PEARL WHITE : AMERICAN STAGE AND FILM STAR : PERILS OF PAULINE : RPPC

Pearl White (1889-1938) was an American actress of film and stage. She started her career on the stage at just 6 years old in the play, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. At thirteen years of age she was a bareback rider for a circus. She dropped out of high school to join a touring stage company. Next she worked as a singer in Cuba and South America. She made her appearances in dance halls and casinos. In 1910, her voice began to fail and she began to appear in silent films, including many popular serials. Her nickname was “Queen of the Serials’. She did the majority of her own stunts in these film serials. She is known well for her role in “The Perils of Pauline”. She was often cast in the role of an athletic heroine, rather than the more typical, innocent young woman. As a result of her appearances in “The Perils of Pauline”, she was soon earning $1,750 per week. She increased her star power as she appeared in other serials. In these films she flew airplanes, raced cars, and did other action hero feats. By 1919 White moved on to more dramatic roles. She appeared in ten drama films for Fox Film Corporation. She finished her career by taking roles in European films, and finally, appearing on the European stage. While performing in London, she earned three thousand dollars a week. At the time of her retirement (1924), White had banked two million dollars. She then began investing. Her investments included a hotel, a night club, and a stable of race horses. White was married twice, each time, for short duration to actors. White died of liver failure, possibly due to her history of heavy drinking. Her drinking may have been attributable to her problems with pain stemming from a spinal injury occurring during her stunt days. The IMDb site credits white with 228 film appearances between 1910 and 1924. This real photo film star photo was published by Cinemagazine (Paris Edition). The card is part of the “Les Vedettes de Cinema” (Stars of the Cinema) series (No.,55). White’s postcard photo portrait was taken by the celebrated photographer, Alfred Noyer. The card has a closed pin hole at it’s center bottom and is in overall fair condition (see scans).

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Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #5024

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$12.68

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Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #5024

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$21.68

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LILA LEE : AMERICAN SILENT AND TALKIE FILM STAR : “CUDDLES” : VAUDEVILLE

This vintage real photo postcard features leading lady screen actress, Lila Lee (1905-1973). She performed in both silent and early sound films. She was born in New Jersey and her family were German immigrants. The family relocated to New York City. Her family encouraged her participation in “kiddie review shows”. The energetic and outgoing child was given the nickname of “Cuddles”. The name stuck to her throughout her acting career. Her juvenile acting kept her quite busy and she required private tutors for her education. Lila acted in vaudeville fo an eight year period. In 1918 she was signed by Jesse Lasky (Famous Players) for a film contract. In a short time, the company became Paramount Pictures. Her first feature film performance received much public approval. She was just 13 years old at the time of her film debut. Lila quickly became a leading lady and starred with performers like Conrad Nagel, Gloria Swanson, and Rudolph Valentino.  In 1922, she won the first WAMPAS Baby Star Award. Lila was a very popular leading lady during the 1920’s. Her films were popular with critics and audiences alike. She was one of the few stars that made a successful transition from silent to sound films. In the 1930’s she made some bad career decisions and had bouts of tuberculosis and alcoholism. As a result, her latter film roles were mostly in B movies. In 1936, her film career basically ended as the result of a scandal involving the sucide of a man that she was dating.  Lila Lee lied to the District Attorney when she reported that the victim left no suicide note, when in fact she knew that he did. Lee’s personal life was unstable. She was married and divorced three times. Her son, James Kirkwood became a successful playwright and screenwriter. His credits include “A Chorus Line” and “P.S. Your Cat is Dead”.  The IMDb lists 103 credits in Lee’s filmography (1918-1967). This vintage postcard was published by Alfred Noyer as part of the “Les Vedettes de Cinema” series. The postcard was released while she was employed by Paramount Pictures. The card is of French origin. (SOLD)