Claire Whitney

Claire Whitney
Publicity photo of Whitney from Who's Who on the Screen (1920)
Born(1890-05-06)May 6, 1890
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 27, 1969(1969-08-27) (aged 79)
OccupationActress
Years active1912–1949
Spouse(s)Jan von Hoegarden (m.1917–ann. 1920)
Robert Emmett Keane (m.1921)

Claire Whitney (May 6, 1890 – August 27, 1969) was an American stage and film actress who appeared in 111 films between 1912 and 1949. Only 21 of these films survive, as most have been lost.

Whitney gained early acting experience with a stock theater company in Massachusetts, following which she toured the United States in a vaudeville production of Little Mother.[1]

Whitney made her first film in 1913 for Solax and continued making films until 1921, mainly for Fox Film Corporation. Whitney came back to films in 1926 with a role in The Great Gatsby which would be her final silent film. She continued working in film between 1931 and 1949 when she retired.

Whitney's Broadway credits include Broadway Interlude (1934), Page Pygmalion (1932), An Innocent Idea (1920), and The Net (1919).[2]

On March 20, 1920, Whitney's marriage to Jan von Hoegarden, an actor also known as John Sunderland, was annulled after he admitted having a wife and children in Belgium.[3] The couple had wed on November 12, 1917, in New York.[4]

Whitney died in Los Angeles on August 27, 1969, at the age of 79. She is buried in an unmarked grave in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, next to her husband, Robert Emmett Keane.[citation needed]

Selected filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1913 The Star of India Captain Kenneth's wife
1914 Fighting Death Clara Lost film
1914 The Million Dollar Robbery Daphne Pell
1915 Should A Mother Tell? Baroness Gauntier Lost film
The Song of Hate Lost film
The Galley Slave Cecil Blaine Lost film
1916 East Lynne Barbara Hare
The Ruling Passion Claire Sherlock Lost film
Under Two Flags Venitia Lost film
The Straight Way Nell Madison Lost film
Jealousy ?sorceress; uncredited Lost film
1917 Heart and Soul Bess Lost film
Camille Celeste Duval Lost film
Thou Shalt Not Steal Madeleine
1918 Ruling Passions Louise Palmer Lost film
1919 The Man Who Stayed at Home Molly Preston
Moral Suicide Lucy Daniels
1920 Why Women Sin Baroness de Ville
Love, Honor and Obey Marion Holbury
1921 The Passionate Pilgrim Esther Incomplete film
1921 The Leech Dorothy
1921 Fine Feathers Jane Reynolds
1926 The Great Gatsby Catherine Lost film, only the trailer survives
1931 A Free Soul Aunt Helen Uncredited
1934 Enlighten Thy Daughter Alice Stevens Alternative title: Blind Fools
1938 Secrets of a Nurse Nurse Uncredited
1939 Laugh It Off Miss Martin
1940 Chip of the Flying U Miss Robinson
The House of Seven Gables Waitress Uncredited
1941 Mob Town Mrs. Simpson Uncredited
1942 The Silver Bullet Emily Morgan
1943 So's Your Uncle Marta
1944 The Mummy's Ghost Mrs. Ella Norman
1945 Anchors Aweigh U.S.O. Mother Uncredited
1946 The Haunted Mine Mrs. Durant
1947 Christmas Eve Dr. Bunyan's Wife Alternative title: Sinner's Holiday
1949 An Old-Fashioned Girl Miss Mills

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Claire Whitney Ranks High As Screen Star". Courier-Post. New Jersey, Camden. July 14, 1916. p. 8. Retrieved November 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ "Claire Whitney". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  3. ^ "Actress Gets Divorce". Daily Arkansas Gazette. Arkansas, Little Rock. March 21, 1920. p. 21. Retrieved November 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Actress Seeks Freedom Again". Tampa Bay Times. Florida, St. Petersburg. August 5, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved November 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
[edit]