- Hope Hampton
Infobox Actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Hope Hampton
imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Mae Elizabeth Hampton
birthdate = February 19, 1897
location =Houston, Texas
deathdate = January 23, 1982Hope Hampton (Mae Elizabeth Hampton) (19 February 1897 - 23 January 1982) was an American silent motion picture actress, who was noted for her seemingly effortless incarnation of siren and flapper types in silent-picture roles during the 1920s.
Early life
Texas -born, Philadelphia-bred beauty-contest winner Hampton, was discovered by U.S. silent cinema pioneerJules Brulatour while working as an extra for directorMaurice Tourneur . She made her screen debut in 1920's "A Modern Salome," and went on to feature prominently in several Brulatour-financed films. In 1923, Hampton wed her manager Brulatour, and they remained married until his death in 1946.Later life
After retiring from motion pictures at the dawn of sound, Hampton turned to opera and made her debut with the
Philadelphia Opera in "Manon ". The idea that she ever toured with theMetropolitan Opera is belied by a look at the company's online archives. She returned to the screen in "The Road to Reno " (1938), a film directed by her husband. Later she was known as "The Duchess of Park Lane", a leading member of New York's social set, until her death of heart attack at the age of 84.Personal life
Hampton and Brulatour took a honeymoon trip to
Egypt , there aSheikh offered Brulatour £10,000British pounds to buy his wife. Brulatour smiled at the Sheikh and told him that Mrs. Brulatour's jewels were worth more than that.Popular culture
Known as "Hopeless Hampton" to the disparaging, there are some who say she was the model for the no-talent wife, Susan Alexander Kane, in "
Citizen Kane " (1941). Other sources say the Susan Alexander role is a composite of Hampton,Marion Davies ,Dorothy Gibson ,Ganna Walska , mistress and later wife of Chicago heirHarold Fowler McCormick -- who arranged for Walska to take the lead in a production of "Zaza " at the Chicago Opera in 1920 -- andSamuel Insull , who built theChicago Civic Opera House in 1929 for his daughter, who hoped to sing for theMetropolitan Opera .External links
*imdb name|id=0358991|name=Hope Hampton
* [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=43977 Hope Hampton] at theInternet Broadway Database
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.