Leila Hyams
Encyclopedia
Leila Hyams was an American film actress. Her relatively short film career began in silent films, and ended in the mid 1930s.
comedy performers John Hyams and Leila McIntyre, Hyams appeared on-stage with her parents while still a child. As a teenager she worked as a model
and become well known across the United States after appearing in a successful series of newspaper advertisements
. This success led her to Hollywood.
(1928) opposite William Haines
, Lionel Barrymore
and Karl Dane
. The following year she appeared in the popular murder mystery The Thirteenth Chair
, a role that offered her the chance to display her dramatic abilities as a murder suspect.
The quality of her parts continued to improve as the decade turned, including a role as Robert Montgomery
's sister in the prison drama The Big House (1930) with Chester Morris
and Wallace Beery
, for which Hyams once again received positive reviews. She then appeared in Surrender
(1931).
Although she succeeded in films that required her to play pretty ingenues, and developed into a capable dramatic actress in 1930s crime melodramas, she is perhaps best remembered for two early 1930s horror movies, as the wise-cracking but kind hearted circus performer in Freaks
(1932), and as the heroine in Island of Lost Souls
(1933). Hyams was the original choice to play Jane in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), but turned it down. The role was ultimately played in that film and several Tarzan
films by Maureen O'Sullivan
.
She also appeared in the once controversial Jean Harlow
film Red-Headed Woman
(1932), the musical comedy The Big Broadcast
(1932) with Bing Crosby
, George Burns
and Gracie Allen
, and was widely praised for her comedic performance in Ruggles of Red Gap
(1935) opposite Charles Laughton
and Charlie Ruggles.
After ten years and fifty films, Hyams retired from acting in 1936, but remained part of the Hollywood community for the rest of her life. She was married to the agent Phil Berg from 1927 until her death in Bel Air, California.
Early life
Born in New York, New York to vaudevilleVaudeville
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...
comedy performers John Hyams and Leila McIntyre, Hyams appeared on-stage with her parents while still a child. As a teenager she worked as a model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and become well known across the United States after appearing in a successful series of newspaper advertisements
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
. This success led her to Hollywood.
Career
She made her first film in 1924, and with her blonde hair, delicate features, and good natured demeanour, was cast in a string of supporting roles, where she was required to do very little but smile and look pretty. She proved herself capable of handling the small roles she was assigned, and over a period of time she came to be taken seriously as an actress. By 1928 she was playing starring roles, achieving success in MGM's first talkie release, Alias Jimmy ValentineAlias Jimmy Valentine
Alias Jimmy Valentine is a 1928 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film directed by Jack Conway, and starring William Haines, Leila Hyams, Lionel Barrymore, and Karl Dane. It is sourced from the O. Henry story,A Retrieved Reformation which was turned into the 1910 play Alias Jimmy Valentine by Paul Armstrong. The...
(1928) opposite 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...
, Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
and Karl Dane
Karl Dane
Karl Dane was a Danish comedian and actor known for his work in American films, mainly of the silent film era. He worked alongside Rudolph Valentino, John Gilbert, and King Vidor. In 1926, he teamed up with George K. Arthur to form the successful comedy duo Dane & Arthur...
. The following year she appeared in the popular murder mystery The Thirteenth Chair
The Thirteenth Chair
The Thirteenth Chair is a 1929 mystery film directed by Tod Browning. It is based on a 1916 play of the same name by Bayard Veiller.-Cast:* Conrad Nagel as Richard Crosby* Leila Hyams as Helen 'Nellie' O'Neill...
, a role that offered her the chance to display her dramatic abilities as a murder suspect.
The quality of her parts continued to improve as the decade turned, including a role as Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery (actor)
Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
's sister in the prison drama The Big House (1930) with Chester Morris
Chester Morris
Chester Morris was an American actor, who starred in the Boston Blackie detective series of the 1940s.-Career:...
and Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
, for which Hyams once again received positive reviews. She then appeared in Surrender
Surrender (1931 film)
Surrender is a 1931 film directed by William K. Howard, written by S.N. Behrman, and starring Warner Baxter, Leila Hyams, Ralph Bellamy, C. Aubrey Smith and Alexander Kirkland...
(1931).
Although she succeeded in films that required her to play pretty ingenues, and developed into a capable dramatic actress in 1930s crime melodramas, she is perhaps best remembered for two early 1930s horror movies, as the wise-cracking but kind hearted circus performer in Freaks
Freaks
Freaks is a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film about sideshow performers, directed and produced by Tod Browning and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with a cast mostly composed of actual carnival performers. The film was based on Tod Robbins' 1923 short story "Spurs"...
(1932), and as the heroine in Island of Lost Souls
Island of Lost Souls (1933 film)
Island of Lost Souls is an American science fiction horror film starring Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Bela Lugosi and Kathleen Burke as The Panther Woman. Produced by Paramount Pictures in 1933 from a script co-written by science fiction legend Philip Wylie, the movie was the...
(1933). Hyams was the original choice to play Jane in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), but turned it down. The role was ultimately played in that film and several Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
films by Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen Paula O’Sullivan was an Irish actress.-Early life:O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Roman Catholic parents Mary Lovatt and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in The Connaught Rangers who served in The Great War...
.
She also appeared in the once controversial Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
film Red-Headed Woman
Red-Headed Woman
Red-Headed Woman is a 1932 Pre-Code comedy film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on a novel by Katherine Brush, and with a screenplay by Anita Loos. It was directed by Jack Conway, and stars Jean Harlow as a woman who uses sex to advance her social position...
(1932), the musical comedy The Big Broadcast
The Big Broadcast
The Big Broadcast is a musical comedy film produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by Frank Tuttle, and starring Bing Crosby, Stuart Erwin, and Leila Hyams, with George Burns and Gracie Allen in supporting roles...
(1932) with Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
and Gracie Allen
Gracie Allen
Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen , known as Gracie Allen, was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns...
, and was widely praised for her comedic performance in Ruggles of Red Gap
Ruggles of Red Gap
Ruggles of Red Gap was serialized beginning December 26, 1914 in the Saturday Evening Post and became a best selling novel in 1915 by Harry Leon Wilson, adapted for the Broadway stage as a musical the same year, and made into a movie several times, most famously in 1935.In the comedy Western film...
(1935) opposite Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
and Charlie Ruggles.
After ten years and fifty films, Hyams retired from acting in 1936, but remained part of the Hollywood community for the rest of her life. She was married to the agent Phil Berg from 1927 until her death in Bel Air, California.
External links
- Fan website
- Clip of Leila Hyams at YouTube.com
- Leila Hyams at Virtual History
- Leila McIntyre and John Hyams (parents of Leila Hyams) in 1911 University of Louisville, Maucauley Theater collections