- Madlaine Traverse
Madlaine Traverse (August 1, 1875-January 7, 1964) was a stage and screen actress from
Cleveland, Ohio . Madlaine was her birth name.Silent movie actressTraverse was a leading lady of the
Fox Film Corporation in the second decade of the twentieth century. In 1917 she played the mother ofMary Pickford inThe Poor Little Rich Girl (1917). In "What Would You Do?" (1920) director Edmund Lawrence required Traverse to wear the clothes of aBoer woman ofSouth Africa . Lawrence stressed realism to the point of insisting that Traverse not wash her face for several days before her scenes were shot.Her most successful films are "The Caillaux Case" (1918) and "Three Weeks" (1914). In 1920 she made her first movie for Madlaine Traverse Productions, "Snares of
Paris " (1919), inNew York . Her wardrobe for the motion picture was purchased in Paris and she stayed inFort Lee, New Jersey while on location.Traverse was rescued from drowning while she was bathing at high tide in the Pacific Ocean in October 1918. A man who was swimming nearby noticed Traverse did not come to the surface after struggling with strong waves. He pulled her by her skirt and took her to safety from the water off the coast of Ocean Park, California.
She became an avid duck hunter in southern
California after settling there to make motion pictures.Madlaine Traverse died in Cleveland in 1964.-Additional information-Madlaine Traverse's birth name was Mary Businsky. She was born August 1,1875. Madlaine began her acting career on the stage in England. She married Max Traverse, who died in 1906. The lights from filming permanently damaged her eyes, forcing her into retirement. Mary Pickford, who starred with her in "Poor Little Rich Girl" visited her in 1962, which was the highlight of her retirement years. She was 88 when she died January 7, 1964.
-This addition was written by direct relatives of Madlaine herself and we would wish that you would not tamper with it.-
References
*Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, "Madlaine Traverse Hunts", Sunday Morning, November 23, 1919, Section Four, Page 8.
*Los Angeles Times , "Flashes, Star Nearly Drowns", October 4, 1918, Page II3.
*Los Angeles Times, "Madlaine Traverse Was Rather Shocked", August 24, 1919, Page III15.
*Los Angeles Times, "Madlaine Traverse Plans Costume Innovation", May 13, 1920, Page II7.********
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