LOOKING For-NORA DEMPSEY-Child Silent Film Actress 1913-1920

[johnpete2]

I'm searching for my mother, who went by the name of NORA DEMPSEY, and was a child silent-film actress with Charlie Chaplin & others, around 1913-1920, in Hollywood at UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, and possibly other studios in the Hollywood/Los Angeles area. Mom was a tow-head, and a natural when it came to working with animals.

I'd appreciate it if you would please check out the PIXS below, to see if you might have seen her in any silent-film dramas or comedies.

Mom told me that she was used in film with Charlie Chaplin, & worked with animals (lions, tigers, bears) because she wasn't afraid of them at her tender age. She remembers one film when she was running in and out of a hollow log, and being chased by the animal(s), and Charlie would be running with her.

Mom's dad, Oscar Charbonneau, worked at Universal Studios as a set builder, and was also an "extra" around 1911 -1914. He was tragically killed in a fire explosion, on a set, at Universal in 1914.

I was told that many of the kids who filmed with Charlie during these years were used as extras, and their names were not always added to the film credits. Only those kids who had substantial roles had their names added to the credits.

I'd appreciate any help you could give me in helping to locate any silent film(s) that my mom was a part of during the years 1913-1920.

Thanks.




NORA DEMPSEY - AGE 5


NORA DEMPSEY AGE 5


NORA DEMPSEY AGE 5


NORA DEMPSEY AGE 5

[greta de groat]

Have you talked to Diana Serra Cary?

greta
_________________
Greta de Groat
Unsung Divas of the Silent Screen
http://www.stanford.edu/~gdegroat

[johnpete2]

Dar Greta:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE.

I'd like to communicate with Diana Serra Cary. Do you have HER conTact email or phone number for me?

Thanks. jp

[johnpete2]

WOULD ANYBODY KNOW ABOUT the Our Gang, Little Rascals silent-shorts? Someone suggested that I check this out as a possible resource.... again the years are around 1914-1919. Where might I begin my search?

I've learned that Chaplin made silent films in 1914 and possibly before.
QUES: Does anybody know the name of the Studios/Production Co. etc. where Chaplin may have made these films when he was first starting out? Could they have been made in the "POVERTY-ROW" area of Hollywood?
-jp

[Jim Reid]

Chaplin's first films were made for Mack Sennett's Keystone Company in 1914. He made over 30 films there in one year, then moved on to Essanay for a couple of years and then spent late 1916-1917 making 12 two-reelers for Mutual. After that, he produced his own films and signed a contract to release them through First National. That lasted till 1922. After that, beginning with The Gold Rush in 1925 (or Woman of Paris in 23?) all his films were released by United Artists.


The Our Gang series didn't start until 1922.

[johnpete2]

Someone suggested that I check the Charlie Chase films (1914-1918) since he looked a lot like CHAPLIN. Perhaps my mom made films with him??

Would anybody have a resource for me (list of CHASE'S FILMS -1914-1918)?

THANKS!
-john

[boblipton]

You might try poking around here:

http://charley-chase.com/

Bob
_________________
When we remember that we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.

-- Mark Twain

[johnpete2]

THANK YOU BOB!

I looked on the site which you suggested and found these films listed under CHARLEY CHASE FILMOGRAPHY for the years 1914-1916:

Across the Hall Mar 23,1914 1 reel Keystone
Mabel at the Wheel Apr 18, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Where Hazel Met the Villain Apr 23, 1914 1 reel Keystone
When Villains Wait Apr 30, 1914 1 reel Keystone
When Ruben Fooled the Bandits May 21, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Our Country Cousin Jun 6,1914 1 reel Keystone
Knockout, The Jun 11,1914 2 reels Keystone
Mabel's Busy Day June 13, 1914 1 reel Keystone
A Rambling Rube June 15, 1914. 1 reel Keystone
Love and Bullets July 4, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Rowboat Romance, A July 6, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Love and Salt Water July 11, 1914 .5 reel Keystone
Mabel's New Job Jul 16,1914 2 reels Keystone
Great Toe Mystery, The July 25, 1914 1 reel Keystone
A Coat's Tale Aug 8, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Face on the Barroom Floor, The Aug 10, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Such a Cook Aug 15, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Masquerader, The Aug 27,1914 1 reel Keystone
Her Last Chance Aug 29,1914 1 reel Keystone
His New Profession Aug 31,1914 1 reel Keystone
Rounders, The Sep 7,1914 1 reel Keystone
Mabel's Blunder Sept 12, 1914 1 reel Keystone
He Loved The Ladies Sept 21, 1914 1 reel Keystone (Parrott has supporting role, and possibly directed this film)
Anglers, The Oct 12,1914 1 reel Keystone
Dash Love and Splash Oct 19, 1914 .5 reel Keystone
Love Thief, The Oct 22, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Shot in the Excitement Oct 26, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Dough and Dynamite Oct 26,1914 2 reels Keystone
Gentlemen of Nerve, A Oct 29,1914 1 reel Keystone
Cursed by His Beauty Oct 31,1914 1 reel Keystone
Curses! They Remarked Nov 5, 1914 1 reel Keystone
His Musical Career Nov 7,1914 1 reel Keystone
His Trysting Place Nov 9, 1914 2 reels Keystone
His Talented Wife Nov 9, 1914 1 reel Keystone
How Heroes are Made Nov 14, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Tillie's Punctured Romance (feature) Nov 14,1914 6 reels Keystone
Noise of Bombs, The Nov 19, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Among the Mourners Nov 28, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Leading Lizzie Astray (w/Roscoe Arbuckle & Mack Swain) Nov 30, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Other People's Business Dec 7, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Ambrose's First Falsehood Dec 12, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Fatty's Magic Pants Dec 14,1914 1 reel Keystone
Wild West Love Dec 21, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Their Fatal Bumping Dec 24, 1914 1 reel Keystone
Her Winning Punch Jan 4, 1915 .5 reel Keystone
Only a Farmer's Daughter Jan 9,1915 1 reel Keystone
Hash House Mashers Jan 16,1915 1 reel Keystone
Coloured Villainy Jan 25,1915 1 reel Keystone
Peanuts and Bullets Jan 30,1915 1 reel Keystone
Lucky Leap, A Feb 22,1915 1 reel Keystone
Fatty's Reckless Fling Mar 4,1915 1 reel Keystone
Love in Armor Mar 11,1915 1 reel Keystone
A One Night Stand Mar 22,1915 1 reel Keystone
Settled at the Seaside Mar 29,1915* .5 reel Keystone
Rent Jumpers, The Apr 8,1915 1 reel Keystone
Do-Re-Me-Fa Apr 15,1915 1 reel Keystone
Love Loot and Crash Apr 24,1915* 1 reel Keystone
A Human Hound's Triumph May 8, 1915 1 reel
Versatile Villain, A May 29,1915 1 reel Keystone
He Wouldn't Stay Down May 30, 1915 1 reel Keystone
Little Teacher, The Jun 21,1915 2 reels Keystone
His Father's Footsteps (co-dir w/Ford Sterling) Nov 28,1915 2 reels Tri-Keystone
Hunt, The (co-dir w/Ford Sterling) Dec 26,1915 2 reels Tri-Keystone
His Pride and Shame (co-dir w/Ford Sterling) Feb 6,1916 2 reels Tri-Keystone
Dash of Courage, A (dir) May 7,1916 2 reels Tri-Keystone
Hearts and Sparks (dir) Jun 4,1916 2 reels Tri-Keystone

QUESTION: Are any of these silent films available for viewing on line? If so, would you know where I could go to find them?

THANKS,
-john

[johnpete2]

NB

[Jim Reid]

Our Gang didn't start till 1922.

[johnpete2]

What about the silent film archives for Hal Wallace Studios & Paramount Pictures during 1914-1918? Is there a silent film archive that I may have access to?

[Jim Reid]

[johnpete2]

Thanks! I may very well have the HALS MIXED UP.....

I received the Hal Wallace tip from my sister, who claimed she heard this from my mom.... now, I'm not sure how reliable this tip is..... and thanks for pointing me in the right direction....

Now for Hal Roach ~ where would you suggest that I search in order to find a list of his silent films between 1914-1918?

THANKS!!

[silentfilm]

Hal Roach made hundreds of films from the 1910s through the 1940s. There are several books out about his studio.
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

[johnpete2]

THANKS BRUCE!

[josemas]

Bob DeMoss has the best available Hal Roach filmography online.

http://theluckycorner.com/crew/roach.html

Roach primarily used children in small supporting roles during this period (although the very first film he shot in the summer of 1914 was an Our Gang prototype with Harold Lloyd in a supporting role and a beach setting).
Unfortunately the majority of Roach's films prior to mid 1917 are lost films and few of those surviving films are readily available for viewing.

Joe Moore

[johnpete2]

Would anybody know if a copy of this silent film is around? Just a hunch, but since it might have to do with the circus, and possibly animals, my mom might have been a part of it... here's hoping....

Lonesome Luke, Circus King (producer/director)
Mar. 29, 1916 - Phunphilms/Rolin/Pathé - 1 reel - prod. P-24 - Lonesome Luke series Filmed Jan. 8 to 27, 1916.

I found this lead under the HAL ROACH and Hal E. Roach Studios list of silent films at: http://theluckycorner.com/crew/roach.html

Do any of these films still exixt??

I am still hoping beyound hope, that I will find my mom....

[moviepas]

The Lonesome Luke films somehow belonged to Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels worked on these(although not as many were made as her obit stated at the time of her death in London). Lloyd had an archive of these(number of titles unknown to me) in a vault at his property. A fire during the war years there lost all or most of these reels.

[johnpete2]

[Rob Farr]

There was a legion of Chaplin imitators in the teens and lots of kids who worked with them naturally remembered working with CC himself. Small wonder since these imitators succeeded in fooling film fans then and now. Google some images of Billy West. Most of these shorts were for small companies that distributed films region-by-region (a practice known as states rights). This means that they flew under the radar of the mainstream press, but the good news is that their survival rate is reasonably good.

I won't list the Chaplin imitators and their studios here, but if you google Chaplin imitators you should find an article or two.

I know that this widens rather than narrows your search, but that's film history for ya.
_________________
Rob Farr
www.slapsticon.org

[Rob Farr]

Those stills of yours look like frame grabs from an actual film rather than posed stills. Where did they come from?
_________________
Rob Farr
www.slapsticon.org

[johnpete2]

[moviepas]

Unfortunately, I cannot come up with titles of the surviving Lonseome Luke films but I would assume all that Lloyd had were in that vault and lost but there should have been copies of some, at least, floating around in the market place in varying condition at the time.

[silentfilm]

According to Annette Lloyd's Harold Lloyd Encyclopedia, Lonesome Luke, Circus King (1916) does not survive.
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

[johnpete2]

[silentfilm]

Annette Lloyd can't access this site right now, so she wanted me to post this note from her...

I did want to post that I have a fully up-to-date list of the Lonesome Luke and Glass Character shorts that are extant on my website: http://www.haroldlloyd.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=13 is the page that chronicles the survivors (and non) of the fires at Greenacres and Pathe in New Jersey. There was one user, moviepas, who wondered which Luke films survive, and this page lists them.

I have a full chapter devoted to the two fires that killed so many of the HL shorts, also, in Magic in a Pair of Horn-Rimmed Glasses.

Thanks a bunch!

Annette
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

[Turpinutz]

Hi Bruce (and everyone else!)...
I just saw Annette's letter and had to reply that at least one title among her "missing list" appears extant: Going! Going! Gone! which someone at YouTube has posted a while back for all too see. I myself feel pretty confident that this short clip is indeed from G!G!G! because years ago I saw the original release one-sheet poster for this film and when I saw the clip, things clicked (unfortunately I don't understand the French intertitles).
Maybe Annette - or someone - has a still or two and can further verify.
You'll all recognize Bebe, Marie Mosquini, Margaret Joslin, Gus Leonard, Bud Jamison, Dee Lampton,Sammy Brooks, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbWib7MWWA8

SteveR, Phila

BTW - there's also an interesting early Stan Laurel c1919 short with Frank Terry at YouTube as well if I could only track it down again!

[johnpete2]

Chubby Wrote: I read the book 'A Peek at the Past', by Jean Darling (a real Our Gang member). She says there used to be a film vault at the Roach studios. Due to the unstable nature of nitrate film, the film vault was destroyed by a fire. Several films (including many early Harold Lloyd films were destroyed).

There were also 3 Our Gang movies that were destroyed. These 3 movies were made before the 1st official Our Gang film, titled "Our Gang". Roach was unable to sell those 3 films to distributors because they featured some black children in the gang. How unfortunate. Later, when Roach gave black characters 'better reasons' to be included in Our Gang comedies, for example: having jobs like housekeepers, then distributors accepted & bought the Our Gang series from Roach. It would have been interesting to see what those 3 pre - Our Gang - Our Gang films were like.
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` Interesting information above because my mother, NORA DEMPSEY was featured in the film:WHEN LITTLE LINDY SANG (1916) when she was 5 years old. This film was directed by Lule Warrington, and the subject of this film is racial prejudice.

Synopsis: "Little Lindy" is the only African American child in a one-room school house which is filled with White, Caucasian children of various ages. Lindy is being made fun of because she's Black, and different. She sings well, but during a music lesson, the children complain to the teacher that Lindy sings too loudly. My mother's character (Nora Dempsey) befriends and defends Lindy throughout this film. When a fire breaks out inside the school, the children panic, but Lindy sings, and this calms down all the children, and saves the day. The children now welcome Lindy as a friend.

In light of the information above from Chubby regarding those 3 Our Gang films which featured Black children, as well as those films which Roach later made featuring Blacks, I wonder if my mother was featured in any of those films?

I am looking for other silent film(s) which my mother made, as a child, ages:5-8 from 1915-1918. She claimed she made them at Universal Studios/Hollywood. I am wondering if she was also featured in any OUR GANG silent films?

Your comments, ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.