Charlotte Henry

Charlotte Henry
Charlotte Henry
Born Charlotte Virginia Henry
March 3, 1914(1914-03-03)
Brooklyn, New York
U.S.
Died April 11, 1980(1980-04-11) (aged 66)
La Jolla, California
U.S.
Occupation Film actress
Years active 1930-1942
Spouse Dr. James J. Dempsey (?-1980)

Charlotte Henry (March 3, 1914 – April 11, 1980) was an American actress, who starred in the Frank Buck serial Jungle Menace.[1]

Contents

Early years

Charlotte Henry was born in Brooklyn on the third of March 1914. She began modelling at a very early age and was always fascinated by the theatre. Her family were astonished when, at only 15 years of age, she was cast in an important role in Courage, a Broadway play and a hit of 1928.

Hollywood

The following year, Charlotte's mother brought her to Hollywood. She repeated her part in the movie version of Courage 1930 and enrolled at Lawlors, the school for professional children. Some of her classmates were Frankie Darro, Anita Louise and Bette Grable. Junior Durkin, who had worked with her in Courage, suggested Charlotte for a play he was appearing in at the Pasadena playhouse. By then, she had appeared in two more feature films; Huckleberry Finn in 1931 and Lena Rivers in 1932.

Around that time, Paramount was looking for a young girl to play in their new movie version of Alice in Wonderland, and over 6,800 were auditioned. A Paramount talent scout saw Charlotte in the play and arranged a screen test on a Monday morning. One-week-to-the-day later, Charlotte Henry began filming the high budget classic. The studio's press department made much of her uncanny resemblance to the character as it appeared in the original Tenniel drawings.

An anxious movie-going public awaited the costly feature. A new young star was expected to emerge. The 1933 picture garnered unanimous praise for Charlotte. The huge cast was impressive, but their make-ups made it hard to tell who was who. It did poorly at the box office. The effect of Alice on Charlotte's life was more than the usual story of an actress ruined by a negative association. She was also typecast, but in a most peculiar way. In an interview, Charlotte disclosed that from the very first week of shooting, she became aware that others around her had simply lost sight of her as a person. "I no longer existed as Charlotte Henry", she said. "With that costume, I was transformed in their minds to the creature they had read about as children. My identity was gone."

Paramount loaned her to MGM for Babes in Toyland with Laurel and Hardy. Despite the success of that particular film and perhaps Charlotte's most remembered role, they released her. However, she continued to make movies, although the lower budgets of some of the productions sometimes let her down. She made around 30 films, some as the star but more often in supporting roles, mostly between 1930 and 1937 followed by more modelling, and then five more in 1941 and 1942. Discouraged by the low quality of the work she was being offered, in her own words: "I simply lost interest."

Jungle Menace

Charlotte Henry (left), Frank Buck (center), Clarence Muse (right) in Jungle Menace (1937)

Jungle Menace (aka Jungle Terror) (1937) .... Charlotte Henry as Dorothy Elliott

In his autobiography, director Harry L. Fraser described filming the scene in Jungle Menace during which a boa constrictor attacks the heroine Dorothy (Charlotte Henry). The villain has tied Dorothy hand and foot and she thrashes about wildly, terrified when she suddenly sees the huge snake:

The snake was in no hurry. Slowly he slithered across the girl's body, while she screamed and struggled. He turned, looking for a spot to slip under her to make his first wrap. I motioned to the reptile crew to get ready, and a split-second later gave them the signal to move in. But now, the maddened snake fought them and did its best to coil around one of the men. Before that happened, however, I had cut, and we had a good cliff-hanger with our terror-stricken heroine to close the episode.[2]

Later life

Charlotte retired from the movies and moved away from Hollywood to San Diego where she ran an employment agency with her mother, then became executive secretary for 15 years to the Roman Catholic Bishop of San Diego, Charles F. Buddy. She was happily married to Dr. James J. Dempsey and continued with her acting, appearing in several stage productions at the San Diego Old Globe Theatre. Although her film career was arguably affected by the box office failure of "Alice", she didn't hold a grudge and her car licence plate, in true looking-glass style, read "ECILA".

Charlotte Virginia Dempsey died in April 1980. The San Diego Union newspaper carried the obituary and noted that she was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery and was survived by her husband, Dr. James J. Dempsey and her brother, the Reverend Robert E. Henry of St Paul's Episcopal Church in Ventura.

References

  1. ^ Lehrer, Steven (2006). Bring 'Em Back Alive: The Best of Frank Buck. Texas Tech University press. pp. xi-xii. ISBN 0896725820. http://books.google.com/books?id=UNnhbq9gwTUC. 
  2. ^ Harry L. Fraser. I Went That-a-Way. The Scarecrow Press, Inc. (November 1, 1990). P 117

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany — Charlotte Stuart by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Scottish National Portrait Gallery Charlotte Stuart, styled Duchess of Albany[1] (29 October 1753 – 17 November 1789) was the illegitimate daughter of the Jacobite pretender Prince Charles Edward Stuart… …   Wikipedia

  • Charlotte de Sauve — Portrait of Charlotte de Sauve, painted by an unknown artist Born Charlotte de Beaune Semblançay c.1551 France Died 30 Septembe …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Paget — Henry William Paget Henry William Paget, 2e comte d Uxbridge, 1er marquis d Anglesey (1758 1854) Henry William Paget (1758 1854), 2e comte d’Uxbridge, 1er marquis d’Anglesey, plus généralement connu sous le nom de Lord Uxbridge, est un officier… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Henry William Paget — Henry William Paget, 2e comte d Uxbridge, 1er marquis d Anglesey (1758 1854) Henry William Paget (1758 1854), 2e comte d’Uxbridge, 1er marquis d’Anglesey, plus généralement connu sous le nom de Lord Uxbridge, est un officier britannique. Il fut… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Henry William Paget, 2e comte d'Uxbridge — Henry William Paget Henry William Paget, 2e comte d Uxbridge, 1er marquis d Anglesey (1758 1854) Henry William Paget (1758 1854), 2e comte d’Uxbridge, 1er marquis d’Anglesey, plus généralement connu sous le nom de Lord Uxbridge, est un officier… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charlotte Lee, Lady Baltimore — Charlotte Lee Lady Baltimore Spouse(s) Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore Christopher Crowe Issue Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore Hon. Benedict Leonard Calvert, Governor of Maryland Hon. Edward Henry Calvert Hon. Charlotte Calvert …   Wikipedia

  • Charlotte Dupuy — Charlotte Dupuy, also called Lottie (born ca. 1787 1790 d. after 1866)[1] [Note 1], was an enslaved African American woman who filed a freedom suit in 1829 against her master, Henry Clay, then Secretary of State. This case went to court seventeen …   Wikipedia

  • Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg — Charlotte The Grand Duchess in 1942 Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Reign 14 January 1919 12 November 1964 ( 10000000000 …   Wikipedia

  • Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency — (May 11, 1594 – December 2, 1650) was an heiress of one of France s leading ducal families, and Princess of Condé by her marriage to Henry de Bourbon. She almost became a mistress of Henry IV of France, but her husband escaped with her after the… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Daniel Thielcke — (1788 1874) est un peintre canadien. Biographie Le cas du peintre Henry Daniel Thielcke est particulièrement intéressant. D abord parce qu il n existe pas jusqu à présent, du moins en termes de publication, de monographie qui lui soit consacrée.… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”