Kitty Gordon

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Wikipedia

Kitty Gordon
Gordon, early 1900s
Born
Constance Minnie Blades

(1878-04-22)22 April 1878
Folkestone, Kent, U.K.
Died26 May 1974(1974-05-26) (aged 96)
Brentwood, New York, U.S.
OccupationActor
Spouse(s)Maxwell James
Michael Levenston (Dec 10, 1903–Mar 29, 1904) (his death)
Captain Henry Beresford (Oct. 1904 – 1924. his death)
Ralph Ranlet (1932 – ?)
Kitty Gordon with her daughter, the actress Vera Beresford.

Kitty Gordon (born Constance Minnie Blades; 22 April 1878 – 26 May 1974) was an English stage and silent film actress.

Career

Constance Minnie Blades was born in Folkestone, Kent, to Col. Blades of the Royal Artillery.[1][2] Her first professional stage appearance was at the Princes Theatre in Bristol in 1901 in the touring production of San Toy.[3] She appeared in The Duchess of Dantzic in 1903, the operetta Véronique in 1904 and The Three Kisses in 1907. In 1909 she moved to New York City, where she became a regular on the New York stage.

On 19 October 1911, Gordon starred in the premiere of composer Victor Herbert's operetta The Enchantress at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.[4] Herbert wrote the title role specifically for her.[5] She remained with the production when it transferred to the New York Theatre on Broadway later that month[6] and toured in the piece for two years,[7] until she fell ill.[8]

She made her first film appearance in 1916 in As in a Looking Glass. During the next three years she made twenty-one films. She continued her stage work from 1919 onwards. She also made television appearances. Her final appearance on television was in 1952 on the program Life Begins at Eighty.[5]

Personal life

Her first husband was Maxwell James with whom she had a child, Vera. She later also had a career as an actress known on the stage and in film as Vera Beresforf.[9] After his death, she married theatre manager Michael Levenston on 10 December 1903. He died on 29 March 1904, and in October 1904, Kitty married Captain Henry "Harry" Horsley-Beresford (1876– 1924), a son of the 3rd Baron Decies.[10] Kitty's child became Cynthia Vera Beresford, who became an actress. In 1932 Kitty married Ralph Ranlet.[11] Kitty's daughter Vera died in 1945.[9]

Kitty Gordon died in a nursing home in Brentwood, New York in 1974.[12]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1916As in a Looking GlassLila DespardLost film
1916Her Maternal RightNina SeaburyLost film
1916The Crucial TestThanyaLost film
1917Vera, the MediumVeraLost film
1917Forget Me NotStefanie PaoliLost film
1917The Beloved AdventuressJuliette La MondeLost film
1917Her HourRita CastleLost film
1917National Red Cross PageantBrugesFlemish episode
Lost film
1917Diamonds and PearlsVioletta D'ArcyLost film
1917The VolunteerHerself, Cameo AppearanceLost film
1918The Divine SacrificeMadeline SpencerLost film
1918The WaspGrace CulverLost film
1918The Purple LilyMarie BurguetLost film
1918Stolen OrdersFelicia GavestonLost film
1918The InterloperJane CameronLost film
1918TinselPrincess Sylvia Carzoni
1918Merely PlayersNadine TrentLost film
1919AdeleAdele BleneauLost film
1919Mandarin's GoldBetty CardonLost film
1919The Unveiling HandMargaret EllisLost film
1919The ScarCoraLost film
1919Playthings of PassionHelen RowlandLost film

References

  1. ↑ Metcalfe, Cranstoun (1913). Peeresses of the Stage. London: A. Melrose. p. 227.
  2. ↑ Gänzl, Kurt (2001). The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre (2nd ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. p. 792. ISBN 9780028649702.
  3. ↑ Gillan, Don. "Kitty Gordon (1878-1974)". www.stagebeauty.net.
  4. ↑ "The Enchantress Staged; Kitty Gordon Appears in Title Role of Victor Herbert's Opera Comique". The New York Times. 10 October 1911. p. 13.
  5. 1 2 "Kitty Gordon, Star of 1911 Enchantress, Is Dead". The New York Times. 29 May 1974. p. 44.
  6. ↑ "Music That Charms by Victor Herbert; in The Enchantress, Which Raises Kitty Gordon to the Stars". The New York Times. 20 October 1911. p. 13.
  7. ↑ "Kitty Gordon in "The Enchantress"". Los Angeles Morning Tribune. 26 October 1913. p. 37.
  8. ↑ "Kitty Gordon Illness Found to Be Serious". The San Francisco Call. 1 November 1913. p. 23.
  9. 1 2 “Deaths.” The New York Times, 8 Oct. 1945, p. 15.
  10. ↑ The Times 29 January 1924.
  11. ↑ Mrs. Beresford wed to Ralph Ranlet. New York Times, 16 September 1932
  12. ↑ “Kitty Gordon, Star of 1911 'Enchantress,' Is Dead.” The New York Times, 29 May 1974, p. 44.