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Frances Lee

Frances Lee

From Wikipedia Frances Lee was born as Myrna Tibbetts (some sources indicate Merna Tibbetts) in Eagle Grove, Iowa. She initially began pursuing a career as a teacher but began taking dance lessons, which led to her being spotted by Gus Edwards, who owned a theater in New York City. Edwards persuaded Lee to perform at his theater, and she joined the cast of The Ziegfeld Follies in 1923, when she was hired by Al Christie to perform in his Christie Comedies. Moving to Hollywood in the mid-1920s to pursue acting, she received her first film role in 1924, starring in Hello and Goodbye, a comedy short film. That brought her to the attention of the studios and launched her into a very successful and busy silent film career. In 1925 she had roles in three films, and in 1926 her number of films jumped to seven. She was a frequent guest at the home of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks and became friends with other notable Hollywood legends, to include Rudolph Valentino until his death in 1926. In 1927 she had roles in five films and was selected as one of thirteen girls to be WAMPAS Baby Stars, which that year included silent film star Sally Phipps and actress Barbara Kent. The year 1928 was a big year for her. She starred in nine films, the most memorable of which was Sweeties with Bobby Vernon. Her biggest year by far was 1929, when she starred in ten films, including the lead role in Stage Struck Susie opposite Eddie Barry and Divorce Made Easy starring alongside Marie Prevost and Douglas MacLean. That year, she married Alexander Bennett, brother to Australian silent film actress Enid Bennett. Their wedding was attended by such famous Hollywood legends as Enid Bennett's husband, film producer Fred Niblo; actresses Gloria Swanson and Greta Garbo; and actors Rod La Rocque and John Gilbert. She retired from film acting after 1935, living with her husband in Beverly Hills, California. She began working in interior design and studied for and received a degree in teaching. She and her husband lived in Brentwood, where she began one of the early Head Start programs at Knox Presbyterian Nursery School. She also taught dance, society behavior, and etiquette at the Elisa Ryan Studio, where she instructed the daughters of President Richard M. Nixon. In 1972 she and Alex moved to Cardiff-by-the-Sea. She worked as a children's librarian at the Rancho Sante Fe Library until only a few years before her death. She died on November 5, 2000, in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, aged 94.

Personal information

Birthday

1906-05-05

Birth Place

Eagle Grove, Iowa, USA

Movies and TV shows :

Chicken à la King

Chicken à la King

1928

0.0

Movie
Divorce Made Easy

Divorce Made Easy

1929

0.0

Movie
Down with Husbands

Down with Husbands

1930

0.0

Movie
Duck Out

Duck Out

1927

0.0

Movie
Dummy Love

Dummy Love

1926

0.0

Movie
Flirtation Walk

Flirtation Walk

1934

5.3

Movie
Good as Gold

Good as Gold

1927

0.0

Movie
Her Splendid Folly

Her Splendid Folly

1933

0.0

Movie
Naughty Baby

Naughty Baby

1929

0.0

Movie
Nifty Numbers

Nifty Numbers

1928

0.0

Movie
Page Me

Page Me

1926

0.0

Movie
Phantom Thunderbolt

Phantom Thunderbolt

1933

4.3

Movie
Show of Shows

Show of Shows

1929

5.5

Movie
Stage Struck Susie

Stage Struck Susie

1929

0.0

Movie
The Carnation Kid

The Carnation Kid

1929

0.0

Movie
The Little Snob

The Little Snob

1928

0.0

Movie
The Tabasco Kid

The Tabasco Kid

1932

0.0

Movie
These Thirty Years

These Thirty Years

1934

0.0

Movie