Lois Wilson (actress)

Lois Wilson (June 28, 1894 – March 3, 1988) was an American actress who worked during the silent film era. She also directed two short films and was a scenario writer.

Early life

Born to Andrew Kenley Wilson and Constance (née Coolidge) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wilson's family moved to Alabama when she was still very young. She earned a degree from Alabama Normal College (now the University of West Alabama), and became a school teacher for young children, soon leaving to pursue a film career.

In 1915, Wilson moved to California after winning a beauty contest put on by Universal Studios and the Birmingham News. This pageant was the predecessor to the Miss Alabama/Miss America pageant system, and Wilson is considered the first Miss Alabama. Upon arriving in Hollywood, she auditioned and was hired by the Victor Film Company for several small film roles.

In 1916, she visited Chicago, where she met pioneer female film director Lois Weber, who gave her a small part in her film ''The Dumb Girl of Portici'', which starred famed ballerina Anna Pavlova. Weber then took her to Los Angeles, where she was groomed for stardom and began playing leads opposite actors such as J. Warren Kerrigan and Frank Keenan.

Career

After appearing in several films at various studios, Wilson settled in at Paramount Pictures in 1919, where she remained until 1927. She was a WAMPAS Baby Star of 1922, and appeared in 150 movies. Her most recognized screen portrayals are Molly Wingate in '' The Covered Wagon'' (1923), in which she was well reviewed, and Daisy Buchanan in the silent film version of ''The Great Gatsby'' (1926). She acted opposite male stars such as Rudolph Valentino and John Gilbert.

Wilson played both romantic leads and character parts. Despite making a successful transition to sound, Wilson was dissatisfied with the roles she received in the 1930s, and she soon retired in 1941, making only three films after 1939. Lois ventured to Broadway and television following her final role in ''The Girl from Jones Beach'' (1949) with Ronald Reagan. Wilson played in the network soap operas ''The Guiding Light'' in 1951, '' The Secret Storm'' and ''The Edge of Night''. She portrayed featured character roles.

Wilson was also the model of the official poster for "America Welcomes the World", the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Celebration, in 1926.

In 1934, her performance in '' No Greater Glory'' inspired a Birmingham, Alabama sculptor to create a monument for the city's celebration of World Peace Day.

Personal life

She was once described as having a screen image of "the soft, marrying kind of woman"; in real life, however, she never married. She was chosen by Paramount Pictures to represent the motion picture industry at the British Empire Exposition of 1924. She was described as "a typical example of the American girl in character, culture and beauty".

Death

Lois Wilson died of pneumonia at the Riverside Hospital for Skilled Care in Reno, Nevada at age 93. Her funeral service was conducted at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in nearby Glendale.

Filmography

The following is a list of films that Lois Wilson either directed, acted in, wrote or produced:

Silent films

*''The Palace of Dust'' (1915, Short) as Beatrix
*''The New Adventures of Terence O'Rourke'' (1915) as Beatrix
*''When a Queen Loved O'Rourke'' (1915, Short) as Beatrix
*''The Road to Paradise'' (1915, Short) as Beatrix
*''The Hypocrite'' (1915, Extant)
*''Langdon's Legacy'' (1916) as Pepita
*''The Dumb Girl of Portici'' (1916, Extant)
*''Married on the Wing'' (1916, Short) as Grace Darling
*''The Pool of Flame'' (1916) as Princess Beatrix
*''The Gay Lord Waring'' (1916) as Helen Von Gerold
*''Hulda the Silent'' (1916, Short) as Hulda Anderson
*''A Son of the Immortals'' (1916) as Joan Cameron
*'' The Decoy'' (1916, Mutual film)
*''The Silent Battle'' (1916) as Jane Loring
*'' He Wrote a Book'' (1916, Short) as Jennie
*''The Beckoning Trail'' (1916) as Mary Helton
*''Arthur's Desperate Resolve'' (1916, Short) as Sibly Grey
*''The White Man's Law'' (1916)
*'' A Soul at Stake'' (1916, Short) as Clementina Fairwood
*'' The Decoy'' (1916, Short, Universal film) as Felese
*''Her Chance'' (1916, Short) as Frances Martin
*''The Morals of Hilda'' (1916) as Marion
*''Green Eyes'' (1916, Short) as Julia
*''Alone in the World'' (1917, Lost, Short: wrote, directed)
*''The Whispered Name'' (1917, Short) as Madeline Evers
*''Black Evidence'' (1917, Short) as Mary
*''Won by Grit'' (1917, Short) as Teresa
*''Flames of Treachery'' (1917, Short) as Ruth Chalmers
*''Treason'' (1917) as Floria Natarre
*''Parentage'' (1917) as Mrs. Melton
*''Alimony'' (1917) as Marjorie Lansing
*'' His Robe of Honor'' (1918) as Laura Nelson
* '' The Turn of a Card'' (1918) as Cynthia Burdette
*'' One Dollar Bid'' (1918) as Virginia Dare
*'' Maid o' the Storm'' (1918) as Elaine Shackleford
* '' A Burglar for a Night'' (1918) as Janet Leslie
*'' The Bells'' (1918) as Annette
* '' Prisoners of the Pines'' (1918) as Rosalie Dufresne
*'' Three X Gordon'' (1918) as Dorrie Webster
*'' A Man's Man'' (1918) as Dolores Ruey
*''The Drifters'' (1919, Lost) as The Girl
*''Come Again Smith'' (1919, Lost) as Lucy Stevens
*''The End of the Game'' (1919, Extant) as Mary Miller
*''Gates of Brass'' (1919, Lost) as Margaret Blake
*''The Best Man'' (1919, Lost) as Celia Hathaway
*''A Man's Fight'' (1919, Lost) as Mary Tompkins
*'' Love Insurance'' (1919, Lost) as Cynthia Meyrick
*''Why Smith Left Home'' (1919, Incomplete, Library of Congress) as Marian
*''The Price Woman Pays'' (1919, Lost) as Louise
*'' It Pays to Advertise'' (1919, Lost) as Mary Grayson
*'' Too Much Johnson'' (1919, Lost) as Mrs. Billings
*'' Who's Your Servant?'' (1920, Lost) as Madeline Bancroft
*'' Thou Art the Man'' (1920, Lost) as Joan Farrant
*''The City of Masks'' (1920, Lost) as Miss Emsdale
*'' What's Your Hurry?'' (1920, Extant, Gosfilmofond) as Virginia MacMurran
*''A Full House'' (1920, Lost) as Ottilie Howell
*''Burglar Proof'' (1920, Lost) as Laura Lowell
*'' Midsummer Madness'' (1920, Extant, Library of Congress) as Margaret Meredith
*'' What Every Woman Knows'' (1921, Lost) as Maggie Wylie
*'' The City of Silent Men'' (1921, Lost) as Molly Bryant
*''The Lost Romance'' (1921, Incomplete, Library of Congress) as Sylvia Hayes
*''The Hell Diggers'' (1921, Lost) as Dora Wade
*'' Miss Lulu Bett'' (1921, Extant, Library of Congress) as Lulu Bett
*''The World's Champion'' (1922, Incomplete, Library of Congress) as Lady Elizabeth
*''Is Matrimony a Failure?'' (1922, Lost) as Mabel Hoyt
*'' Our Leading Citizen'' (1922, Lost) as Katherine Fendle, his fiancée
*''Manslaughter'' (1922, Extant, Library of Congress, George Eastman House) as Evans - Lydia's Maid
*''Without Compromise'' (1922, Lost) as Jean Ainsworth
*''Broad Daylight'' (1922, Lost) as Nora Fay
*'' The Covered Wagon'' (1923, Extant, Paramount Pictures) as Molly Wingate
*'' Bella Donna'' (1923, Extant, Gosfilmofond) as Patricia
*'' Only 38'' (1923, Lost) as Mrs. Stanley
*'' A Man's Man'' (1923, Lost) as Lois Wilson
*'' To the Last Man'' (1923, Extant, Gosfilmofond) as Ellen Jorth
*'' Ruggles of Red Gap'' (1923, Lost) as Kate Kenner
*''The Call of the Canyon'' (1923, Extant, Gosfilmofond 2010) as Carley Burch
*''Pied Piper Malone'' (1924, Extant'', Gosfilmofond) as Patty Thomas
*'' Icebound'' (1924, Lost) as Jane Crosby
*''Another Scandal'' (1924, Lost) as Beatrice Vanderdyke
*''The Man Who Fights Alone'' (1924) as Marion
*'' Monsieur Beaucaire'' (1924, Extant, Library of Congress) as Queen Marie of France
*'' North of 36'' (1924, Extant, Library of Congress) as Taisie Lockheart
*''Contraband'' (1925, Lost) as Carmel Lee
*'' The Thundering Herd'' (1925, Lost) as Milly Fayre
*'' Welcome Home'' (1925, Extant, Library of Congress) as Nettie Prouty
*'' Marry Me'' (1925, Lost) (uncredited)
*'' Rugged Water'' (1925; Lost) as Norma Bartlett
*'' The Vanishing American'' (1925, Extant, Library of Congress) as Marion Warner
*''The King on Main Street'' (1925, Extant) as Hotel guest in lobby (cameo appearance) ( uncredited)
*'' Irish Luck'' (1925, Extant) as Lady Gwendolyn
*''Bluebeard's Seven Wives'' (1925 Lost) as Mary Kelly
*'' Let's Get Married'' (1926, Extant, Library of Congress) as Mary Corbin
*''Fascinating Youth'' (1926) as Lois Wilson
*'' The Show-Off'' (1926, Extant, Library of Congress) as Amy Fisher
*''The Great Gatsby'' (1926, Lost) as Daisy Buchanan
*''New York'' (1927, Lost) as Marjorie Church
*''Broadway Nights'' (1927, Extant, UCLA Film & TV, ''per IMDb'') as Eve de Montalais
*'' French Dressing'' (1927, Lost) as Cynthia Grey
*''Coney Island'' (1928) as Joan Wellman
*''Miss Information'' (1928, Short) as The Public Stenographer
*''Ransom'' (1928, Lost) as Lois Brewster
*'' Sally's Shoulders'' (1928) as Sally

Sound films

*'' On Trial'' (1928, Lost) as May Strickland
*'' Object: Alimony'' (1928, Columbia, Lost) as Ruth Rutledge
*''Conquest'' (1928, Lost) as Diane Holden
*''A Bird in the Hand'' (1929, Short, Incomplete, ''reel#2'') as The Wife
*''Kid Gloves'' (1929, Lost, IMDb) as Ruth
*'' The Gamblers'' (1929, Lost) as Catherine Darwin
*''Her Husband's Women'' (1929, Short) as The Painter's Jealous Wife
*''The Show of Shows'' (1929, Extant) as Performer in 'Bicycle Built for Two' Number
*'' Wedding Rings'' (1929,Lost) as Cornelia Quinn
*''For Love or Money'' (1930, Short, Extant UCLA unpreserved nitrate)
*'' The Furies'' (1930, Lost) as Fifi Sands
*'' Lovin' the Ladies'' (1930, Extant, Library of Congress) as Joan Bently
*''Temptation'' (1930, Extant, Library of Congress) as Julie
*'' Once a Gentleman'' (1930, Lost) as Mrs. Mallin
*''Seed'' (1931) as Peggy Carter
*''The Age for Love'' (1931, Lost) as Sylvia Pearson
*'' The Expert'' (1932, Extant, Library of Congress) as Nettie Minick
*''The Rider of Death Valley'' (1932, Extant) as Helen Joyce
*'' Drifting Souls'' (1932, Extant) as Linda Lawrence
*''Divorce in the Family'' (1932, Extant) as Mrs. Shumaker
*'' The Crash'' (1932, Extant) as Marcia Peterson
*'' The Devil Is Driving'' (1932, Extant) as Nancy Evans
*'' The Secrets of Wu Sin'' (1932, Extant) as Nona Gould
*'' Law and Order'' (1932, Extant)
*'' Obey the Law'' (1933, Extant, Library of Congress) as Grace Chester
*'' Laughing at Life'' (1933) as Mrs. McHale
*'' Deluge'' (1933, Extant) as Helen Webster
*'' In the Money'' (1933) as Mary 'Lambie' Higginbottom
*''Female'' (1933, Extant) as Harriet
*'' The Show-Off'' (1934, Extant) as Clara Harling
*'' No Greater Glory'' (1934) as Nemeecsek's Mother
*'' School for Girls'' (1934) as Miss Cartwright
*'' There's Always Tomorrow'' (1934) as Sophie White
*'' Ticket to a Crime'' (1934) as Elaine Purdy
*'' Bright Eyes'' (1934) as Mary Blake
*'' Life Returns'' (1935) as Dr. Louise Stone
*''Public Opinion'' (1935) as Mona Trevor / Anne Trevor
*'' Society Fever'' (1935) as Portia Prouty
*'' Born to Gamble'' (1935) as Paula Mathews
*''Cappy Ricks Returns'' (1935) as Florry Peasley
*''Your Uncle Dudley'' (1935) as Christine Saunders
*'' The Return of Jimmy Valentine'' (1936) as Mary Davis
*''Wedding Present'' (1936) as Laura Dodacker
*'' Laughing at Trouble'' (1936) as Alice Mathews
*'' Bad Little Angel'' (1939) as Mrs. Ellen Creighton
* '' Nobody's Children'' (1940) as Miss Jamieson
*''For Beauty's Sake'' (1941) as Mrs. Lloyd Kennar
*''The Girl from Jones Beach'' (1949) as Mrs. Wilson

References

External links

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Biodata
allmovie.com
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Photographs and literature on Lois Wilson

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Lois
1894 births
1988 deaths
American film actresses
American silent film actresses
American television actresses
Actresses from Pittsburgh
Deaths from pneumonia in Nevada
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
University of West Alabama alumni
Actresses from Alabama
Screenwriters from Pennsylvania
American women screenwriters
American women film directors
20th-century American actresses
WAMPAS Baby Stars
20th-century American women writers
20th-century American screenwriters