Fontaine La Rue
La Rue in 1923
Born
Matilda Fernandez

July 24, 1890
Hermosillo, Mexico.
DiedSeptember 13, 1964 (aged 72)
Los Angeles, California
Resting placeCalvary Cemetery, Los Angeles
Other namesDora Rodgers
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)Victor Garcia Rojas, Wayne Hancock
ChildrenVictor Paul, Matilda Garcia, Victoria Grace

Matilda Fernández, stage name Fontaine La Rue (July 18, 1890 in Hermosillo, Mexico[1] – September 13, 1964)[2] was an American silent film actress appearing in films from 1918 to 1929.[3] Her career ended with the advent of talkies.

She was one of seven children born to Diego and Carlotta Monreal Fernandez.[4] After immigrating to the United States in 1907, Matilda married Victor Garcia Rojas.[5] The couple had three children, Victor Paul, Matilda Garcia, and Victoria Grace.

After the couple divorced, Matilda entered show business. She got her start on stage as a toe dancer and in musical comedy. She toured with the Trimble Musical Comedy Company in 1914 before breaking into films the following year in comedy shorts for Keystone.

She first used the name Dora Rodgers, but reinvented herself with the name Fontaine La Rue, tiring of playing vamps. On occasions she would switch between the names. Notably she appeared in the lost film, A Blind Bargain with Lon Chaney.

After a lengthy love affair with actor Nelson McDowell,[6] Fontaine married real estate broker Wayne Hancock[7] and retired from the screen.

The Keystone Vamp died of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia on September 13, 1964, at UCLA Medical Center.[8]

"She was a character and a half, a real beauty in the day when beauty was really looked at, her grandson Alan Bradshaw to author Michael G. Ankerich.[9]

A white woman with dark curled hair and dark eyes, wearing a plummed headpiece and strands of pearls; one arm bent over her head, and her head resting on the other hand
Fontaine La Rue, from a 1919 publication

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ United States of America, Declaration of Intention, Immigration and Nationalization Service, #S4807
  2. ↑ County of Los Angeles, Certificate of Death, Doris Rodgers Hancock, #11645, filed September 25, 1964
  3. ↑ Katchmer, George A. (May 20, 2015). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-4766-0905-8.
  4. ↑ County of Los Angeles, Certificate of Death, Doris Rodgers Hancock, #11645, filed September 25, 1964
  5. ↑ California State Board of Health, County of Los Angeles, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Marriage, #1326.
  6. ↑ "Dancer Named as Note Reveals Love Anguish in Suit," Los Angeles Herald, October 24, 1916
  7. ↑ California State Board of Health, County of San Diego, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Marriage, #1428.
  8. ↑ County of Los Angeles, Certificate of Death, Doris Rodgers Hancock, #11645, filed September 25, 1964
  9. ↑ Alan Bradshaw to author Michael G. Ankerich, 2013.

Further reading

  • Michael G. Ankerich (2017). Hairpins and Dead Ends: The Perilous Journeys of 25 Actresses Through Early Hollywood. BearManor. ISBN 978-1-62933-201-7.
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