Aimée Dalmores (February 11, 1890 – January 22, 1920), née Aimée Cerruti, was an Italian-born American actress in musical theatre and silent films.

Early life

Aimée Dalmores was born in

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

, with the surname Cerruti, "of Neapolitan parentage." She immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of five. She returned to Europe to study art in Paris."The Stage"
''Munsey's Magazine'' (June 1915): 106, 110. In 1920, Cerruti's parents lived at 309 East 144th Street in the Bronx. James J. Cerruti, also at that address, was a stenographer and typist with the New York Department of Public Charities in 1916 and 1917. James J. Cerruti was her brother; he had a career in the Army Signal Corps and later became an artist; he recalled his Italian immigrant parents and their home in the Bronx, and his sister "who ran away to be an actress".

Career

Broadway appearances by Dalmores included roles in ''Dancing Around'' (1914–1915), ''Josephine'' (1918), and ''The Master'' (1918). Other stage credits included ''Taking Chances'' (1915), ''The Unchastened Woman'' (1916), ''Peace and Quiet'' (1916), Anna Cora Mowatt's short play ''Fashion'' (1917), and ''Fifth Avenue'' (1917). She was in the cast of ''The French Episode'' (1917), directed by Ben Ali Haggin, part of a pageant presented on Long Island, to benefit the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1918 she was the leading lady of the Robins Stock company in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, where she starred in ''Broken Threads''. Her film roles were in silent pictures from 1917, ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

'', starring

Constance Talmadge Constance Alice Talmadge (April 19, 1898 – November 23, 1973) was an American silent film star. She was the sister of actresses Norma and Natalie Talmadge. Early life Talmadge was born on April 19, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, to poor p ...

, ''The On-the-Square Girl'', written by

Ouida Bergère Ouida Bergère (born Eunie Branch; December 14, 1886 – November 29, 1974) was an American screenwriter and actress. Biography Eunie Branch was born in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Stephen W. and Ida Branch, both natives of Tennessee. Her ea ...

, and ''Madame Fifi''. Dalmores considered beautiful costumes a "curse" in her profession, because they distracted audiences from her performance. "If I can only reach the point where the audience will say 'Doesn't she act well?" instead of 'Isn't her dress pretty?" I shall feel that I have accomplished something," she told a newspaper in 1918.

Personal life

Dalmores died in New York City, from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, during the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

pandemic in 1920, and was survived by her parents. Her funeral was held at

the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Churches dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel include the following: Brazil * Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Belém, Pará * Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais Chile * Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral, Puer ...

in the Bronx."Reappearance of Flu Tying up Theatrical Business"
''New York Clipper'' (January 28, 1920): 3. via Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalmores, Aimee 1890 births 1920 deaths People from Salerno Actresses from Campania 20th-century American actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses Italian emigrants to the United States Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in New York (state)