Louise Closser Hale
Louise Closser Hale (October 13, 1872 – July 26, 1933) was an American actress, playwright, and novelist.
Louise Closser Hale | |
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Born | Louise Closser October 13, 1872 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | July 26, 1933 60) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged
Occupation | Actress, author, playwright |
Years active | 1894–1933 |
Spouse(s) | Walter Hale (m. 1899–1917; his death) |
Early life and career
Louise Closser was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was Joseph A. Closser (1844–1887), a wealthy grain dealer and her mother was Louise M. Closser (1847–1932). She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, and at Emerson College of Oratory in Boston.
She made her theatrical debut in Detroit in an 1894 production of In Old Kentucky. Her first theatrical success came in 1903, when she appeared in a Broadway production of George Bernard Shaw's Candida. In 1907, she made her London debut in Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. She was equally famous on New York and London stages, she was known to the world of literature for such novels as Home Talent and An American's London, as well as to the theater for a play called Mother's Millions, which she co-authored.
In 1899, Closser married artist and actor Walter Hale, whose name she used for her stage career, and who illustrated a number of her travel books. She collaborated with him in the preparation of many travel works. They traveled all over the world. She was a correspondent for Harper's during World War I.
Following her husband's death from cancer in 1917, she left the stage for Hollywood. She had a parallel career as an author and playwright, starting in the first decade of the 20th century.
Death
She experienced an apoplectic stroke while shopping in Hollywood, California in 1933. She was rushed to Monte Sano Hospital. She suffered another stroke the next day and died, aged 60. She had just recently finished filming Dinner at Eight.
In her will, Mrs. Hale requested an Episcopalian funeral service as simple and as inexpensive as possible. She directed that at the close of the service her body be cremated and that "no friend or kin accompany the body further than the church door." In her will, Mrs Hale said, "If I live in the memory of my friends, I shall have lived long enough."
Family
Hale had no children. She left her estate to relatives and charities. Her body was cremated and the ashes were interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Partial filmography
- The Hole in the Wall (1929) - Mrs. Ramsay
- Paris (1929) - Cora Sabbot
- Dangerous Nan McGrew (1930) - Mrs. Benson
- Big Boy (1930) - Mother
- The Princess and the Plumber (1930) - Miss Eden
- Captain Applejack (1931) - Aunt Agatha
- Born to Love (1931) - Lady Ponsonby
- Daddy Long Legs (1931) - Miss Pritchard
- Rebound (1931) - Mrs. Jaffrey
- Devotion (1931) - Mrs. Emmet Mortimer
- Platinum Blonde (1931) - Mrs. Schuyler
- Shanghai Express (1932) - Mrs. Haggerty
- The Man Who Played God (1932) - Florence Royle
- Sky Bride (1932) - Mrs. (Ma) Smith
- Letty Lynton (1932) - Miranda, Letty's Maid
- New Morals for Old (1932) - Mrs. Warburton
- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1932) - Aunt Miranda
- Movie Crazy (1932) - Mrs. Kitterman
- Faithless (1932) - First Landlady
- No More Orchids (1932) - Grandma Holt
- Rasputin and the Empress (1932) - Lazy Spoiled Woman (uncredited)
- The Son-Daughter (1932) - Toy Yah
- Today We Live (1933) - Applegate
- The White Sister (1933) - Mina Bernardo
- The Barbarian (1933) - Powers
- Storm at Daybreak (1933) - Militza Brooska
- Another Language (1933) - Mother Hallam
- Dinner at Eight (1933) - Hattie Loomis
- Duck Soup (1933) - Reception Guest (uncredited)
External links
Wikisource has original works written by or about: Louise Closser Hale |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louise Closser Hale. |
- Louise Closser Hale at the Internet Broadway Database
- Louise Closser Hale on IMDb
- portraits(NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection)
- Louise Closser Hale, sitting with black band around neck circa 1906 with actor colleagues at the Nantucket home "Aloha" of Henry Woodruff, center with cigar.