Helen Chandler
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Helen Chandler | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | April 30, 1965 Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 59)
Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1927–1938 |
Spouses | Walter S. Piascik
(m. 1943; death 1965) |
Helen Chandler (February 1, 1906 – April 30, 1965)[1] was an American film and theater actress, best known for playing Mina Seward in the 1931 horror film Dracula.
Career
Born in
Chandler did not want to play the role for which she is probably best remembered, Mina in Dracula (1931);[citation needed] she wanted to play Alice in Alice in Wonderland.[citation needed] Nevertheless, Chandler joined David Manners and Bela Lugosi in what became one of the most successful movies made at that time. Chandler appeared with Manners that same year in the Lost Generation celebration of alcohol in Paris, The Last Flight, also starring Richard Barthelmess and John Mack Brown. She achieved more successes in A House Divided (1931) and Christopher Strong (1933), all the while dividing her time among films, radio work, and theater roles in Los Angeles, New York and London.
She starred in British actor Will Hay's 1934 movie, Radio Parade of 1935 and played a role on Lux Radio in Alibi Ike with Joe E. Brown (1937). Among her later stage successes were Within The Gates in 1934, Pride and Prejudice in 1935, Lady Precious Stream in 1936 with then-husband Bramwell Fletcher, a reprise of her film role in Outward Bound in 1938 and various productions of Boy Meets Girl and Noël Coward's Tonight at 8.30
Personal life
On February 14, 1935, Chandler married actor Bramwell Fletcher in Riverside Church in New York. She had previously been married to Cyril Hume, whom she divorced in 1934.[2] From February 3, 1943 until her death, she was married to Walter S. Piascik.[5][6][7]
By the late 1930s she was battling alcoholism and her acting career declined. She was hospitalized several times but was unable to gain control over her life.[8] In 1950, Chandler was severely burned in an apartment fire, caused by her falling asleep while smoking.[6] She survived but her body was badly disfigured. Her alcoholism continued unabated after the accident.[8]
Death
Chandler died on April 30, 1965, following surgery in
Filmography
- The Music Master (1927) as Jenny
- The Joy Girl (1927) as Flora
- Mother's Boy (1929) as Rose Lyndon
- Salute (1929) as Nancy Wayne
- The Sky Hawk (1929) as Joan Allan
- Rough Romance (1930) as Marna Reynolds
- Outward Bound (1930) as Ann
- Mothers Cry (1930) as Beattie Williams
- Dracula (1931) as Mina Seward
- Daybreak (1931) as Laura Taub
- Salvation Nell (1931) as Nell Saunders
- The Last Flight (1931) as Nikki
- Fanny Foley Herself (1931) as Lenore
- A House Divided (1931) as Ruth Evans
- Vanity Street (1932) as Jeanie Gregg
- Behind Jury Doors (1932) as Elsa Lanfield
- Christopher Strong (1933) as Monica Strong
- Alimony Madness (1933) as Joan Armstrong
- Dance Hall Hostess (1933) as Nora Marsh
- Goodbye Again (1933) as Elizabeth Clochessy
- The Worst Woman in Paris? (1933) as Mary Dunbar
- Long Lost Father (1934) as Lindsey Lane
- Midnight Alibi (1934) as Abigail 'Abbie' Ardsley as a Girl
- Unfinished Symphony (1934) as Emmie Passeuter
- Radio Parade of 1935 (1934) as Joan Garland
- It's a Bet (1935) as Clare
- Mr. Boggs Steps Out (1938) as Oleander Tubbs (final film role)
- archive footage)
Notes
- ^ A 1935 Associated Press story about Chandler's wedding to Bramwell Fletcher says Chandler "was born here ...", apparently referring to the story's New York dateline.
References
- ^ ISBN 9780806503004>
- ^
- ^ Haskin, Frederic J. (March 22, 1920). "School in Church for Stage Folk; Children of New York Stage and Studio Are Trained at Parents' Expense". Asbury Park Press. p. 4. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- ^ "Helen Chandler: Roles". Playbill.
- ^ "California, San Francisco County Records, 1824-1997", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL4Y-RQVV : Sat Aug 05 13:16:44 UTC 2023), Entry for Walter S. Piascik and Helen Chandler, 03 Feb.
- ^ a b Associated Press (November 10, 1950). "Actress Burned When She Dozes Smoking in Bed". Chicago Tribune. November 10, 1950. p. 28. Retrieved August 25, 1923.
- ^ ProQuest 962980355.
Helen Chandler, 59, former Broadway and later film actress, died, as result of surgery, in Hollywood April 30. Among her films were "Salute," "Mother's Boy," "Outward Bound," "Worst Woman in Paris." Her Broadway roles included "It's a Bet," "It's You I Want," "Pride and Prejudice," "Lady Precious Stream." Widower Walter Piascik survives.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-2334-7.
- ^ ISBN 9780786409839. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Dark, Arthur (June 21, 2023). "A Niche for Helen Chandler (Fundraiser)" (video). youtube.com. Hollywood Graveyard.
- ^ @Arthur Dark (July 10, 2023). "You're invited to help us celebrate the life of Helen Chandler, as she arrives at her new eternal home. Join us, won't you?". Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Instagram.
External links
- Helen Chandler at IMDb
- Helen Chandler at the Internet Broadway Database
- Helen Chandler Fansite
- Van Neste, Dan. ""Helen Chandler: Vision of Beauty"" Films of the Golden Age, Spring, 1998 [1].
- Fiore, David. Hypocritic Days Insomniac Press, 2014. Toronto Star review of the novel