Gertrude Astor
Encyclopedia
Gertrude Astor was an American motion picture character actress, who began her career playing trombone on a riverboat
.
, she joined a woman's band as a trombone player and toured the states. In New York she left the band to obtain film work and got a job as an extra before her career took off. Astor was a prolific performer, between 1915 and 1962 she appeared in over 250 movies. Her first known credit is in a Biograph
short
in 1915. She then became a contract player at Universal
. A tall, angular woman, Astor frequently towered over the leading men of the era; thus, she was most frequently utilized in comedy roles as aristocrats, golddiggers and "heroine's best pal".
Her best known silent appearances were as the visiting stage star in Stage Struck
(1925) with Gloria Swanson
, as the vamp
who plants stolen money on Harry Langdon
in The Strong Man
(1926), and as Laura LaPlante's wisecracking travelling companion in The Cat and the Canary
(1927).
Astor worked prolifically at Hal Roach
studios with such headliners as Laurel and Hardy
, Our Gang
, and especially Charley Chase
. She was also kept busy at Columbia Pictures
' short subjects unit.
She continued to play bits in feature films throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. She was briefly glimpsed as the first murder victim in the Sherlock Holmes adventure The Scarlet Claw and was among the ranks of dress extras in 1956's Around the World in Eighty Days
. Her last appearance was in John Ford
's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
.
In her later years, Astor was a welcome guest at several Sons of the Desert gatherings, and became an honorary member of the Way Out West tent.
She died in Woodland Hills, California from a stroke
. She is interred in the Abbey of Psalms in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA.
Riverboat
A riverboat is a ship built boat designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such...
.
Career
Born in Lakewood, OhioLakewood, Ohio
Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area, and borders the city of Cleveland. The population was 52,131 at the 2010 making it the third largest city in Cuyahoga County, behind Cleveland and Parma .Lakewood, one of Cleveland's...
, she joined a woman's band as a trombone player and toured the states. In New York she left the band to obtain film work and got a job as an extra before her career took off. Astor was a prolific performer, between 1915 and 1962 she appeared in over 250 movies. Her first known credit is in a Biograph
Biograph Studios
Biograph Studios was a studio facility and film laboratory complex built in 1912 by the Biograph Company, formerly American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, at 807 E. 175th Street, in the Bronx, New York....
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
in 1915. She then became a contract player at Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. A tall, angular woman, Astor frequently towered over the leading men of the era; thus, she was most frequently utilized in comedy roles as aristocrats, golddiggers and "heroine's best pal".
Her best known silent appearances were as the visiting stage star in Stage Struck
Stage Struck (1925 film)
Stage Struck is a silent comedy film starring Gloria Swanson, Lawrence Gray, Gertrude Astor, and Ford Sterling. The film was directed by Allan Dwan, and released by Paramount Pictures with sequences filmed in the early two-color Technicolor. The film, including its Technicolor sequences was...
(1925) with Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
, as the vamp
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
who plants stolen money on Harry Langdon
Harry Langdon
Harry Philmore Langdon was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films , and talkies. He was briefly partnered with Oliver Hardy.-Life and career:...
in The Strong Man
The Strong Man
The Strong Man is a 1926 American comedy silent film starring Harry Langdon and directed by Frank Capra.Along with Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, The Strong Man is Langdon's best known film...
(1926), and as Laura LaPlante's wisecracking travelling companion in The Cat and the Canary
The Cat and the Canary (1927 film)
The Cat and the Canary is an American silent horror film adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black comedy play of the same name. Directed by German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni, the film stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West, Forrest Stanley as Charles "Charlie" Wilder, and Creighton Hale as...
(1927).
Astor worked prolifically at Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
studios with such headliners as Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
, Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
, and especially Charley Chase
Charley Chase
Charley Chase was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his work in Hal Roach short film comedies...
. She was also kept busy at Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
' short subjects unit.
She continued to play bits in feature films throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. She was briefly glimpsed as the first murder victim in the Sherlock Holmes adventure The Scarlet Claw and was among the ranks of dress extras in 1956's Around the World in Eighty Days
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956 film)
Around the World in 80 Days is a 1956 adventure film produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists. It was directed by Michael Anderson. It was produced by Michael Todd, with Kevin McClory and William Cameron Menzies as associate producers. The screenplay was written by James...
. Her last appearance was in John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a 1962 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring James Stewart and John Wayne. The black-and-white film was released by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck was adapted from a short story written by Dorothy M...
.
In her later years, Astor was a welcome guest at several Sons of the Desert gatherings, and became an honorary member of the Way Out West tent.
She died in Woodland Hills, California from a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. She is interred in the Abbey of Psalms in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA.
Selected filmography
- The Gray GhostThe Gray Ghost (serial)The Gray Ghost is a 1917 crime-drama film serial directed by Stuart Paton.-Cast:* Harry Carter - The Gray Ghost* Priscilla Dean - Morn Light* Emory Johnson - Wade Hildreth* Eddie Polo - Marco* Gypsy Hart - Cecilia* Wilton Taylor - Ashby...
(1917) - The RescueThe Rescue (1917 film)The Rescue is a 1917 silent drama film directed by Ida May Park and starring Lon Chaney, Sr.-Cast:* Dorothy Phillips - Anne Wetherall* William Stowell - Kent Wetherall* Lon Chaney, Sr. - Thomas Holland* Gretchen Lederer - Nell Jerrold...
(1917) - Cheyenne's PalCheyenne's PalCheyenne's Pal is a 1917 Western film directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost.-Production:Filming took place over a three-day period under the working titles Cactus My Pal and The Dumb Friend. The finished film was released by Universal Studios as a...
(1917) - Bucking BroadwayBucking BroadwayBucking Broadway is a 1917 film by John Ford, probably his sixth feature film. Long thought to be lost, along with about 60 of Ford's 70 silent films, it was found in 2002 in the archives of the CNC . It was subsequently restored and digitized...
(1917) - The Lion's ClawsThe Lion's ClawsThe Lion's Claws is a 1918 American adventure film serial directed by Harry Harvey and Jacques Jaccard. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Marie Walcamp as Beth Johnson* Ray Hanford as Buck Masterson* Neal Hart as Capt. Harris...
(1918) - The Brazen BeautyThe Brazen BeautyThe Brazen Beauty is a 1918 comedy film directed by Tod Browning.-Cast:* Priscilla Dean - Jacala Auehli* Gertrude Astor - Mrs. Augusta Van Ruysdael* Thurston Hall - Kenneth Hyde* Katherine Griffith - Aunt Ellen* Alice Wilson - Kate Dewey...
(1918) - The Wicked DarlingThe Wicked DarlingThe Wicked Darling is a 1919 silent drama film directed by Tod Browning. The film was considered to be a lost film, until a copy was found in Europe in the 1990s. The copy now resides in the Nederlands Filmmuseum.-Cast:* Priscilla Dean - Mary Stevens...
(1919) - The Lion ManThe Lion Man (serial)The Lion Man is a 1919 American action film serial released by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, directed by Albert Russell and Jack Wells, produced by Russell and starring Kathleen O'Connor and Jack Perrin. The serial is now considered to be lost....
(1919) - Through the Back DoorThrough the Back DoorThrough the Back Door is a 1921 silent film directed by Alfred E. Green and Jack Pickford, and starring Mary Pickford.-Plot:The movie starts in Belgium in the early 1900s. Jeanne is the 10-year-old daughter of Louise . Troubles start when Louise remarries a selfish but rich man named Elton Reeves...
(1921) - Beyond the RocksBeyond the Rocks (film)Beyond the Rocks is a 1922 silent drama film directed by Sam Wood, starring Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson. It is based on the novel of the same name by Elinor Glyn.-Plot:...
(1922) - The Impossible Mrs. BellewThe Impossible Mrs. BellewThe Impossible Mrs. Bellew is a 1922 silent drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gloria Swanson. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Gloria Swanson as Betty Bellew* Robert Cain as Lance Bellew* Conrad Nagel as John Helstan...
(1922) - HollywoodHollywood (1923 film)Hollywood was a silent comedy film directed by James Cruze, co-written by Frank Condon and Thomas J. Geraghty, and released by Paramount Pictures.The film has become famous as having featured cameos of more than thirty famous Hollywood stars...
(1923) cameo - Kentucky PrideKentucky PrideKentucky Pride is a 1925 silent drama film directed by John Ford. A print of the film exists at the Museum of Modern Art film archive.-Cast:* Gertrude Astor - Mrs. Beaumont* Peaches Jackson - Virginia Beaumont* J. Farrell MacDonald - Donovan...
(1925) - Stage StruckStage Struck (1925 film)Stage Struck is a silent comedy film starring Gloria Swanson, Lawrence Gray, Gertrude Astor, and Ford Sterling. The film was directed by Allan Dwan, and released by Paramount Pictures with sequences filmed in the early two-color Technicolor. The film, including its Technicolor sequences was...
(1925) - KikiKiki (1926 film)Kiki is a 1926 silent comedy film directed by Clarence Brown. The film is based upon a 1920 novel of the same name by André Picard, which was later adapted by David Belasco and performed on Broadway to great success in 1921 by his muse Lenore Ulric....
(1926) - The Cat and the CanaryThe Cat and the Canary (1927 film)The Cat and the Canary is an American silent horror film adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black comedy play of the same name. Directed by German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni, the film stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West, Forrest Stanley as Charles "Charlie" Wilder, and Creighton Hale as...
(1927) - Rose-MarieRose-Marie (1928 film)Rose-Marie was a 1928 drama film directed by Lucien Hubbard. It is the first of three MGM adaptations of the 1924 Broadway musical Rose-Marie The best-known film adaptation was released in 1936; another film was released in 1954. All three versions are set in the Canadian wilderness...
(1928) - The Fatal WarningThe Fatal WarningThe Fatal Warning is a 1929 mystery film serial directed by Richard Thorpe. The film is considered to be a lost film, with no prints known to exist.-Cast:* Helene Costello - Dorothy Rogers* Ralph Graves - Russell Thorne* George Periolat - William Rogers...
(1929) - Come CleanCome Clean (1931 film)Come Clean is a 1931 short film starring Laurel and Hardy, directed by James W. Horne and produced by Hal Roach.-Story:Mr. and Mrs. Hardy wish to have a quiet night in their apartment, but are interrupted when Mr. and Mrs. Laurel pay a visit...
(1931) - Washee IroneeWashee IroneeWashee Ironee is a 1934 Our Gang short comedy film directed by James Parrott. It was the 131st Our Gang short that was released.-Plot:...
(1934)