Phyllis Haver
Encyclopedia
Phyllis Haver was an American
actress of the silent film
era.
. When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles, California
, then a city of less than half a million people. Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High. After graduating, she played piano to accompany the new silent films in local theaters.
on a whim. Sennett hired her as one of his original Sennett Bathing Beauties. Within a few years, she appeared as a leading lady in two-reelers for Sennett Studios.
At the Sennett Studios, Haver played the part of Roxie Hart in the first film adaptation of Chicago
in 1927
, opposite Hungarian film actor Victor Varconi
. One reviewer called her performance "astoundingly fine", and added that Haver "makes this combination of tragedy and comedy a most entertaining piece of work."
She performed in the 1928
comedy film The Battle of the Sexes
, directed by D. W. Griffith
. The next year, she appeared with Lon Chaney, Sr.
in his last silent film, Thunder
.
Haver retired from the industry with two 'sound' films to her credit.
, the cartoonist. The couple divorced in 1945.
. She died at age 61 from an overdose of barbiturates in 1960, a suspected suicide Haver left no survivors.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress of the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era.
Early life
She was born Phyllis Haver in Douglass, KansasDouglass, Kansas
Douglass is a city in Butler County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,700.-19th century:In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado, in 1881 it was extended to Douglass, and later to...
. When she was young, her family moved to 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...
, then a city of less than half a million people. Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High. After graduating, she played piano to accompany the new silent films in local theaters.
Career
Haver auditioned for comedy producer Mack SennettMack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
on a whim. Sennett hired her as one of his original Sennett Bathing Beauties. Within a few years, she appeared as a leading lady in two-reelers for Sennett Studios.
At the Sennett Studios, Haver played the part of Roxie Hart in the first film adaptation of Chicago
Chicago (1927 film)
Chicago is a 1927 comedy-drama silent film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Frank Urson.-Plot:Drawn from the play of the same name by Maurine Dallas Watkins which was in turn based on the true story of Beulah Annan, fictionalized as Roxie Hart , and her spectacular murder of her boyfriend...
in 1927
1927 in film
-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 7 - Abel Gance's Napoleon often considered his best known and greatest masterpiece, premiers at the Paris Opéra and would demonstrate techniques and equipment that would not be used for years to...
, opposite Hungarian film actor Victor Varconi
Victor Varconi
Victor Varconi was a highly successful silent film star in Hungary. Born Mihály Várkonyi in Kisvárda, Austria-Hungary, he was the first Hungarian actor to make a film in the United States....
. One reviewer called her performance "astoundingly fine", and added that Haver "makes this combination of tragedy and comedy a most entertaining piece of work."
She performed in the 1928
1928 in film
-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...
comedy film The Battle of the Sexes
The Battle of the Sexes (1928 film)
The Battle of the Sexes is a film directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Jean Hersholt, Phyllis Haver, Belle Bennett, Don Alvarado and Sally O'Neil, and released by United Artists. The film was a remake by Griffith of an earlier film he directed in 1914, which starred Lillian Gish...
, directed by D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
. The next year, she appeared with Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
in his last silent film, Thunder
Thunder (film)
Thunder is a melodrama film released by MGM, starring Lon Chaney.Directed by William Nigh, it is noteworthy for several reasons. First, it was Chaney's penultimate film appearance and his last silent film, as well as one of the very last films of the silent era...
.
Haver retired from the industry with two 'sound' films to her credit.
Personal life
She married millionaire William Seeman with a service performed by New York Mayor James J. Walker at the home of Rube GoldbergRube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
, the cartoonist. The couple divorced in 1945.
Death
Haver retired in Sharon, ConnecticutSharon, Connecticut
Sharon is a town located in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the northwest corner of the state. It is bounded on the north by Salisbury, on the east by the Housatonic River, on the south by Kent, and on the west by Dutchess County, New York...
. She died at age 61 from an overdose of barbiturates in 1960, a suspected suicide Haver left no survivors.
Selected filmography
- Whose Baby?Whose Baby?Whose Baby? is a 1917 silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson.-Cast:* Bobby Vernon* Gloria Swanson* Jay Dwiggins* Martha Trick* Robert Milliken* Fritz Schade* Juanita Hansen* Sylvia Ashton* Helen Bray...
(1917) - The Sultan's WifeThe Sultan's WifeThe Sultan's Wife is a 1917 silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson.-Cast:* Gloria Swanson - Gloria* Bobby Vernon - Bobby* Joseph Callahan* Teddy the Dog* Gonda Durand* Phyllis Haver* Roxana McGowan...
(1917) - The Pullman BrideThe Pullman BrideThe Pullman Bride is a 1917 silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson.-Cast:* Gloria Swanson - The Girl* Mack Swain - The Chosen One* Chester Conklin - A Rejected Suitor* Laura La Varnie - The Girl's Mother...
(1917) - The BalloonaticThe BalloonaticThe Balloonatic is a 1923 short comedy film directed by and starring Buster Keaton. It was one of Keaton's final short films.-Plot:A young man has a series of encounters in an amusement area, much like Coney Island, until happening upon a group of men preparing a hot air balloon for launch...
(1923 short) - The SnobThe Snob (1924 film)The Snob is a 1924 silent drama film directed by Monta Bell. The film stars Norma Shearer and John Gilbert prior to their superstardom, together with Phyllis Haver, Conrad Nagel and Hedda Hopper. It is written by Monta Bell based on a novel The Snob: The Story of a Marriage by Helen Reimensnyder...
(1924) - The CavemanThe Caveman (1926 film)The Caveman is a 1926 silent film comedy produced and distributed by the Warner Brothers. Lewis Milestone directed the Darryl Zanuck scripted story taken from the play The Cave Man by Gelett Burgess. Matt Moore, Marie Prevost, Hedda Hopper star. A small role is played by a young Myrna Loy, just...
(1926) - Don JuanDon Juan (1926 film)Don Juan is a Warner Brothers film, directed by Alan Crosland. It was the first feature-length film with synchronized Vitaphone sound effects and musical soundtrack, though it has no spoken dialogue...
(Uncredited, 1926) - 3 Bad Men3 Bad Men-Cast:* George O'Brien as Dan O'Malley* Olive Borden as Lee Carlton* Lou Tellegen as Sheriff Layne Hunter* Tom Santschi as 'Bull' Stanley* J. Farrell MacDonald as Mike Costigan* Frank Campeau as 'Spade' Allen* Priscilla Bonner as Millie Stanley...
(1926) - Fig LeavesFig LeavesFig Leaves is a 1926 silent comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, released by Fox Film Corporation, and starring George O'Brien. The film had one sequence, a fashion show, filmed in Technicolor...
(1926) - What Price Glory (1926)
- The Way of All FleshThe Way of All Flesh (film)The Way of All Flesh is a drama film directed by Victor Fleming, written by Lajos Biró, Jules Furthman and Julian Johnson from a story by Perley Poore Sheehan. The film is unrelated to Samuel Butler's novel The Way of All Flesh, and is now considered a lost film.-Cast:*Emil Jannings - August...
(1927) - ChicagoChicago (1927 film)Chicago is a 1927 comedy-drama silent film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Frank Urson.-Plot:Drawn from the play of the same name by Maurine Dallas Watkins which was in turn based on the true story of Beulah Annan, fictionalized as Roxie Hart , and her spectacular murder of her boyfriend...
(1927) - The Battle of the SexesThe Battle of the Sexes (1928 film)The Battle of the Sexes is a film directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Jean Hersholt, Phyllis Haver, Belle Bennett, Don Alvarado and Sally O'Neil, and released by United Artists. The film was a remake by Griffith of an earlier film he directed in 1914, which starred Lillian Gish...
(1928) - ThunderThunder (film)Thunder is a melodrama film released by MGM, starring Lon Chaney.Directed by William Nigh, it is noteworthy for several reasons. First, it was Chaney's penultimate film appearance and his last silent film, as well as one of the very last films of the silent era...
(1929) - She Couldn't Say NoShe Couldn't Say No (1930 film)She Couldn't Say No is a musical drama that stars Winnie Lightner, fresh from her success in Gold Diggers of Broadway . It was adapted from a play by Benjamin M. Kaye...
(1930)