Florence Deshon
Encyclopedia
Florence Deshon was an American
motion picture actress in silent films.
to Samuel and Florence C. Danks of Austrian and English descent, Deshon appeared in more than twenty movies beginning in 1915 with The Beloved Vagabond. Florence played in features for Vitagraph until 1921. Her final film credit was in the role of Sally McTurk in The Roof Tree, directed by John Francis Dillon
. She came to New York City
from Los Angeles, California
with her mother in December 1921. Deshon hoped to continue her work in films there.
, but attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. She died the following afternoon. She was 28 years old.
Deshon's apartment had been subleased from Doris Stevens
, who was married to Dudley Field Malone
. The couple were honeymooning in Europe at the time of the actress' death. Deshon was listed as being a resident of both Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
and Los Angeles, California.
The New York Medical Examiner concluded Deshon's death was accidental. However, rumors persisted among her neighbors that she might have committed suicide because of grief. One theory contended she had recently argued with a friend who came to her apartment. Deshon was closely acquainted with actor Charlie Chaplin
and writer Max Eastman
. Both men believed Deshon had no reason to kill herself and that her death was accidental. Eastman saw her on the afternoon before her death, and they planned to go to the theater for an engagement in a few days. He went to St. Vincent's and gave blood when a final attempt to revive Deshon was made.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
motion picture actress in silent films.
Career
Born in Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
to Samuel and Florence C. Danks of Austrian and English descent, Deshon appeared in more than twenty movies beginning in 1915 with The Beloved Vagabond. Florence played in features for Vitagraph until 1921. Her final film credit was in the role of Sally McTurk in The Roof Tree, directed by John Francis Dillon
John Francis Dillon (director)
John Francis Dillon was an American film director and actor of the silent era. He directed 130 films between 1914 and 1934...
. She came to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
with her mother in December 1921. Deshon hoped to continue her work in films there.
Death
On February 4, 1922, Deshon was found unconscious on the third floor of her apartment building at 120 West Eleventh Street. A window was open in her bedroom but illuminating gas flowed from an opened jet. A newspaperwoman, Minnie Morris, found Deshon when she returned to the building. An ambulance took Deshon to St. Vincent's HospitalSaint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers ' was a healthcare system, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, locally referred to as "St. Vincent's". St. Vincent's was founded in 1849 and closed in 2010...
, but attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. She died the following afternoon. She was 28 years old.
Deshon's apartment had been subleased from Doris Stevens
Doris Stevens
Doris Stevens was an American suffragist and author of Jailed for Freedom.Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Doris Stevens graduated from Oberlin College in 1911. She worked as a teacher and social worker in Ohio and Michigan before she became a regional organizer with the National American Woman Suffrage...
, who was married to Dudley Field Malone
Dudley Field Malone
Dudley Field Malone was an attorney, politician, liberal activist and actor.-Biography:The son of Tammany Democratic official William C...
. The couple were honeymooning in Europe at the time of the actress' death. Deshon was listed as being a resident of both Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and Los Angeles, California.
The New York Medical Examiner concluded Deshon's death was accidental. However, rumors persisted among her neighbors that she might have committed suicide because of grief. One theory contended she had recently argued with a friend who came to her apartment. Deshon was closely acquainted with actor Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
and writer Max Eastman
Max Eastman
Max Forrester Eastman was an American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet, and a prominent political activist. For many years, Eastman was a supporter of socialism, a leading patron of the Harlem Renaissance and an activist for a number of liberal and radical causes...
. Both men believed Deshon had no reason to kill herself and that her death was accidental. Eastman saw her on the afternoon before her death, and they planned to go to the theater for an engagement in a few days. He went to St. Vincent's and gave blood when a final attempt to revive Deshon was made.