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Fritzi Ridgeway

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Occupation
  
Actress

Role
  
Actress

Name
  
Fritzi Ridgeway

Years active
  
1916–1934


Fritzi Ridgeway

Born
  
April 8, 1898 (
1898-04-08
)
Butte, Montana, United States

Died
  
March 29, 1961, Lancaster, California, United States

Movies
  
Hell's Heroes, Ladies of the Big House

Similar People
  
Constantin Bakaleinikoff, James Cruze, Joseph Henabery, William Wyler, Marion Gering

Fredericka Berneice 'Fritzi' Ridgeway (April 8, 1898 – March 29, 1961) was an American silent film actress, vaudeville performer, and hotelier. Though she starred in numerous films, she is perhaps best known for her work in silent Western films.

Contents

A native of Montana, Ridgeway worked as both a vaudeville performer and a professional trick rider before making her film debut in 1916. She appeared in 63 films between 1916 and 1934, with prominent roles in Western films populating much of her early career. Other notable roles include supporting parts in Tod Browning's drama The Unpainted Woman (1919) and The Enemy (1927).

Ridgeway officially retired from acting in 1934, making her final screen appearance in Rouben Mamoulian's We Live Again. She spent the latter half of her life managing the Hotel del Tahquitz in Palm Springs, California, a hotel she built in 1928. She remained the proprietor of the Hotel del Tahquitz until her death in 1961. She was married to Russian composer Constantin Bakaleinikoff. In L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels, historian Paul Young noted Ridgeway as an "iconoclastic silent film star."

Early life

Ridgeway was born Frederick Berneice Hawkes on April 8, 1898 in Missoula, Montana, later moving with her family to Butte, Montana, where she attended primary school. Prior to establishing herself as a film actress, Ridgeway worked as both a vaudeville performer and as a trick rider. As a teenager, Ridgeway traveled with her family between Montana and California, and attended Hollywood High School in Los Angeles. She was also educated in Chicago.

Early films

She made her film debut in the short The Bridesmaid's Secret (1916), and appeared the following year in her first feature film role in the Western The Hero of the Hour (1917). Ridgeway would appear in several silent Western shorts after, including The Wrong Man (1917) and The Soul Herder (1917). Her appearances in Westerns earned her the name of the "cowgirl star" early in her career. She appeared as Evelyn Hastings in the 1917 picture The Learnin' of Jim Benton opposite Roy Stewart, and was noted in a review for her "delightful" performance in the film.

In 1919, Ridgeway appeared in Victor Schertzinger's comedy When Doctors Disagree, followed by a supporting part in Tod Browning's drama The Unpainted Woman (1919) for Universal Pictures. She would continue to play in silent pictures into the late 1920s, including roles in the drama The Old Homestead (1922), the Western Ruggles of Red Gap (1923), and the drama The Enemy (1927), opposite Lillian Gish.

Later work and retirement

In 1932, she appeared in Ladies of the Big House, which received positive critical acclaim with a review in The New York Times noting: "the film manages to convey this terror with a fair measure of success." In 1934, she appeared in a supporting part in the horror film House of Mystery (1934) opposite Verna Hillie and John Sheehan. Ridgeway made her final screen appearance in a minor uncredited role in We Live Again (1934), an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Resurrection, before retiring from acting.

Ridgefield spent her remaining years managing the Hotel del Tahquitz, a 100-room hotel which she had built in Palm Springs, California in 1928.

Personal life

Ridgeway married Russian composer Constantin Bakaleinikoff in Cincinnati, Ohio on December 23, 1925. In March 1928, Ridgeway commissioned architect Anthony Miller to design a home for her, which was built in Los Angeles, California. She would later marry Walter D. Simm, whom she remained married to until her death of a heart attack in 1961.

She is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.

Filmography

Actress
1934
We Live Again as
The Redhead (uncredited)
1934
No Ransom as
Miss Price
1934
Little Man, What Now? as
Party Guest (uncredited)
1934
The House of Mystery as
Stella Walker
1932
Frisco Jenny as
Miss Jessie (uncredited)
1931
Ladies of the Big House as
Reno Maggie
1931
The Mad Parade as
Prudence 'Snoopy' Graham
1930
Prince of Diamonds as
Lolah
1929
Hell's Heroes as
Mother
1929
This Is Heaven as
Mamie Chase
1928
Red Hot Speed as
Slavey
1928
Son of the Golden West as
Rita
1928
Flying Romeos as
Minnie
1927
The Enemy as
Mitzi Winkelmann
1927
Face Value as
Muriel Stanley
1927
Lonesome Ladies as
Dorothy
1927
Getting Gertie's Garter as
Barbara Felton
1927
Man Bait as
Gloria
1927
Nobody's Widow as
Mademoiselle Renée
1923
Ruggles of Red Gap as
Emily Judson
1923
Hollywood as
Fritzi Ridgeway
1923
The Cricket on the Hearth as
Bertha Plummer
1923
Trifling with Honor as
Ida Hunt
1922
Branded Man
1922
The Old Homestead as
Ann
1922
Boomerang Justice as
Ruth Randolph
1922
The Hate Trail as
Mary Munger
1922
The Menacing Past
1921
The Fatal 30
1921
Bring Him In as
Mary Mackay
1920
A Life for a Life (Short)
1920
A Woman's Vengeance (Short) as
Nell Burrows
1920
Wild Wild West (Short)
1920
Judy of Rogues' Harbor as
Olive Ketchel
1919
The Ranger of Pikes Peak (Short) as
Cirius Andrews
1919
Winning a Bride (Short) as
Mary Pendleton
1919
A Petal on the Current as
Cora Kinealy (as Fritzie Ridgeway)
1919
His Friend's Trip (Short)
1919
The Unpainted Woman as
Edna (as Fritzie Ridgway)
1919
When Doctors Disagree as
Violet Henny
1919
The Fire Flingers as
Ellen (as Fritzie Ridgeway)
1919
Tapering Fingers (Short)
1918
The Danger Zone as
Marie Fitzmaurice (as Fritzie Ridgeway)
1918
The Poor Fish (Short)
1918
I Love Charles Albert (Short)
1918
Their Neighbor's Baby (Short)
1918
Faith Endurin' as
Helen Dryer
1918
Real Folks as
Joyce Clifton
1918
The Law's Outlaw as
Rose Davison
1917
The Learnin' of Jim Benton as
Evelyn Hastings
1917
Up or Down? as
Esther Hollister
1917
The Calendar Girl as
Mazie (as Fritzie Ridgway)
1917
The Soul Herder (Short) as
Jane Brown
1917
High Speed as
Susan
1917
The Wrong Man (Short) as
Anice Malone
1917
A Blissful Calamity (Short) as
Annie Smith (as Fritzie Ridgeway)
1917
The Hero of the Hour as
Mildred Nebeker
1917
Where Glory Waits (Short) as
Scylla
1916
The Bridesmaid's Secret (Short) as
Hazel Field - Muriel's Schoolmate

References

Fritzi Ridgeway Wikipedia


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