Billie Seward

Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Billie Seward


imagesize =
caption =
birthdate = birth date|1912|10|23|mf=y
location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
deathdate = death date and age|1982|3|20|1912|10|23
deathplace =
birthname = Rita Ann Seward
yearsactive = 1934 - 1944
academyawards =
spouse = William Wilkerson (1935-1938)

Billie Seward (October 23, 1912 – March 20, 1982)"Death Notices", Los Angeles Times, March 23, 1982, pg. SD_A2.] was a 1930s motion picture actress from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."Changeable Coat Latest Novelty", Los Angeles Times, February 12, 1934, pg. 8.]

Marriage

In 1934 Seward was linked romantically to actor Lyle Talbot. ["Hobnobbing In Hollywood", Los Angeles Times, May 26, 1934, pg. 6.] She married William Wilkerson, owner of the Trocadero (Los Angeles) and Ciro's, on September 30, 1935. Wilkerson was also the owner and publisher of the Hollywood Reporter. ["Film Player To Be Bride", Los Angeles Times, September 29, 1935,pg. 1.] The couple separated in February 1937 but reconciled. Seward renewed a divorce suit against Wilkerson in March 1938, using her legal name Rita Ann Wilkerson. ["Billie Seward Revives Suit", Los Angeles Times, March 2, 1938, pg. A8.]

Film Actress

Seward performed with Lou Holtz (actor) at The Beverly Wilshire Hotel Gold Room in December 1933. ["Hobnobbing in Hollywood", Los Angeles Times, December 16, 1933, pg. A7.]

She obtained a contract with Columbia Pictures following a three month stay in Hollywood.Seward starred with Richard Cromwell in the 1934 Columbia production of "Among the Missing". ["Screen Notes", New York Times, July 9, 1934, pg. 18.] Wallace Ford joined Seward and Cromwell in "Hot News", which was eventually titled "Men of theHour" (1935).

She was in three western films written by Ford Beebe in 1935. The titles are "Law Beyond the Range", "The Revenge Rider", and "Justice of the Range". Colonel Tim McCoy, Ward Bond, andEd LeSaint were among her fellow actors. ["The Star:In Composite", New York Times, May 19, 1935, pg. X4.] In "One CrowdedNight" (1940) Seward plays "Gladys". This RKO film is critiqued by Bosley Crowther who called it "a routine multi-plot melodrama, "Grand Hotel" reduced to a tourist camp." ["The Screen", New York Times, August 27, 1940, pg. 17.]

Court Litigation

In August 1951 an appointment for a receiver for the Hollywood Reporter was requested in a suit filed by film director Thomas Seward against Wilkerson, publisher of the trade periodical. Seward contended that in 1944 he advanced $228,000 in partnership with Wilkerson, who put up$372,000. The suit stipulated that profits would be divided 62% for Wilkerson and 38% for Seward. Seward was the brother of BillieSeward. Thomas Seward charged that Wilkerson took sole possession of the business and its assets in June 1951. Seward asked for the sale of the business, a division of assets, and $150,000 in damages. [Receiver Asked for Movie Daily", Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1951, pg. B5.]

Death

Seward died in Sherman Oaks, California in 1982. She was survived by 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Her funeral mass was conducted from St. Cyrils Church in Encino, California, and she was buried in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery.

Filmography

*"School For Romance" (1934)
*"Once To Every Woman" (1934)
*"Voice In The Night" (1934)
*"Twentieth Century" (1934)
*"The Hell Cat" (1934)
*"Plumbing For Gold" (1934)
*"Whom The Gods Destroy" (1934)
*"Blind Date" (1934)
*"Among The Missing" (1934)
*"Law Beyond The Range" (1935)
*"The Revenge Rider" (1935)
*"Men Of The Hour" (1935)
*"Air Hawks" (1935)
*"Justice Of The Range" (1935)
*"Riding Wild" (1935)
*"Branded A Coward" (1935)
*"Trails Of The Wild" (1935)
*"Man From Guntown" (1935)
*"Charlie Chan At Treasure Island" (1939)
*"Reno" (1939)
*"One Crowded Night" (1940)
*"Li'l Abner" (1940)
*"No Hands On The Clock" (1941)
*"Jane Eyre" (1944)
*"Take It Or Leave It" (1944)

References

External links

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