Louise Dresser(1878-1965)
- Actress
This knowing, plump-framed, strong-willed actress went on to play the
gamut of emotions, from downtrodden, drunken ex-stars to
self-controlled dowager empresses, in both silent pictures and early
talkies. Grandly supporting the huge stars of her day (including
Rudolph Valentino and
Will Rogers), she actually started
out as a celebrated singer from the vaudeville and Broadway stages; films came much later. While she wasn't as extensively captured on
celluloid as, say, a Jane Darwell and is less
remembered these days, Louise Dresser nevertheless created a daunting
gallery of character matrons in her time and earned the respect of
Hollywood.
The Hoosier-born and -bred Dresser was born Lulu Josephine Kerlin in
Evansville, Indiana, on October 5, 1878, and raised there as the
daughter of William and Ida Kerlin, he being a train engineer. She sang
as a child and grew up as part of various choirs and shows in town. The
family moved to Columbus, Ohio, when she reached her teens (he was killed in a railroad accident not long after their move). With a
burning desire to perform professionally, the pretty 16-year-old ran
away from home, abandoned her schooling and set her heart on making a
career for herself in entertainment. She actively pursued singing roles
that could benefit her contralto voice in stock, burlesque and
vaudeville. She eventually changed her stage name to Louise Kerlin.
During this time she became the lovely singing protégé of Tin Pan Alley
composer Paul Dresser (né Paul Dreiser).
Known at the time for such songs as "On the Banks of the Wabash" and
"Far Away", it was Dresser, the brother of novelist
Theodore Dreiser, who changed Louise's
marquee name to Louise Dresser, and it was Louise who introduced Paul's
biggest song hit to American ears, "My Gal Sal". Her affiliation with
Paul helped earn her the billing "The Girl from the Wabash."
While on the vaudeville circuit Louise met and married
Jack Norworth, a performing monologist,
best known in later years for providing the lyrics to such old-time
classics as "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "Shine On, Harvest Moon."
She made her Broadway debut in "About Town" in 1906, which starred her
husband, who also provided the songs. By the time Louise settled into
the Broadway scene, however, the couple had divorced (after eight
years). Noted for her charm and elegance, Louise specialized in light
operettas and musical comedy, and year after year increased her marquee
value with such New York musical shows as "The Girls of Gottenberg"
(1908), "The Candy Shop" (1909), "A Matinee Idol" (1910), and "From
Broadway to Paris" (1912).
Louise met Broadway singing star Jack Gardner (1873-1950) along the
way. They married in 1908, a year after her divorce from Norworth. The
couple went on to headline together in vaudeville but, interestingly,
never managed to appear together on the Great White Way. Into the next
decade she graced the New York stage with such singing vehicles as
George M. Cohan's "Hello, Broadway!"
(1914), and in two of Jerome Kern's: "Have
a Heart" (1917) and "Rock-a-Bye, Baby" (1918).
Louise and husband Gardner decided to make a daring pitch for film work
by moving to California in 1920. She debuted at age 44 with the film
The Glory of Clementina (1922); her actor/singer husband, who appeared in the pictures
Hollywood (1923) and
Bluff (1924), actually found more success
as a Fox Films executive. Forsaking her musical career, she now served
as a reliable character actress in silents, making indelible
impressions as the title character in
The Goose Woman (1925) and as
Catherine the Great in the
Rudolph Valentino classic
The Eagle (1925).
Louise, Janet Gaynor and
Gloria Swanson were nominated for the
very first "Best Actress" Oscar award, Louise for her strong, touching
portrayal of a Hungarian immigrant in
A Ship Comes In (1928) opposite
Joseph Schildkraut. It was Gaynor, however, who earned the distinction of holding up the first
trophy (for her work in three roles) while Swanson and Dresser
received "Citations of Merit". Other famous ladies of history Louise
addressed in films would include Calamity Jane in
Caught (1931) and Empress Elizabeth in
The Scarlet Empress (1934).
In the early 1930s the actress made a rare return to the stage with
the play "A Plain Man and His Wife" in Pasadena, CA. Quite settled by this
time in films, she became a familiar presence opposite homespun
comedian Will Rogers in such
unassuming Rogers vehicles as
Lightnin' (1930),
State Fair (1933),
Doctor Bull (1933),
David Harum (1934) and
The County Chairman (1935).
Rogers' tragic death in a plane accident ended a very warm and
lucrative association she had with the beloved humorist. The devastated Dresser
made only one film after that, the
Claudette Colbert / Fred MacMurray
drama Maid of Salem (1937), which
recalled the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s.
Louise and husband Gardner retired to their home in Glendale,
CA, where she primarily tended to her favorite pastime
(gardening), along with taking part in numerous charitable affairs,
notably for the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital. Her husband
died in 1950 and she followed suit a decade and a half later following
surgery for an intestinal blockage on April 24, 1965, in Woodland
Hills, CA. She was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetary in
Glendale.
gamut of emotions, from downtrodden, drunken ex-stars to
self-controlled dowager empresses, in both silent pictures and early
talkies. Grandly supporting the huge stars of her day (including
Rudolph Valentino and
Will Rogers), she actually started
out as a celebrated singer from the vaudeville and Broadway stages; films came much later. While she wasn't as extensively captured on
celluloid as, say, a Jane Darwell and is less
remembered these days, Louise Dresser nevertheless created a daunting
gallery of character matrons in her time and earned the respect of
Hollywood.
The Hoosier-born and -bred Dresser was born Lulu Josephine Kerlin in
Evansville, Indiana, on October 5, 1878, and raised there as the
daughter of William and Ida Kerlin, he being a train engineer. She sang
as a child and grew up as part of various choirs and shows in town. The
family moved to Columbus, Ohio, when she reached her teens (he was killed in a railroad accident not long after their move). With a
burning desire to perform professionally, the pretty 16-year-old ran
away from home, abandoned her schooling and set her heart on making a
career for herself in entertainment. She actively pursued singing roles
that could benefit her contralto voice in stock, burlesque and
vaudeville. She eventually changed her stage name to Louise Kerlin.
During this time she became the lovely singing protégé of Tin Pan Alley
composer Paul Dresser (né Paul Dreiser).
Known at the time for such songs as "On the Banks of the Wabash" and
"Far Away", it was Dresser, the brother of novelist
Theodore Dreiser, who changed Louise's
marquee name to Louise Dresser, and it was Louise who introduced Paul's
biggest song hit to American ears, "My Gal Sal". Her affiliation with
Paul helped earn her the billing "The Girl from the Wabash."
While on the vaudeville circuit Louise met and married
Jack Norworth, a performing monologist,
best known in later years for providing the lyrics to such old-time
classics as "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "Shine On, Harvest Moon."
She made her Broadway debut in "About Town" in 1906, which starred her
husband, who also provided the songs. By the time Louise settled into
the Broadway scene, however, the couple had divorced (after eight
years). Noted for her charm and elegance, Louise specialized in light
operettas and musical comedy, and year after year increased her marquee
value with such New York musical shows as "The Girls of Gottenberg"
(1908), "The Candy Shop" (1909), "A Matinee Idol" (1910), and "From
Broadway to Paris" (1912).
Louise met Broadway singing star Jack Gardner (1873-1950) along the
way. They married in 1908, a year after her divorce from Norworth. The
couple went on to headline together in vaudeville but, interestingly,
never managed to appear together on the Great White Way. Into the next
decade she graced the New York stage with such singing vehicles as
George M. Cohan's "Hello, Broadway!"
(1914), and in two of Jerome Kern's: "Have
a Heart" (1917) and "Rock-a-Bye, Baby" (1918).
Louise and husband Gardner decided to make a daring pitch for film work
by moving to California in 1920. She debuted at age 44 with the film
The Glory of Clementina (1922); her actor/singer husband, who appeared in the pictures
Hollywood (1923) and
Bluff (1924), actually found more success
as a Fox Films executive. Forsaking her musical career, she now served
as a reliable character actress in silents, making indelible
impressions as the title character in
The Goose Woman (1925) and as
Catherine the Great in the
Rudolph Valentino classic
The Eagle (1925).
Louise, Janet Gaynor and
Gloria Swanson were nominated for the
very first "Best Actress" Oscar award, Louise for her strong, touching
portrayal of a Hungarian immigrant in
A Ship Comes In (1928) opposite
Joseph Schildkraut. It was Gaynor, however, who earned the distinction of holding up the first
trophy (for her work in three roles) while Swanson and Dresser
received "Citations of Merit". Other famous ladies of history Louise
addressed in films would include Calamity Jane in
Caught (1931) and Empress Elizabeth in
The Scarlet Empress (1934).
In the early 1930s the actress made a rare return to the stage with
the play "A Plain Man and His Wife" in Pasadena, CA. Quite settled by this
time in films, she became a familiar presence opposite homespun
comedian Will Rogers in such
unassuming Rogers vehicles as
Lightnin' (1930),
State Fair (1933),
Doctor Bull (1933),
David Harum (1934) and
The County Chairman (1935).
Rogers' tragic death in a plane accident ended a very warm and
lucrative association she had with the beloved humorist. The devastated Dresser
made only one film after that, the
Claudette Colbert / Fred MacMurray
drama Maid of Salem (1937), which
recalled the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s.
Louise and husband Gardner retired to their home in Glendale,
CA, where she primarily tended to her favorite pastime
(gardening), along with taking part in numerous charitable affairs,
notably for the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital. Her husband
died in 1950 and she followed suit a decade and a half later following
surgery for an intestinal blockage on April 24, 1965, in Woodland
Hills, CA. She was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetary in
Glendale.