Helen Jerome Eddy
Encyclopedia
Helen Jerome Eddy was a motion picture actress from New York, New York. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
(1917).
. As a youth, Eddy acted in productions put on by the Pasadena Playhouse
. She became interested in films through the studios of Siegmund Lubin
, which was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. In her youth they opened a backlot
in her Los Angeles neighborhood. Eddy died of heart failure on January 27, 1990, in Alhambra, California
, at the age of 92.
. At this time she began to play the roles for which she is best remembered. Other films in which the actress participated include The March Hare (1921), The Dark Angel
, Camille, Quality Street
, The Divine Lady
(1929) and the first Our Gang
talkie Small Talk
(1929). She made Girls Demand Excitement
in 1931 and her final film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
, in 1947. Even as a seasoned performer in the late 1920s it was remarked that Eddy looked "astonishingly young in appearance to have been in pictures for so many years".
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917 film)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a 1917 silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan based upon the novel of the same name by Kate Douglas Wiggin. This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion...
(1917).
Biography
She was born on February 25, 1897, and was raised in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. As a youth, Eddy acted in productions put on by the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
. She became interested in films through the studios of Siegmund Lubin
Siegmund Lubin
Siegmund Lubin was a Polish-American motion picture pioneer.-Biography:He was born as Siegmund Lubszynski in Breslau, Silesia, Germany on April 20, 1851, to a German Jewish family...
, which was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. In her youth they opened a backlot
Backlot
A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio, containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction....
in her Los Angeles neighborhood. Eddy died of heart failure on January 27, 1990, in Alhambra, California
Alhambra, California
Alhambra is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, which is approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. As of the 2010 census, the population was 83,089, down from 85,804 at the 2000 census. The city's...
, at the age of 92.
Filmography
Eddy's first movie was The Discontented Man (1915). Soon after, she left Lubin and joined Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. At this time she began to play the roles for which she is best remembered. Other films in which the actress participated include The March Hare (1921), The Dark Angel
The Dark Angel (1925 film)
The Dark Angel is a drama, based on the play The Dark Angel, a Play of Yesterday and To-day by H. B. Trevelyan, released by First National in 1925, and starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and Wyndham Standing...
, Camille, Quality Street
Quality Street (1927 film)
Quality Street is a 1927 MGM silent film based on the 1901 play by James M. Barrie which starred Barrie favorite Maude Adams. The film starred Marion Davies and Conrad Nagel and was directed by Sidney Franklin...
, The Divine Lady
The Divine Lady
The Divine Lady is a 1929 Vitaphone sound film with a synchronized musical score and sound effects. The film, however, featured no spoken dialogue. The film tells the story of the love affair between Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton. It stars Corinne Griffith, Victor Varconi, H.B. Warner, Ian...
(1929) and the first Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
talkie Small Talk
Small Talk (film)
Small Talk is a 1929 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 86th entry in the Our Gang series to be released, and the first to be made with sound....
(1929). She made Girls Demand Excitement
Girls Demand Excitement
Girls Demand Excitement is a 1931 film starring Virginia Cherrill, John Wayne, and Marguerite Churchill. Wayne and Churchill had starred in the widescreen Western epic The Big Trail the previous year...
in 1931 and her final film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It...
, in 1947. Even as a seasoned performer in the late 1920s it was remarked that Eddy looked "astonishingly young in appearance to have been in pictures for so many years".
Further reading
- Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
Star-News, "Eddy House Yields Ghost", April 25, 1973, page 7. - Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
Herald, June 27, 1935, "Theater Guide", page 14.