Florence Gilbert (1904-1991) is the subject of this vintage real photo postcard. She was a film actress active between 1920 and 1927. Gilbert’s hometown was Chicago. Florence’s mother wanted her to become the next Mary Pickford. In fact, she resembled Pickford in some ways. Florence’s mother had mailed photos of Florence to Pickford who encouraged her to take Florence to Hollywood. At age 14, she moved with her mother and brother to Los Angeles. She started off as Mary Pickford’s double. She was discovered by Monty Banks, an Italian comedian, film actor, director and producer. Apparently, she looked older than her fourteen years. She played a number of roles in films for Mack Sennett studios. She also worked in Hollywood for Fox Studios. Although she was still a teenager, she became the breadwinner of her family. According to IMDb she made 68 film appearances beginning in 1920. She appeared in the first Laurel and Hardy film, ‘The Lucky Dog” (1921). She was married three times. Her first husband was Ashton Dearholt (1894-1942), an American silent film actor. She permanently left acting after marrying Dearholt. She divorced him when he returned home from filming in Guatemala, accompanied by co-star Ula Holt. He was determined to have Holt live in the house he shared with Gilbert. She divorced Dearholt after he made his outrageous demand. Dearholt later married Holt. Husband number two was Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), an American fiction writer. He was the creator of Tarzan. The marriage ended in divorce due to his drinking. Her third husband was Dr Albert Stillman Chase. She had two children with Dearholt; both were adopted by Chase. Another source “credited her” with two additional marriages. This vintage postcard was published by Ross Verlag, located in Berlin, Germany. The card was part of a series (no.1640/1). Note the Fox studio’s logo in the bottom right hand corner of the image. This postcard is in excellent condition (see scans). SOLD
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