Georgia Hale

Georgia Theodora Hale (June 25, 1900[1][2][3][4] – June 17, 1985) was an actress of the silent movie era.

Georgia Hale
Born
Georgia Theodora Hale

(1900-06-25)June 25, 1900
St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJune 17, 1985(1985-06-17) (aged 84)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1925–1931

Career

Hale was Miss Chicago 1922[5] and competed in the Miss America Pageant.[6] She began acting in the early 1920s, and achieved one of her most notable successes with her role in Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925). She played Myrtle Wilson in the first filmed version (1926) of The Great Gatsby.

Chaplin cast Hale in his film based on her performance in The Salvation Hunters, which also came out in 1925. The Gold Rush temporarily made her a star, but she did not survive the transition from silent film to sound, and she did not act in films after 1928. The documentary Unknown Chaplin revealed that Hale was hired by Chaplin to replace actress Virginia Cherrill as the female lead in the film City Lights (1931) during a brief period after he had fired Cherrill (and before he re-hired her).[7] Approximately seven minutes of test footage of Hale in the role survives and is included in the DVD release of the film and excerpts appear in Unknown Chaplin. The editor's introduction to Hale's memoir also reveals that she was Chaplin's original choice for the female lead in his film The Circus, a role eventually played by Merna Kennedy[8]

Personal life

Hale was a close companion to Chaplin in the late 1920s and early 1930s. She went on to teach dance, and later became wealthy through real estate investments in Southern California.[9] She never married, but she lived with a male companion for the last 15 years of her life, and he received most of her estate upon her death on June 17, 1985.[10]

According to her memoir, she became a follower of Christian Science. Hale met with Chaplin during his brief return to the United States in 1972.

Writings

Hale spoke warmly of her time with Chaplin in Unknown Chaplin. She also wrote a book about her experiences with him, titled Charlie Chaplin: Intimate Close-Ups. Written in the 1960s, it was not published until 1995, a decade after her death, when Heather Kiernan edited the manuscript and it was published by The Scarecrow Press.[11]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1924 No More WomenMarjorieuncredited
1924For SaleDanceruncredited
1925The Salvation HuntersThe Girl
1925The Gold RushGeorgia
1926The RainmakerNell Wendell
1926The Great GatsbyMyrtle Wilson
1926Man of the ForestNancy Raynor
1927Hills of PerilEllen
1927The Wheel of Destiny
1928A Woman Against the WorldCarol Hill
1928The Rawhide KidJessica Silverberg
1928The Last MomentSecond Wife
1928A Trick of HeartsConnie Meade
1928Gypsy of the NorthAlice Culhane
1928The Floating CollegeFrances Bixby
1931The Lightning WarriorDianne La Fargefinal film role
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References
  1. 1910 U.S. Census, Chicago, Cook County, IL (April 18, 1910), Enumeration District 1351, sheet 2B; Georgia Hale, age 9 (daughter) living with George (head) and Lura (wife) Hale.
  2. 1920 U.S. Census, Chicago, Cook County, IL (January 14, 1920), Enumeration District 1999, sheet 12A; Georgia Hale, age 19 (daughter) living with George (head) and Lura (wife) Hale.
  3. 1940 U.S. Census, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA (April 8, 1940), Enumeration District 16, sheet 4A; Georgia Hale, age 39 (head; occupation: author & actress) living with George (father) and Lura (mother) Hale.
  4. Hale, Georgia (1999). Intimate close-ups. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Trade. pp. x. ISBN 1-57886-004-0.
  5. Laurie Goering (March 25, 1990). "Mere Beauty Doesn't Win Pageant". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  6. Felicia Feaster. "The Gold Rush". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  7. Darrell Hartman (December 21, 2007). "Chaplin's Triumphant Lady and the Tramp". New York Sun. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  8. Hale, Georgia (1999) Intimate close-ups, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Trade. pp. xv. ISBN 1-57886-004-0.
  9. Lamparski, Richard. Whatever Became of...?. Eleventh Series. New York: Crown Publishers Inc. pages 68-69
  10. Lamparski, p. 69
  11. Hale, Georgia (1999). Intimate close-ups. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Trade. pp. x. ISBN 1-57886-004-0.
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