- Gladys Hulette
Gladys Hulette (
July 21 ,1896 –August 8 ,1991 ) was asilent film actress fromArcade, New York . Her career began in the early years of silent movies and continued until the mid-1930s. She first performed on stage at the age of three and on screen when she was seven years old. Hulette was also a talented artist. Her mother was an opera star.Child Actress
Hulette was among the principal players in "Sappho and Phaon" which had its first performance in
Providence, Rhode Island on October 4, 1907. She helped supportBertha Kalich in thePercy MacKaye production. As a child she also appeared in "Romeo and Juliet" (1908) and "The Smoke Fairy" (1909). On stage, in "Blue Bird", she played "the wonder child". She was the sweet youth, "Beth", in "Little Women " byLouisa May Alcott .ilent Film Player
In her earliest motion picture features she was under contract to
Vitagraph Studios . There was a stigma forBroadway theater actors to be seen in motion pictures when silent films first began to be made. Hulette later discussed this, saying "the picture heroes were mostlyConey Island life savers." One company prevailed upon a leading stage actor to play the role of "Hamlet" on screen. This began the influx of more Broadway actors into the new medium.By 1917 Hulette's films were being produced by leading director William Parke. In that year she made her most popular film to date, "Streets of Illusion". Playing the part of "Beam", Hulette's co-stars included
Richard Barthelmess and J.H. Gilmour. Parke owned theatrical companies and assisted Hulette in making one hit after another.She married William Parke Jr., the directors son in 1917. They divorced in 1924. ["Internet Movie Database"]
By 1921 she was a veteran of the motion picture industry. She again played opposite Barthelmess, this time in "Tol'able David". She had the
ingenue (stock character) part of "Esther Hatburn". In an interview she said she wished for no different type of roles than the one she played in this film. Later she sought "comedy-drama" parts which she portrayed in "Jack O' Hearts (1926) and "A Bowery Cinderella" (1927).She researched her own roles like the dance hall girl she played in "The U.P. Trail" (1924). Hulette consulted "Social Life of the Pioneers" for the
Fox Film production, filmed over a period of two months inNevada . The book was published in the 1880s inSan Francisco, California . She discovered that saloons in America's old west provided "a softening influence, and the nucleus of community consciousness." This was due to the young women entertainers found there.Late career
Hulette made her debut in sound films in " Torch Singer" (1933). Her final film appearances came in "Her Resale Value" (1933) and with uncredited roles in "The Girl From Missouri" and "One Hour Late", both from 1934.
Gladys Hulette died in
Montebello, California in 1991.elected filmography
*
Be Your Age (1926)
*The Mystic (1925)
* The Family Secret (1924)
* The Iron Horse (1924)
*Hoodman Blind (1923)
*Enemies of Women (1923)
*Tol'able David (1921)
*The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies (1914)
* A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)
*Princess Nicotine; or, The Smoke Fairy (1909)Trivia
In the 1920s Hulette's fan mail address was care of Renaud Hoffman Productions,
Hollywood Studio.External links
*
*References
*
Fort Wayne, Indiana News, "Gladys Hulette", September 13, 1917, Page 5.
*Los Angeles Times , "She's Champion of Dance Hall Girls", April 13, 1924, Page B19.
* Los Angeles Times, "Tell Us What You Think", December 14, 1924, Page C32.
*Oakland, California Tribune, "Gladys Hulette Talks of Old Days as Child in Vitagraph", Sunday Morning, August 28, 1921, Page 21.
*New York Times , "Amusement Notes", September 9, 1907, Page 7.
* Reno Evening Gazette, "Old Favorite Is Seen Again", September 9, 1933, Page 8.Notes
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