Maude Fealy: The Brilliant Forgotten Actress of the Silent Era
Meet Maude Fealy, one of the great actresses of silent cinema, whose beauty and talent were erased by history, but deserve to be remembered.
Maude Fealy made her first stage appearance at the age of 3, and by the age of 25, she was one of the best-known actresses of early cinema. Today, she is just another forgotten face from the early days of cinema. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, between 1881 and 1886 (the exact date is uncertain), she was the daughter of Margaret Fealy, a relatively well-known stage actress who ran drama schools throughout the country. Maude made her first stage appearance at the age of 3, in an adaptation of “Faust and Marguerite,” with her mother playing Marguerite. Two years later, she returned to play small roles in the plays East Lynne and Rip Van Winkle. By the turn of the century, she had already gained some renown on the stage when she was hired by Augustin Daly for five years. The contract, however, was canceled after the manager’s sudden death. She quickly became a star, being courted by all the great playwrights of the day. Her presence lit up the stages wherever she appeared, from Broadway to Europe. Plays such as Quo Vadis and Sherlock Holmes helped shape the public’s perception of her as a formidable actress.
One of the friends the actress made throughout her career was director Cecil B. DeMille. The friendship began around 1906 and lasted her entire life, with him leaving a clause in his will that benefited her. At the age of 26, Maude secretly married Louis Sherwin, a young English theater critic. Her mother completely disapproved and forced her daughter to stay away from her beloved. Finally, tired of the situation, he left. Maude filed for divorce, claiming abandonment, and maintained that there had been no consummation. The divorce was finalized in September 1909, and two months later she married actor James Durkin. The marriage lasted eight years. Her third and final marriage came in 1920, to theater manager John Edward Cort Jr. The marriage was annulled three years later. Finally, cinema arrived and, with it, more opportunities arose. The extremely beautiful Maude soon became well-known, and her face graced many magazines. The actress joined Thanhouser Films in 1911, and through the respected independent film company Thanhouser Company, she received extensive publicity. Many of these photographs are still popular with artists and collectors.
From the 1920s onwards, however, she returned to her great passion: the stage. In the following decade, she appeared in small parts in films, but most of the time without being credited. The actress played several roles on the stage between 1917 and 1930. During this same period, she appeared in films such as Laugh and Get Rich, The Buccaneer and Southern Pacific. In the early 1940s, Maude returned to Denver to teach acting and later moved to Hollywood to open a theater studio. In 1949, she asked director George Cukor for a chance to appear in the film Gaslight (1944). The actress reported financial problems.
Maude continued to act in films for many years and had roles in many Cecil DeMille films during the sound era, including The Ten Commandments (1956). In this film, she also did a number of voiceovers that were dubbed by other actors. In 1957, she returned to Denver, appearing in theaters and lecturing at a local college. Her last stage performance was in 1961. Maude Fealy died in her sleep on November 9, 1971, in Woodland Hills, California. She had been admitted to the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital with arteriosclerosis. After her death, she was buried in Memorial Park Hollywood Mausoleum Cemetery, next to her mother. The expenses were paid for by a provision in the will of Cecil B. DeMille, who died in 1959. Below is an excerpt from some of the actress’s early career moments:
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