Eleanor Boardman
Encyclopedia
Eleanor Boardman was an American film actress, popular during the era of silent movies
.
, Boardman was originally on stage but, after temporarily losing her voice, in 1922, she entered silent films. There followed months of fruitless effort until one day Rupert Hughes
saw her riding a horse and gave her a part in a film and she quickly began to attract audiences. She was chosen by Goldwyn Pictures
as their "New Face of 1922," through which she signed a contract with the company. After several successful supporting roles, she played the lead in 1923's Souls for Sale
. Her growing popularity was reflected by inclusion on the list of WAMPAS Baby Stars
in 1923. She appeared in fewer than forty films during her career, achieving her greatest success in Vidor's The Crowd
in 1928. Her moving performance in that film is widely recognized as one of the outstanding performances in American silent films.
King Vidor
, with whom she had two daughters, Antonia (born 1927) and Belinda (born 1930). Their marriage lasted from 1926 until 1931. Fellow actors John Gilbert
and Greta Garbo
had planned a double wedding with them, but Garbo broke off the plans at the last minute.
Boardman's second husband was Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast to whom she was married from 1940 until his death in 1968.
Unable to make the transition from silent to talking pictures, Boardman retired in 1935, and retreated from Hollywood. Her only subsequent appearance was in an interview filmed for the Kevin Brownlow
and David Gill
documentary series Hollywood
in 1980.
She died in Santa Barbara, California
at the age of 93.
Eleanor Boardman has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard
.
Silent Movies
Silent Movies are 13 solo guitar compositions by Marc Ribot released September 28, 2010 on Pi Recordings.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "For those interested in one of the more compelling and quietly provocative and graceful guitar records of 2010,...
.
Early life and career
Born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Boardman was originally on stage but, after temporarily losing her voice, in 1922, she entered silent films. There followed months of fruitless effort until one day Rupert Hughes
Rupert Hughes
Rupert Hughes was an American historian, novelist, film director and composer based in Hollywood. Hughes was born in Lancaster, Missouri. His parents were Felix Turner Hughes and Jean Amelia Summerlin, who were married in 1865. His brother Howard R. Hughes, Sr., co-founded the Hughes Tool Company....
saw her riding a horse and gave her a part in a film and she quickly began to attract audiences. She was chosen by Goldwyn Pictures
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
as their "New Face of 1922," through which she signed a contract with the company. After several successful supporting roles, she played the lead in 1923's Souls for Sale
Souls for Sale
Souls for Sale is a silent film written, directed, and produced by Rupert Hughes from his novel of the same name. The film featured Eleanor Boardman in her first leading role, having won a contract with Goldwyn Studios through their "New Faces of 1921" contest just two years prior.The film is most...
. Her growing popularity was reflected by inclusion on the list of WAMPAS Baby Stars
WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. They were selected from 1922 to 1934, and annual...
in 1923. She appeared in fewer than forty films during her career, achieving her greatest success in Vidor's The Crowd
The Crowd
The Crowd is a 1928 American silent film directed by King Vidor. It is notable for its dramatization of the concerns and dangers of urbanization and modernity....
in 1928. Her moving performance in that film is widely recognized as one of the outstanding performances in American silent films.
'Talkies'
Boardman was married to the film directorFilm director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
King Vidor
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
, with whom she had two daughters, Antonia (born 1927) and Belinda (born 1930). Their marriage lasted from 1926 until 1931. Fellow actors John Gilbert
John Gilbert (actor)
John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw...
and Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
had planned a double wedding with them, but Garbo broke off the plans at the last minute.
Boardman's second husband was Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast to whom she was married from 1940 until his death in 1968.
Unable to make the transition from silent to talking pictures, Boardman retired in 1935, and retreated from Hollywood. Her only subsequent appearance was in an interview filmed for the Kevin Brownlow
Kevin Brownlow
Kevin Brownlow is a filmmaker, film historian, television documentary-maker, author, and Academy Award recipient. Brownlow is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era. Brownlow became interested in silent film at the age of eleven. This interest grew into a career spent...
and David Gill
David Gill (film historian)
David Ian Gill was born in Papua New Guinea, the son of Cecil Gill, a missionary doctor. His uncle was the sculptor Eric Gill. The family returned to England in 1933 where Gill attended the Belmont Abbey School, Hereford...
documentary series Hollywood
Hollywood (documentary)
Hollywood is a 1980 documentary series produced by Thames Television which explored the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture....
in 1980.
She died in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
at the age of 93.
Eleanor Boardman has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | The Strangers' Banquet | Jean McPherson | |
| 1923 | Gimme | Clothilde Kingsley | |
| Vanity Fair Vanity Fair (1923 film) Vanity Fair is a silent feature film directed by Hugo Ballin and released by Samuel Goldwyn.-Production background:The film included one sequence filmed in color by Prizmacolor. This silent film was a version of the novel Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray... |
Amelia Sedley | ||
| Souls for Sale Souls for Sale Souls for Sale is a silent film written, directed, and produced by Rupert Hughes from his novel of the same name. The film featured Eleanor Boardman in her first leading role, having won a contract with Goldwyn Studios through their "New Faces of 1921" contest just two years prior.The film is most... |
Miss Remember Steddon | ||
| Three Wise Fools | Rena Fairchild / Sydney Fairfield | ||
| The Day of Faith The Day of Faith The Day of Faith is a 1923 drama film directed by Tod Browning.-Cast:* Eleanor Boardman - Jane Maynard* Tyrone Power, Sr. - Michael Anstell * Raymond Griffith - Tom Barnett* Wallace MacDonald - John Anstell... |
Jane Maynard | ||
| 1924 | True As Steel | Ethel Parry | |
| Wine of Youth Wine of Youth Wine of Youth is a 1924 silent comedy-drama film directed by King Vidor, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, shortly after the merger which created MGM in April 1924... |
Mary Hollister | ||
| Sinners in Silk Sinners in Silk Sinners in Silk is a 1924 silent film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Eleanor Boardman, Adolphe Menjou, Hedda Hopper, Conrad Nagel and Jean Hersholt. It is written by Benjamin Glazer and Carey Wilson... |
Penelope Stevens | ||
| The Turmoil | Mary Vertrees | ||
| The Silent Accuser The Silent Accuser The Silent Accuser is a 1924 silent film directed by Chester M. Franklin. The film stars dog star Peter the Great, Eleanor Boardman and Raymond McKee. This film is considered lost... |
Barbara Jane | ||
| So This Is Marriage? So This Is Marriage? So This Is Marriage? is a drama film directed by Hobart Henley. The film was originally released with sequences filmed in Technicolor.-Cast:* Conrad Nagel as Peter Marsh* Eleanor Boardman as Beth Marsh* Lew Cody as Daniel Rankin... |
Beth Marsh | ||
| The Wife of the Centaur The Wife of the Centaur The Wife of the Centaur is a 1924 silent drama film directed by King Vidor, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer shortly after it formed from a merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Mayer Pictures in April 1924.... |
Joan Converse | ||
| 1925 | The Way of a Girl The Way of a Girl The Way of a Girl is a 1925 silent era drama motion picture starring Eleanor Boardman, Matt Moore, and William Russell.Directed by Robert G. Vignola, the screenplay was written by Albert S... |
Rosamond | |
| Proud Flesh Proud Flesh (film) Proud Flesh is a 1925 silent comedy-drama film directed by King Vidor.-Plot:A San Francisco earthquake orphan is adopted by relatives in Spain and gets wooed by a Romeo there. She turns him down to return to a San Francisco plumber.-Cast:... |
Fernanda | ||
| The Circle The Circle (1925 film) The Circle is a 1925 film directed by Frank Borzage. The film stars Eleanor Boardman, Malcolm McGregor, Alec B. Francis and Joan Crawford on an early role. It is written by Kenneth B. Clarke based on the play by W. Somerset Maugham. The 1921 Broadway play had starred John Drew, Jr. and Mrs. Leslie... |
Elizabeth Cheney | ||
| Exchange of Wives Exchange of Wives Exchange of Wives is a 1925 drama film directed by Hobart Henley, with screenplay by Fanny Hatton based upon a Broadway play by Cosmo Hamilton. The film stars Eleanor Boardman, Renée Adorée, Lew Cody and Creighton Hale.-Cast:... |
Margaret Rathburn | ||
| The Only Thing The Only Thing The Only Thing is a silent 1925 costume drama, starring Eleanor Boardman. This filmed marks the beginning of director's Jack Conway long career at MGM. The film is also notable for featuring, in her second film role, a young Joan Crawford, playing a minor part as a lady in waiting... |
Thyra, Princess of Svendborg | ||
| The Auction Block The Auction Block The Auction Block is a 1926 silent film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Charles Ray and Eleanor Boardman. It is written by Fanny Hatton based on the novel by Rex Beach. The film is a remake of The Auction Block, a 1917 Goldwyn production starring Rubye De Remer and Tom Powers... |
Lorelei Knight | ||
| 1926 | Memory Lane | Mary | |
| Bardelys the Magnificent Bardelys the Magnificent Bardelys the Magnificent is a 1926 silent romantic drama film. It was directed by King Vidor starring John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman, based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini. It was the second film of the 19 year old John Wayne, who had a minor role... |
Roxalanne de Lavedan | ||
| Tell It to the Marines Tell It to the Marines Tell It to the Marines is a 1926 silent movie starring Lon Chaney, William Haines and Eleanor Boardman, and directed by George W. Hill. The film follows a Marine recruit and the sergeant who trains him... |
Nurse Norma Dale | ||
| 1928 | The Crowd The Crowd The Crowd is a 1928 American silent film directed by King Vidor. It is notable for its dramatization of the concerns and dangers of urbanization and modernity.... |
Mary | |
| Diamond Handcuffs | Tillie | ||
| 1929 | She Goes to War | Joan | |
| 1930 | Mamba Mamba (film) Mamba was released by Tiffany Pictures. It was shot entirely in Technicolor and stars Jean Hersholt, Eleanor Boardman, Ralph Forbes, Josef Swickard, Claude Fleming, William Stanton and William von Brincken... |
Helen von Linden | |
| Redemption | Lisa | ||
| 1931 | The Great Meadow The Great Meadow The Great Meadow is a 1931 sound film adventure produced and distributed by MGM with direction by Charles Brabin. The film starred Eleanor Boardman and Johnny Mack Brown. The story of The Great Meadow written by Elizabeth Madox Roberts is similar in theme to that of Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D... |
Diony Hall | |
| The Flood | Joan Marshall | ||
| Women Love Once | Helen Fields | ||
| The Squaw Man The Squaw Man (1931 film) The Squaw Man is a film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was the third version of the same play that he filmed, and the first in sound. It stars Warner Baxter in the leading role. The film lost $150,000 in its initial release... |
Lady Diana Kerhill | ||
| 1935 | The Three Cornered Hat | The Miller's Wife |
External links
- Eleanor Boardman photo gallery
- Photographs and literature
- Publicity still, Le Petit Journal (Montreal, Canada, weekly newspaper), 26 May 1926
- Eleanor Boardman and King Vidor in Vanity FairVanity Fair (American magazine 1913-1936)Vanity Fair was an American society magazine published from 1913-1936. It was highly successful until the Great Depression led to it becoming unprofitable, and it was merged into Vogue magazine in 1936.-History:...
on August 1927 by Edward SteichenEdward SteichenEdward J. Steichen was an American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator. He was the most frequently featured photographer in Alfred Stieglitz' groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its run from 1903 to 1917. Steichen also contributed the logo design and a custom typeface...