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Alice Terry

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Occupation
  
Actress

Spouse
  
Rex Ingram (m. 1921–1950)

Years active
  
1916–1933

Children
  
Kada-Abd-el-Kader

Name
  
Alice Terry

Siblings
  
Edna Taaffe

Role
  
Film actress


Alice Terry Alice Terry Classic Cinema Gold

Full Name
  
Alice Frances Taaffe

Born
  
July 29, 1899 (
1899-07-29
)

Died
  
December 22, 1987, Burbank, California, United States

Movies
  
The Four Horsemen of the Ap, Scaramouche, The Conquering Power, The Prisoner of Zenda, Mare Nostrum

Similar People
  
Rex Ingram, Erich von Stroheim, John M Stahl, Victor Sjostrom, Reginald Barker

Alice terry biography


Alice Frances Taeffe, known professionally as Alice Terry (July 24, 1900 – December 22, 1987), was an American film actress and director. She began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1933. While Terry's trademark look was her blonde hair, she was actually a brunette, and put on her first blonde wig in Hearts Are Trumps (1920) to look different than Francelia Billington, the other actress in the film. Terry played several different characters in the 1916 anti-war film Civilization, co-directed by Thomas H. Ince and Reginald Barker. Alice wore the blonde wig again in her most acclaimed role as "Marguerite" in film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), and kept the wig for any future roles. In 1925 her husband Rex Ingram co-directed Ben-Hur, filming parts of it in Italy. The two decided to move to the French Riviera, where they set up a small studio in Nice and made several films on location in North Africa, Spain, and Italy for MGM and others. In 1933, Terry made her last film appearance in Baroud, which she also co-directed with husband.

Contents

Alice Terry Powell amp Pressburger Images Alice Terry

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Career

Alice Terry Alice Terry Classic Cinema Gold

Born Alice Frances Taaffe in Vincennes, Indiana, she made her film debut in 1916 in Not My Sister, opposite Bessie Barriscale and William Desmond Taylor.

Alice Terry Cineplexcom Alice Terry

Terry started in films as an extra during her mid-teens. For two years she worked in cutting rooms at Famous-Players-Lasky. This work would help her later on when she worked with her husband.

Alice Terry Alice Terry swamplynx

Alice Terry was married to Rex Ingram, a prominent director. One of her biggest problems in her career was being the leading lady in movies directed by her husband. Her roles in films directed by her husband left her passive and unmemorable. Rex Ingram also hired male stars that further outshone her in movies such as The Conquering Power (1921), The Prisoner of Zenda (1922) and others. One fan magazine writer described Alice as "pliant clay" or easily manipulated on screen.

Alice Terry wwwpowellpressburgerorgImagesPeopleAliceTAl

In 1924 and 1925 the marriage between Terry and Ingram was in jeopardy, and in that time period she worked under other directors. During this time period Alice worked on five movies, but her roles particularly in Any Woman (1925) and Sackcloth and Scarlet (1925), both by Paramount Pictures, proved that Alice was a legitimate star away from her husband. When they got back together, Terry took on a more behind-the-scenes role.

Alice's work at Famous-Players-Lasky helped her in ways that were not commonly known to the public. Ingram would often get too moody to work while directing movies so Terry would take over. She was a competent film editor and learned how to direct from a master. When Ingram went to produce his last film, and only talkie, Baroud (1933), Alice helped so much that she was named co-director and she directed all the scenes Ingram appeared in.[2] Baroud highlighted Alice's ability as an all around filmmaker but she never took that further.

Terry worked with Ramón Novarro, a popular a film star from Mexico who drew in audiences as a "Latin lover", and became known as a sex symbol after the death of Rudolph Valentino. Many have said that Novarro outdid Terry in many films such as The Prisoner of Zenda (1922), The Arab (1924) and others; but this didn't hinder their friendship.

Personal life

In 1921, she married director Rex Ingram during production of The Prisoner of Zenda (1922), which he directed and in which she appeared as Princess Flavia. The couple sneaked away over one weekend, were married in Pasadena, and returned to work promptly the following Monday.

In 1923 Terry and Ingram decided to move to the French Riviera. They formed a small studio in Nice and made several films on location in North Africa, Spain, and Italy for MGM and others.

During the making of The Arab (1924) in Tunisia, they met a street child named Kada-Abd-el-Kader, whom they adopted upon learning that he was an orphan. Allegedly, el-Kader misrepresented his age to make himself seem younger to his adoptive parents.

Alice Terry was known for being open minded and acted as a cover for Ramón Novarro's sexuality. In the 1930s she went with Novarro, Barry Norton, and other homosexual actors to Hollywood nightspots to act as a cover, which received backlash in the magazine The Hollywood Reporter.

When Ingram decided to return to Los Angeles he asked Terry to find a home by a river. One night when Terry was drinking with friends she instructed the cab to pull over so she could throw up. When Terry was done, she looked up and saw a property in Studio City on the Los Angeles River and decided that this was the place where her new home with Rex would be.

Once Terry and Ingram moved back to the United States they started having problems with their adopted son, Kada-Abd-el-Kader. He "began associating with fast women and fast cars throughout the San Fernando Valley." Terry and Ingram sent him back to Morocco "to finish school." Kada-Abd-el-Kader never went back to school, but he later became a tourist guide in Morocco and Algiers. El-Kader would always tell tourists that he was the adopted son of Rex Ingram and Alice Terry.

Terry and Ingram retired in the 1930s and took up painting. When Ingram died in 1950, Terry invited four of his mistresses at his funeral. When Alice was asked how she could invite four of his mistresses to the post-funeral party said: "Who cares, I'm the only one that can call herself Mrs. Rex Ingram."

After Ingram's death Terry's sister Edna moved into the property on Kelsey Street and controlled Alice's life. Alice had a lover named Gerald Fielding who wanted to move in with Alice but Edna forbade it. It is speculated that Edna was jealous of Alice, Edna started as an extra as movies just like her sister, but then married a financial advisor and she stopped acting altogether.

Terry was still active in the 1970s. She loved hosting Sunday afternoon parties and going out to dinner in extravagant, floor length mink coats. She was proud of her appearance and wanted to make sure all other women were envious.

Death

Alzheimer's put a stop to Terry's parties and fun and she eventually died in a Burbank, California hospital on December 22, 1987. Her grave is located in the Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Alice Terry has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6628 Hollywood Blvd.

Filmography

Actress
1932
Love in Morocco
1928
The Three Passions as
Lady Victoria Burlington
1927
The Garden of Allah as
Domini Enfilden
1927
Lovers? as
Felicia
1926
The Magician as
Margaret Dauncey
1926
Mare Nostrum as
Freya Talberg
1925
Any Woman as
Ellen Linden
1925
Confessions of a Queen as
Frederika / The Queen
1925
Sackcloth and Scarlet as
Joan Freeman
1925
The Great Divide as
Ruth Jordan
1924
The Arab as
Mary Hilbert
1923
Scaramouche as
Aline de Kercadiou
1923
Where the Pavement Ends as
Matilda Spener
1922
The Prisoner of Zenda as
Princess Flavia
1922
Turn to the Right as
Elsie Tillinger
1921
The Conquering Power as
Eugenie Grandet
1921
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as
Marguerite Laurier
1920
Hearts Are Trumps as
Dora Woodberry
1920
The Devil's Passkey as
Extra (uncredited)
1920
Shore Acres as
Extra (uncredited)
1919
The Day She Paid (as Alice Taafe)
1919
The Valley of the Giants as
Mrs. Cardigan (as Alice Taafe)
1919
The Love Burglar as
Elsie Strong (as Alice Taafe)
1919
Thin Ice as
Jocelyn Miller
1918
The Trimmed Lamp (Short) as
Nancy
1918
Love Watches as
Charlotte Bernier
1918
The Brief Debut of Tildy (Short) as
Tildy
1918
Sisters of the Golden Circle (Short) as
Mrs. Pinkey McGuire
1918
The Song and the Sergeant (Short)
1918
Old Wives for New as
Saleslady (as Alice Taafe)
1918
A Bachelor's Children as
Penelope Winthrop
1918
The Clarion Call (Short) as
Eileen Murphy
1917
Alimony as
Extra (uncredited)
1917
The Bottom of the Well as
Anita Thomas
1917
Strictly Business (Short)
1917
Wild Winship's Widow as
Marjory Howe (as Alice Taafe)
1916
A Corner in Colleens as
Daisy (as Alice Taafe)
1916
Not My Sister as
Ruth Tyler (as Alice Taafe)
1915
Civilization as
Extra - Peasant / German Soldier / Others (uncredited)
Director
1932
Baroud
1932
Love in Morocco (co-director)
1923
Where the Pavement Ends (uncredited)
Self
1922
Screen Snapshots, Series 2, No. 22-F (Documentary short) as
Self

References

Alice Terry Wikipedia


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