Bessie Learn
Encyclopedia
Bessie Learn was an American actress, who appeared in 86 films between 1911 and 1919
. Eugene Learn was a house painter by trade and by the time of the birth of his first daughter he and Lizzie were living in California. Soon after Bessie's birth her family relocated to Chicago where her father found work as a printer. A few years later Bessie's mother passed away in Chicago leaving her father to care for three young daughters.
Bessie Learn’s first known stage appearance came at age eight with Amelia Bingham
, in "Hearts are Trumps;" playing a baby in a stroller. She later played in "The Little Princess," with Millie James , "Lover's Lane" on Broadway, with Mary Ryan
and had a two year run with Edwin Arden in "Home Folks". She next appeared with Henry B. Irving in "Paola and Francesca" and "Midsummer Night's Dream" and in vaudeville
with Robert Hilliard
and William Harcourt
as the boy, in "Polly of the Circus."
She became the ingenue of the Edison company
at the age of 22, and in her short time before the camera made an enviable record for vivacious and appealing comedy. Little Miss Learn was featured in some of the best comedies Edison released, and was considered a serious player with marked ability. Her death was recorded on February 5, 1987 in Los Angeles under the name Betty Robbins, aged 98.
Biography
Elizabeth “Bessie” Learn was born in San Diego the middle of three daughters raised by Eugene and Lizzie Learn. Her father was a native of New York who served in the U.S. Army before marrying Lizzie MacBride on October 11, 1883 in Buffalo County, NebraskaBuffalo County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 42,259 people, 15,930 households, and 10,227 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 16,830 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
. Eugene Learn was a house painter by trade and by the time of the birth of his first daughter he and Lizzie were living in California. Soon after Bessie's birth her family relocated to Chicago where her father found work as a printer. A few years later Bessie's mother passed away in Chicago leaving her father to care for three young daughters.
Bessie Learn’s first known stage appearance came at age eight with Amelia Bingham
Amelia Bingham
Amelia Swilley Kingham' was an Australian dancer from Hicksville, Ohio. Her Broadway career extended from ....
, in "Hearts are Trumps;" playing a baby in a stroller. She later played in "The Little Princess," with Millie James , "Lover's Lane" on Broadway, with Mary Ryan
Mary Ryan
Mary Ryan may refer to:* Mary Ryan , Irish Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary 1944–1961* Mary Ryan , a character from both the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series of computer games...
and had a two year run with Edwin Arden in "Home Folks". She next appeared with Henry B. Irving in "Paola and Francesca" and "Midsummer Night's Dream" and in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
with Robert Hilliard
Robert Hilliard
Robert Martin Hilliard was an Olympic boxer, Irish republican, Church of Ireland minister and communist. He was killed in the Spanish Civil War fighting in the International Brigades....
and William Harcourt
William Harcourt
William Harcourt may refer to:*William Vernon Harcourt *William Vernon Harcourt *William Harcourt , Catholic martyr, victim of the Titus Oates plot...
as the boy, in "Polly of the Circus."
She became the ingenue of the Edison company
Edison Studios
Edison Studios was an American motion picture production company owned by the Edison Company of inventor Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films as the Edison Manufacturing Company and Thomas A. Edison, Inc. until the studio's closing in 1918...
at the age of 22, and in her short time before the camera made an enviable record for vivacious and appealing comedy. Little Miss Learn was featured in some of the best comedies Edison released, and was considered a serious player with marked ability. Her death was recorded on February 5, 1987 in Los Angeles under the name Betty Robbins, aged 98.
Selected Filmography
- On The Broad Stairway (1913)
- The Girl of the Gypsy Camp (1915)The Girl of the Gypsy Camp (1915)The Girl of the Gypsy Camp, from Edison Studios, was a three-act silent film written by Lee Arthur and directed by Langdon West. The film was released on July 30, 1915. -Cast:*Harry Eytinge as Sam*Carlton S. King as Franko, Rigo’s son...
- The Lost Battalion (1919)The Lost BattalionThe Lost Battalion is the 1919 film about units of the 77th Infantry Division penetrating deep into the Argonne Forest of France during World War I. The soldiers under the command of Major Charles Whittlesey are then trapped and surrounded by German soldiers...
External links
- There's Something About Bessie at Classic ImagesClassic ImagesClassic Images is a monthly American mail-subscription newspaper in tabloid format, founded in 1962 by film collector Sam Rubin, dedicated to film and television of the "Golden Age." Its offices are located in Muscatine, Iowa and it is published by the Muscatine Journal division of Lee Enterprises,...
- Bessie Learn portrait University of Washington