Carmel Myers
Encyclopedia
Carmel Myers was an American
actress who worked chiefly in silent movies
.
Myers was born in San Francisco, the daughter of an Australia
n rabbi
and Austria
n Jewish mother. Her father became well-connected with California's emerging film industry, and introduced her to film pioneer D. W. Griffith
, who gave Carmel a small part in Intolerance
(1916). Myers also got her brother Zion Myers into Hollywood as a writer/director.
From this beginning, Myers left for New York
, where she acted mainly on stage for the next two years. She was signed by Universal
, where she emerged as a popular actress in vamp roles. Her most popular film from this period is probably the romantic comedy
All Night, opposite Rudolph Valentino
. By 1924 she was working for MGM, making such films as Broadway After Dark, which also starred Adolphe Menjou
, Norma Shearer
and Anna Q. Nilsson
.
In 1925, she appeared in arguably her most famous role, that of the Egyptian vamp Iras in Ben-Hur
, who tries to seduce both Messala (Francis X. Bushman
) and Ben-Hur himself (Ramón Novarro
). This film was a boost to Myers' career, and she appeared in major roles throughout the 1920s, including Tell It to the Marines
in 1926 with Lon Chaney, Sr.
, William Haines
and Eleanor Boardman
. Myers appeared in Four Walls
and Dream of Love
, both with Joan Crawford
in 1928; and in The Show of Shows (1929), a showcase of popular contemporary film actors.
Myers had a successful sound career, mostly in supporting roles due to her age. Amongst her popular sound films are Svengali
(1931) and The Mad Genius
(1931), both with John Barrymore
and Marian Marsh
, and a small role in 1944's The Conspirators
, which featured Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre
, and Sydney Greenstreet
.
Myers surfaced in the entertainment world again briefly in 1951, with a short-lived DuMont Television Network
show called The Carmel Myers Show, which followed the interview format. After its cancellation, Myers focused on a career in real estate and her own perfume distribution company.
Myers died in 1980 at the age of 81 and was buried near her parents at Home of Peace Cemetery
in East Los Angeles.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress who worked chiefly in silent movies
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
.
Myers was born in San Francisco, the daughter of an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Jewish mother. Her father became well-connected with California's emerging film industry, and introduced her to film pioneer D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
, who gave Carmel a small part in Intolerance
Intolerance (film)
Intolerance is a 1916 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Silent Era. The three-and-a-half hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines each separated by several centuries: A contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; a...
(1916). Myers also got her brother Zion Myers into Hollywood as a writer/director.
From this beginning, Myers left for New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where she acted mainly on stage for the next two years. She was signed by Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, where she emerged as a popular actress in vamp roles. Her most popular film from this period is probably the romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
All Night, opposite Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
. By 1924 she was working for MGM, making such films as Broadway After Dark, which also starred Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
, Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
and Anna Q. Nilsson
Anna Q. Nilsson
Anna Quirentia Nilsson was a Swedish born American actress who achieved success in American silent movies.-Background:...
.
In 1925, she appeared in arguably her most famous role, that of the Egyptian vamp Iras in Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1925 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1925 silent film directed by Fred Niblo. It was a blockbuster hit for newly merged Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This was the second film based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace...
, who tries to seduce both Messala (Francis X. Bushman
Francis X. Bushman
Francis Xavier Bushman was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. His matinee idol career started in 1911 in the silent film His Friend's Wife, but it did not survive the silent screen era....
) and Ben-Hur himself (Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro was a Mexican leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol" after the death of Rudolph Valentino...
). This film was a boost to Myers' career, and she appeared in major roles throughout the 1920s, including Tell It to the Marines
Tell It to the Marines
Tell It to the Marines is a 1926 silent movie starring Lon Chaney, William Haines and Eleanor Boardman, and directed by George W. Hill. The film follows a Marine recruit and the sergeant who trains him...
in 1926 with Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
, William Haines
William Haines
Charles William "Billy" Haines was an American film actor and interior designer. He was a star of the silent era until the 1930s, when Haines' career was cut short by MGM Studios due to his refusal to deny his homosexuality...
and Eleanor Boardman
Eleanor Boardman
Eleanor Boardman was an American film actress, popular during the era of silent movies.-Early life and career:...
. Myers appeared in Four Walls
Four Walls (film)
Four Walls is a 1928 film starring John Gilbert, Joan Crawford, and Carmel Myers. This is a lost film. -Plot summary:Benny Horowitz , a reformed gangster, proposes marriage to Bertha , a neighbor who had been a frequent visitor while he served his sentence...
and Dream of Love
Dream of Love
Dream of Love is a 1928 MGM silent film, directed by Fred Niblo, and starring Joan Crawford and Nils Asther. The film is based on the play Adrienne Lecouvreur by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. In the film, Asther plays Prince Maurice de Saxe and Crawford plays Adrienne Lecouvreur, a Gypsy...
, both with Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
in 1928; and in The Show of Shows (1929), a showcase of popular contemporary film actors.
Myers had a successful sound career, mostly in supporting roles due to her age. Amongst her popular sound films are Svengali
Svengali (1931 film)
Svengali is a drama/horror film starring John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, and Bramwell Fletcher, directed by Archie Mayo, written by J. Grubb Alexander, and released by Warner Brothers. It is based on the gothic horror novel Trilby by George du Maurier. The film was originally released on May 22, 1931...
(1931) and The Mad Genius
The Mad Genius
The Mad Genius is a drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, Donald Cook, Charles Butterworth, and in small roles, Boris Karloff and Frankie Darro. The film is based on the play The Idol by Martin Brown, which opened in Great Neck, New York but never opened...
(1931), both with John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
and Marian Marsh
Marian Marsh
Marian Marsh was an American film actress, and later, environmentalist.-Early life:Violet Ethelred Krauth was born on October 17, 1913 in Trinidad, British West Indies , the youngest of four children of a German chocolate manufacturer and his French-English wife.Due to World War I, Violet's...
, and a small role in 1944's The Conspirators
The Conspirators
The Conspirators is a 1944 film directed by Jean Negulesco. It stars Hedy Lamarr and Paul Henreid.-Cast:*Hedy Lamarr as Irene Von Mohr*Paul Henreid as Vincent Van Der Lyn*Sydney Greenstreet as Ricardo Quintanilla*Peter Lorre as Jan Bernazsky...
, which featured Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
, and Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Hughes Greenstreet was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca .-Biography:...
.
Myers surfaced in the entertainment world again briefly in 1951, with a short-lived DuMont Television Network
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
show called The Carmel Myers Show, which followed the interview format. After its cancellation, Myers focused on a career in real estate and her own perfume distribution company.
Myers died in 1980 at the age of 81 and was buried near her parents at Home of Peace Cemetery
Home of Peace Cemetery
The Home of Peace Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located at 4334 Whittier Boulevard west of Interstate 710 in East Los Angeles, California.The cemetery is located across from Calvary Catholic Cemetery and next to Beth Israel Cemetery and Mount Zion Cemetery .There are a number of famous rabbis...
in East Los Angeles.
External links
- Carmel Myers Photo Gallery at Silent-Movies.org