Lummox, Westover ate fatty food, avoided exercise, and gained forty pounds. To help her appear to be a person who worked long hours of wearying labor the director gave her shoes soled with fifteen pounds of lead, and had her wear a dress with five pounds of lead weights in the collar, five pounds of lead in each of the sleeve cuffs, and ten pounds of weights in the hem of her skirt.

She received praise for her acting, with one newspaper stating: "Winifred Westover’s characterization of the buxom servant girl, whose little world has been the drab atmosphere of cheap lodging houses, shabby humanity and cruel employers, reaches heights rarely ever attained." She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance.Winifred Hart, Actress, ''Daily News'' (New York City), March 22, 1978, page 577

Death

On March 19, 1978, Westover died in Santa Monica, where she had been living with her son. She was buried at Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery.

Selected filmography

* ''Intolerance'' (1916)
* ''Microscope Mystery'' (1916)
* ''The Matrimaniac'' (1916)
* ''The Half-Breed'' (1916)
* ''Jim Bludso'' (1917) - Kate Taggart
* '' An Old-Fashioned Young Man'' (1917) - Mame Morton
* ''Cheerful Givers'' (1917) - Estella
* '' All the World to Nothing'' (1918)
* '' Hobbs in a Hurry'' (1918)
* '' All the World to Nothing'' (1918)
* ''Love'' (1919)
* ''John Petticoats'' (1919)
* ''This Hero Stuff'' (1919)
* '' Marked Men'' (1919)
* ''The Village Sleuth'' (1920)
* ''Old Lady 31'' (1920) - Mary
* ''The Fighter'' (1921)
* '' Bucking the Tiger'' (1921)
* '' Is Life Worth Living?'' (1921)
* ''Anne of Little Smoky'' (1921) - Anne
* '' Love's Masquerade'' (1922)
* '' Lummox'' (1930)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Westover, Winifred
1899 births
1978 deaths
Actresses from California
American silent film actresses
20th-century American actresses
Dominican University of California alumni