Betty Harte
Betty Harte in 1911
Born
Daisey Mae Light

(1882-05-13)May 13, 1882
Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJanuary 3, 1965(1965-01-03) (aged 82)
Sunland, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1908–1916

Betty Harte (1882–1965) was a leading lady during the heyday of the silent film era, starring in nine feature films and 108 short films. She is credited with writing four screenplays. She chose Betty Harte as her professional name in honor of her favorite author, Bret Harte.[1]

Acting career

Harte appeared on stage with various stock entertainment companies in the eastern United States. While working as a secretary for a newspaper in Los Angeles, California, she was assigned to interview Selig Polyscope Company director Francis Boggs, who liked her appearance and demeanor and quickly signed her to an acting contract. She became the first leading lady of the Selig Polyscope Company's Los Angeles division and appeared in period dramas, swashbucklers, and Westerns.

She starred opposite with the company's flamboyant leading man, Hobart Bosworth, in the films: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1908), The Sultan's Power (1909), The Roman (1910) and Across the Plain's (1910). She later excelled at playing Western heroines and co-starred with Thomas Santschi in Pride of the Range (1910) and Through Fire and Smoke (1911). She also co-starred with the famous Western actor and fellow Pennsylvanian Tom Mix in Pride of the Range (1910) and A Romance of the Rio Grande (1911).

Harte was known for doing her own stunts and while filming an underwater scene in Bermuda for Victory Pictures in the film The Mystery of the Poison Pool (1914) she was bitten by an angel fish and narrowly escaped a serious injury.[2]

Two notable films she appeared in were In the Sultan's Power (1909) and The Coming of Columbus (1912). She co-starred with Hobart Bosworth in the short film In the Sultan's Power, which was the first film that was shot entirely on location in California.[3] She co-starred with Marshall Stedman in the feature film The Coming of Columbus, which was a three-reel melodrama that was completely hand-tinted in Paris, France, and was an early all-color feature film.[4]

Personal life

Harte was born Daisey Mae Light in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on May 13, 1882,[5] to Theophilus Ozias Light and Agnes Mary Bohn.[6] She had seven siblings, although only three lived to adulthood. By 1900, she was living in Philadelphia, where she was attending private school.[7] She was the cousin of the American stage actress Margaret Illington.[8] On October 17, 1907, she married Frank Hardy in Pasadena, California; sometime before 1917 they divorced. On September 12, 1917, she married Ralph Lewis Kruger. The 1920 census records states Ralph and Betty were living in Los Angeles, California, and Ralph either worked for or owned a motion picture theater and Betty had no occupation listed as she had retired from her film career four years earlier in 1916.

Throughout her life she was a bird collector and studied ornithology and was a student of botany, especially favoring flowers. While under contract with the Selig Polyscope Company she maintained a large bird enclosure on the grounds of their studio in Edendale, California, where she kept various species including mockingbirds and nightingales.[7]

Harte said of her doctrine of success, "The more you travel, the more you see, the more you learn, the better your chance of interpreting even the smallest role correctly."[9] She described herself as "Hollywood's First Movie Queen."[1]

She died on January 3, 1965, in Sunland, California, and is buried in Glen Haven Memorial Park in Sylmar, California.[10]

Filmography

Work Format Year Role
The Heritage of Hate Feature 1916 Myra (as Betty Hart)
The Man from Bitter Roots Feature 1916 Undetermined
The Bait Feature 1916 Margot
The Buzzard's Shadow Feature 1915 Mrs. Sears (as Betty Hart)
Nancy of Stony Isle short 1915 Nancy
The Mystery of the Poison Pool Feature 1914 Dorothy
The Oath of a Viking short 1914 Lydia - the King's Daughter
The Next in Command Feature 1914 Zuleika (as Bettie Hart)
A Woman's Triumph Feature 1914 Effie Deans
The Pride of Jennico Feature 1914 The Gypsy Maid, Michel
A Nest Unfeathered short 1914 The Foreman's Wife
Hoodman Blind Feature 1913 Jess / Nance
The Ironmaster short 1913 Betty
I Was Meant for You short 1913 Susan
Bill's Sweetheart short 1913 Little Maverick (as an adult)
An Indian Nemesis short 1913 Hope (Col. West's daughter) (as Betty Hart)
Where Shore and Water Meet short 1913 Mabel Newman - The Designer
Side Tracked by Sister short 1913 Mother
The Noisy Six short 1913 Unconfirmed
The Good in the Worst of Us short 1913 Sergeant Williams' Wife
An Innocent Informer short 1913 The Moonshiner's Daughter
Master and Man short 1913 Ethel Pierce - Seymour's Fiancee (as Bettie Harte)
A Pair of Boots short 1912 Unconfirmed
The Girl of the Mountains short 1912 Tess Sutton - the Old Miner's Daughter
The Vintage of Fate short 1912 Maria
Kings of the Forest short 1912 Sona - Fritz's Wife
Her Educator short 1912 The Kid
His Wedding Eve short 1912 The Nurse
The Fisherboy's Faith short 1912 Amanda's City Friend
Getting Atmosphere short 1912 The Ingénue
How the Cause Was Won short 1912 Mabel Moody
An Assisted Elopement short 1912 Jeanette Wilson
The Pirate's Daughter short 1912 Almita - the Pirate's Daughter
The Substitute Model short 1912 Mary Carr - the Little Sister
The Man from Dragon Land short 1912 Samantha - the Widow's Servant
The Polo Substitute short 1912 Margaret Bush
The Girl and the Cowboy short 1912 Nell Carter - The Belle of Three Pines
The Vow of Ysobel short 1912 Ysobel
The Vision Beautiful short 1912 The Serf
A Reconstructed Rebel short 1912 Louise Yancey (as an adult)
Brains and Brawn short 1912 Molly Jones
Me an' Bill short 1912 Young Kitty
The Junior Officer short 1912 Ethel's Maid
The 'Epidemic' in Paradise Gulch short 1912 Miss Williams - the Schoolteacher
The Girl of the Lighthouse short 1912 Jenna Jensen - the Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter
Bounder short 1912 Ruby Blackwell
The Ace of Spades short 1912 The Woman
The Shrinking Rawhide short 1912 Mercedes
The Danites short 1912 Nancy Williams
Disillusioned short 1912 Marjorie Spofford
The Little Stowaway short 1912 Dot - The Little Stowaway
Diplomat Interrupted short 1912 Jessie Scott
The Secret Wedding short 1912 Bessie Whalen
The Mate of the Alden Bessie short 1912 Undetermined Secondary Role (unconfirmed)
A Modern Rip short 1912 Rip's Daughter
The Little Widow short 1911 Unconfirmed
George Warrington's Escape short 1911 Fanny Mountain
A Romance of the Rio Grande short 1911 Unconfirmed
The Maid at the Helm short 1911 Elizabeth Barker
A Frontier Girl's Courage short 1911 Mary Wilson
An Evil Power short 1911 Alice Morgan
Blackbeard short 1911 Senorita Lopez
The Bootlegger short 1911 Mattie Fancher
In the Days of Gold short 1911 Juanita Lopez
Old Billy short 1911 Mrs. Dane
The Coquette short 1911 Mabel - the Coquette
Captain Brand's Wife short 1911 Ada Jackson - Captain Brand's Wife
Making a Man of Him short 1911 Sallie Morgan - Bertie's Wife
Out-Generaled short 1911 Bessie Darrow
The Artist's Sons short 1911 Model No. 1
Shipwrecked short 1911 Annie Jackson
A Cup of Cold Water short 1911 The Padre's Ward
The Heart of John Barlow short 1911 Lucy Barlow
How Algy Captured a Wild Man short 1911 Maud Lorimer
Through Fire and Smoke short 1911 Betty St. Clair - the Factory Girl
The Blacksmith's Love short 1911 Undetermined Secondary Role (unconfirmed, uncredited)
The Regeneration of Apache Kid short 1911 Mary Worthington - the Colonel's Daughter
Their Only Son short 1911 Unconfirmed
Slick's Romance short 1911 Unconfirmed
The Knight Errant short 1911 Yvette
The Profligate short 1911 Mercedes - Pauline's Sister
It Happened in the West short 1911 Unconfirmed
The White Medicine Man short 1911 Mlle. Julie
The New Faith short 1911 The Slave Girl
A Sacrifice to Civilization short 1911 Unconfirmed
Told in the Sierras short 1911 Sallie Winton - Jake's Wife
Range Pals short 1911 Danny
Where There's a Will, There's a Way short 1911 Miss Hay
The Herders short 1911 Wana
The Still Alarm short 1911 Cad Wilber
The Haven of Refuge short 1911 Unconfirmed
The Spy short 1911 Unconfirmed
Pride of the Range short 1910 Unconfirmed
Justinian and Theodora short 1910 Theodora
A Tale of the Sea short 1910 Bill's Sweetheart / Tom's Wife
The Schoolmaster of Mariposa short 1910 Miss Williams
In the Great Northwest short 1910 Julie - the Factor's Daughter
Davy Crockett short 1910 Unconfirmed
The Common Enemy short 1910 Unconfirmed
Across the Plains short 1910 Unconfirmed
The Roman short 1910 Unconfirmed
The Courtship of Miles Standish short 1910 Unconfirmed
The Christian Martyrs short 1909 Unconfirmed
Pine Ridge Feud short 1909 Unconfirmed
On the Little Big Horn or Custer's Last Stand short 1909 Unconfirmed
On the Border short 1909 Unconfirmed
Up San Juan Hill short 1909 Unconfirmed
The Stampede short 1909 Mabel - The Ranch Owner's Daughter
The Leopard Queen short 1909 Jessie Ownes - the Captain's Daughter
In the Sultan's Power short 1909 Unconfirmed
In the Badlands short 1909 Isabel Walton - the Colonel's Daughter
Boots and Saddles short 1909 Unconfirmed
The Tenderfoot short 1909 Unconfirmed
The Spirit of '76 short 1908 Unconfirmed
Damon and Pythias short 1908 Unconfirmed
Rip Van Winkle short 1908 Unconfirmed
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde short 1908 Unconfirmed

Screenplays

  • The Bridge of Sighs (1915) – scenario
  • The Little Stowaway (1912) – short, scenario
  • Their Only Son (1911) – short
  • The Spy (1911) – short

A scenario is a sketch or outline of a story, which gives the reader an idea of events without including all the details.

References

  1. 1 2 Rites for Betty Harte, Silent Film Star, Set. The Los Angeles Times. January 5, 1965, p. 8.
  2. ↑ Betty Harte - Moving Picture Star Well-Known to Picturegoers. Brazil Daily Times. July 16, 1914, p. 5.
  3. ↑ The Sultan's Power was also made in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times. October 10, 1909, p. 32.
  4. ↑ The Coming of Columbus. The Springfield News-Ledger. May 31, 1912, p. 7.
  5. ↑ Year: 1900; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 36, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0927; FHL microfilm: 1241477
  6. ↑ Betty Harte a Well Known Lebanon Girl. Lebanon Daily News. March 18, 1913, p. 11.
  7. 1 2 Here's Betty Harte – A Happy Movie Favorite. The Day Book. November 21, 1912, p. 12.
  8. ↑ David Horsley Secures Stars. The Los Angeles Times. December 28, 1915, p. 24.
  9. ↑ Dame Industrious Aids Betty Harte in Life Work. The Day Book. February 3, 1916, p. 20.
  10. ↑ Betty Harte, Actress, Rites Held. Citizen News. January 5, 1965, p. 13.
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