Helen Gardner
1911
Born
Helen Louise Gardner

(1884-09-02)September 2, 1884
Binghamton, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 20, 1968(1968-11-20) (aged 84)
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Other namesMiss Garnder
Alma materAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation(s)Actor, film producer, screenwriter, costume designer
Years active1910–1924
Spouse(s)
Duncan Clarkson Pell, Sr.
​
​
(m. 1902; died 1964)​
Children1

Helen Louise Gardner (September 2, 1884[1] – November 20, 1968) was an American stage and film actress, screenwriter, film producer and costume designer. She was the first film actor to form her own production company.[2] Her productions were primarily feature length films, making her one of the earliest adopters of the feature film.[3] Gardner's work was distinct for frequently centering female characters.[4] Gardner is also considered one of the screen's first vamps.[5]

Career

Gardner was born to a wealthy family in Binghamton, New York. She spent much of her youth in European boarding schools, taking an interest in performance and often participating in private theatricals. Gardner continued pursuing theater while attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After graduating, she studied under Broadway actress and playwright Maude Fulton.[6] In 1910 she became a Vitagraph Studios player. Her breakthrough role came in 1911, when she portrayed Becky Sharp in the film version of the novel Vanity Fair. Gardner received widespread critical acclaim for her performance.[7]

The Helen Gardner Picture Players

In 1912, following her success with Vitagraph Studios, Gardner formed her own production company: The Helen Gardner Picture Players. The company was established in Tappan, New York with capital provided by Gardner’s mother. It was the first film production company to be owned by an individual actor.[2] Gardner hired former Vitagraph collaborator Charles L. Gaskill as a director and scenarist. Gardner’s first production was Cleopatra (1912), one of the first American full-length films. Following Cleopatra's success, Gardner continued to release popular films, specializing in feature length motion pictures of at least five or six reels in length.[6]

Gardner frequently acted in her own productions. Trained as a dancer, Gardner was known for her physically expressive performances.[8] Her sensual, commanding portrayal of female characters was entirely new at the time, leading to her classification as the screen's first vamp, predating Theda Bara, Valeska Suratt and Louise Glaum.[3] Beyond personal performance, Gardner's work was frequently centered on female stories. Her three most popular films — Cleopatra, A Sister to Carmen and A Daughter of Pan — all center female protagonists.

Gardner produced eleven feature films through The Helen Gardner Picture Players. In 1914, competition from better funded studios forced her to permanently close her production company.[2] In 1915, she returned to Vitagraph briefly before signing with Universal. By this time, her popularity began to wane and she retired from acting in 1924.[9]

Personal life

Before Gardner embarked on an acting career, she married socially prominent businessman Duncan Clarkson Pell, Sr., on October 16, 1902, in West Haven, Connecticut.[10] The marriage took place shortly after Gardner's 18th birthday and one week after Pell's divorce from his first wife, Anna. Duncan and Anna Pell's divorce was covered in the gossip columns of The New York Times.[9] The couple had one child in 1904.[11] Gardner left Pell in 1906 to continue her acting career but they never divorced.[12] They remained married until Pell's death in 1964.[2]

Some sources state that Gardner married for a second time to Charles Gaskill, the director of many of her films. Gardner's granddaughter and biographer, Dorin Gardner Schumacher, states that this is incorrect and that Gardner never divorced Duncan C. Pell, Sr.[2]

Later years and death

In the 1950s, Gardner returned to Orlando, Florida where she had previously lived with her estranged husband. Gardner died in Orlando on November 20, 1968, at the age of 84.[9]

Selected filmography

Short subject
Year Title Role Notes
1910 How She Won Him Muriel Hanson
1911 A Tale of Two Cities Uncredited
1911 The Inherited Taint The nurse
1911 The Wooing of Winifred Winifred
1911 The Show Girl Audrey, an actress
1911 For Her Brother's Sake Bessie Black - the Sister
1911 Barriers Burned Away John's wife
1911 A Quaker Mother Lois Pearson Harmon - A Quaker Wife
1911 She Came, She Saw, She Conquered Rose Leigh - a Young Schoolteacher
1911 The Death of King Edward III Alice Ferrers
1911 For Love and Glory Rose Seaton
1911 By Woman's Wit The wife
1911 Ups and Downs The Young Wife
1911 Regeneration Elfie - Ross' sweetheart
1911 Madge of the Mountains Madge of the Mountains
1911 Arbutus The Mountain Woman
1911 The Girl and the Sheriff The Mountain Girl
1911 Freshet Meg Matthews
1911 Vanity Fair Becky Sharp
1911 A Reformed Santa Claus The Widow
1912 Where the Money Went Mrs. Fred Hart - the Jealous Wife
1912 She Came, She Saw, She Conquered Rose Leigh - a Young Schoolteacher
1912 A Problem in Reduction Mrs. Smartly - a Woman Who Wants to Reduce
1912 Her Boy Sue - Harry's Sweetheart
1912 The Love of John Ruskin The wife
1912 The Love of John Ruskin Mrs. John Ruskin
1912 The Old Silver Watch Credited as Miss Gardner
1912 The Illumination Sabina
1912 The Serpents Linda
1912 An Innocent Theft Malcolm's mother
1912 An Innocent Theft Song Bird, a Young Indian
1912 The Miracle Abbasah, the Caliph's Wife
1912 The Heart of Esmeralda Louise Lennox - a Novelist
1912 The Party Dress Lydia Borne
1913 Becky, Becky Becky Writer
1913 Alixe; or, The Test of Friendship Alixe
1913 Eureka! The Castaway
1913 Vampire of the Desert Lispeth, Vampire of the Desert
1913 The Wife of Cain Save - the Wife of Cain Producer
1913 A Daughter of Pan Dusa - a Daughter of Pan Producer
1914 The Girl with the Hole in Her Stocking Producer
1914 Fleur de Lys Producer
1914 And There Was Light Producer
1914 Butterfly Nancy North - the Butterfly
1914 Underneath the Paint Tryphena Winter
1914 The Strange Story of Sylvia Gray Sylvia Gray/Silvery Gray
1915 The Breath of Araby Clothilde
1915 The Still, Small Voice Musa
1915 Snatched from a Burning Death Joan Le Grande
1915 Miss Jekyll and Madame Hyde Madeleine Jekyll/Madame Hyde
Features
Year Title Role Notes
1912 Cleopatra Cleopatra - Queen of Egypt Producer, costume designer, editor (uncredited)
Credited as Miss Gardner
1913 A Sister to Carmen Margo Producer
1913 A Princess of Bagdad Princess Ojira Producer
1914 Pieces of Silver: A Story of Hearts and Souls Sister Berenice Producer
1914 The Strange Story of Sylvia Gray Sylvia Gray/Silvery
1914 The Moonshine Maid and the Man Nancy - the Moonshine Maid
1920 The Sleep of Cyma Roget Cyma Roget
1924 Sandra La Flamme's wife

References

  1. ↑ Vazzana, Eugene Michael (2001). Silent Film Necrology (2 ed.). McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub. p. 189. ISBN 0-786-41059-0.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Letters: The Lady Was a Vamp". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "U-M Library Search". search.lib.umich.edu. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1913) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  5. ↑ Feaster, Felicia. "Cleopatra (1912)". Turner Classic Movies. tcm.com. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  6. 1 2 "The Motion Picture Story Magazine (Feb-Jul 1912) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  7. ↑ "The Motion Picture Story Magazine (Feb-Jul 1912) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Motion Picture Magazine (Feb-Jul 1915) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Wallace Dickinson, Joy. "Few Remember Days When Film Queen Lived Among Us". orlandosentinel.com. p. 1.
  10. ↑ "Marriage Announcement: Gardner-Pell", The New York Times, October 26, 1902
  11. ↑ "What's Doing in Society?", The New York Times, January 26, 1904
  12. ↑ Wallace Dickinson, Joy (March 25, 2001). "Early Screen Queen Turns Heads Again". orlandosentinel.com.
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