Winnie Lightner
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Winnie Lightner (born Winifred Josephine Reeves; September 17, 1899 – March 5, 1971) was an American
stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...
and motion picture actress. Perhaps best known as the man-hungry Mabel in ''
Gold Diggers of Broadway ''Gold Diggers of Broadway'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Winnie Lightner and Nick Lucas. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film is the second all-talking, all-Technicolor feature-length ...
'' (1929), Lightner was often
typecast In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
as a wise-cracking gold-digger and was known for her talents as a comedian and singer. She is also noted for introducing the song "
Singin' in the Bathtub "Singing in the Bathtub" is a song written in 1929 by Michael H. Cleary, with lyrics by Herb Magidson and Ned Washington for the film ''The Show of Shows''. ''The Show of Shows'' was Warner Bros.' answer to MGM's '' The Hollywood Revue of 1929 ...
" in the 1929 motion picture ''
The Show of Shows ''The Show of Shows'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost $850,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor. ''The Show o ...
''.


Life and career

Winifred Josephine Reeves was known as Winifred Hansen. Starting off in
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 ...
at age fifteen and adopting Winnie Lightner as her stage name, she was an immediate success and played the fabled Palace theater in New York City only three months after beginning her career. With vaudeville in decline in the early 1920s, she switched to
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
revues, where she starred in
George White's Scandals ''George White's Scandals'' were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. Fi ...
of 1922, 1923, and 1924, in ''Gay Paree'' in 1925 and 1926, and in ''Harry Delmar's Revels'' in 1927. In 1928, she made a
Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...
short in which she sang "We Love It", "God Help a Sailor on a Night Like This", "That Brand New Model of Mine", and "We've Got a Lot to Learn." A censorship board in Pennsylvania held up the release of the film because of the content of Lightner's songs. According to film historian Alexander Walker, "Warners asked the censors to merely pass judgment on the visuals – the censors refused." The musical ''
Gold Diggers of Broadway ''Gold Diggers of Broadway'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Winnie Lightner and Nick Lucas. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film is the second all-talking, all-Technicolor feature-length ...
'' was a 1929 triumph and made her a star. Warner Bros. quickly signed her up for additional films. The first of these was '' She Couldn't Say No'' (1930), in which Lightner was cast in a maudlin dramatic role that did not suit her talents. This was followed by '' Hold Everything'', a lavish all-
Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
musical comedy that was a huge hit. It was followed by another highly successful picture, '' The Life of the Party'', which was also shot entirely in Technicolor but from which most of the songs were cut prior to release. By the end of 1930 audiences had grown tired of musicals, while Lightner was in the process of shooting three of them: ''
Sit Tight ''Sit Tight'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film, directed by Lloyd Bacon, written by Rex Taylor, edited by James Gibbon, and produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It was originally intended as a full musical, but due to the ba ...
'' (1931), ''
Gold Dust Gertie ''Gold Dust Gertie'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy produced and released by Warner Brothers. It was originally completed as a full musical. Due to the backlash against musicals, however, all the songs were cut from the film in all r ...
'' (1931), and ''
Manhattan Parade ''Manhattan Parade '' is a 1931 American pre-Code musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was originally intended to be released, in the United States, early in 1931, but was shelved due to public apathy towards musicals. De ...
'' (1932). They all were released with most of the music cut. This was especially noticeable on ''Manhattan Parade'', in which even the background music was completely removed. In response to the changes in public tastes, Warner Bros. decided to try another dramatic role for Lightner; the result was a picture called ''
Side Show In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers ...
'' (1931) which proved to be unsuccessful. She appeared in two more comedies, in which she co-starred with
Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...
– without songs – before she left Warner Bros. In the first of these, '' Play Girl'' (1932), she was billed with her name above the title, but in the second, ''
She Had to Say Yes ''She Had to Say Yes'' is a 1933 American pre-Code film directed by George Amy and Busby Berkeley. It was Berkley's directorial debut. Loretta Young stars as a secretary who receives unwanted sexual advances when she is sent out on dates with he ...
'' (1933), Young received first billing.


Family

Lightner was the mother of multiple-Emmy-award-winning cinematographer
Thomas Del Ruth Thomas Del Ruth (born May 1, 1942) is a retired American cinematographer. Biography Del Ruth was born in 1942 in Beverly Hills, California, as the son of film director Roy Del Ruth, and actress Winnie Lightner. He was educated at Van Nuys ...
and was married to film director Roy Del Ruth until his death in 1961. She died in 1971, aged 71, and was interred in the
San Fernando Mission Cemetery The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located in the Mission Hills community of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The property adjoins the San Fernando Mission and Bishop Alemany Catholic High School. ThSan Fernando Mi ...
.


Filmography


See also

* *


References


Further reading

Lightner, David L. (2016) ''Winnie Lightner: Tomboy of the Talkies''. University of Mississippi Press. .


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lightner, Winnie 1899 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses Burials at San Fernando Mission Cemetery Actresses from New York City People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan