Violet Kemble-Cooper
Violet Kemble-Cooper (12 December 1886 – 17 August 1961) was an English-American stage and film actress who appeared on stage and in Hollywood film.
Violet Kemble-Cooper | |
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Violet Kemble-Cooper in 1930 | |
Born | Violet Kemble-Cooper 12 December 1886 London, England |
Died | 17 August 1961 74) Hollywood, California, U.S. | (aged
Other names | Violet Kemble Cooper |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1905–1936 |
Spouse(s) | Walter Ferris |
Relatives | Lillian Kemble-Cooper (sister) H. Cooper Cliffe (uncle) |
Biography
Early life
Born in London, she was a descendant from a well-known theatrical family, the Kemble family. Her father was actor Frank Kemble-Cooper (1857–1918). Her sisters Lillian Kemble-Cooper and Greta Kemble Cooper, and her brother Anthony Kemble Cooper were actors as well. Her uncle was revered thespian H. Cooper Cliffe.
Career
She made her first stage appearance in 1905 in her native England in a production of Charley's Aunt. By 1912 she was in America, touring and in stock plays with such luminaries as Blanche Bates and Laurette Taylor. She appeared with John and Ethel Barrymore in Claire de Lune on Broadway in 1921.[1]
Film
As Violet spent her formative years acting in the theater she never appeared in the genre silent films. She appeared in talkies beginning with the Constance Bennett film Our Betters (1933). She appeared in several more films, including the evil spinster Miss Murdstone in the Dickens film adaption David Copperfield (1935) and Boris Karloff's mother in the horror film The Invisible Ray (1936). Kemble-Coopers last movie was the MGM costumer Romeo and Juliet (1936), where she portrayed Lady Capulet.[2]
Personal life and death
She was married to Walter Ferris, a writer.[3] She died of a stroke and Parkinson's disease in California in 1961, aged 74.[4]
Filmography
- Our Betters (1933)
- The Invisible Man (1933)(*uncredited)
- The Fountain (1934)
- Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935)
- David Copperfield (1935)
- Cardinal Richelieu (1935)
- The Invisible Ray (1936)
- Romeo and Juliet (1936)
References
- Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912-1976 compilations of John Parker's annual editions; 1976 versions compiled by Gale Research
- Who Was Who on the Screen by Evelyn M. Truitt (1983)
- NNDB
- Silent Film Necrology by Eugene Michael Vazzana c.2001
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Violet Kemble-Cooper. |