Full Name Gladys Lindeman Role Actress Name Gladys Brockwell | Years active 1913–1929 Occupation Actress Parents Billie Brockwell | |
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Born September 26, 1893 ( 1893-09-26 ) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Died July 2, 1929, Hollywood, California, United States Spouse Harry Edwards (m. 1918–1919), Robert Broadwell Movies 7th Heaven, Long Pants, Twinkletoes, The Wrath of the Gods, So Big Similar People Reginald Barker, Frank Borzage, Harry Edwards, Thomas H Ince, Evelyn Brent | ||
Gladys Brockwell
Gladys Brockwell (September 26, 1894 – July 2, 1929) was an American actress whose career began during the silent film era.
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Early life
Born Gladys Lindeman in Brooklyn, New York in 1894. Her single mother, Lillian Lindeman, a chorus girl turned actress, put her daughter on stage at an early age. By the time she reached her middle teens, she was already a veteran and taking on dramatic leading roles. She made her East Coast film debut in 1913 as Gladys Brockwell for Lubin Studios and within a short time was starring in a number of films. Developing her craft, she moved to Hollywood where she garnered a role in the acclaimed 1922 version of Oliver Twist and in The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923, the following year.
Career
By the mid-1920s she was past the age of thirty and although still given top female billing, Brockwell performed mainly in supporting roles. Regarded as one of the finest character actresses of the day who not only adapted to the new talkies but excelled in them, her first appearance in a "talkie" came in 1928 in Lights of New York. Her performance received strong reviews at the time of the film's release and as well by present-day critics of the preserved film.
A Warner Bros. feature-length production, Lights of New York was filmed with microphones strategically hidden around the sets, creating the first motion picture released with fully synchronic dialogue. She was then signed by Warner Bros. and was looking forward to continued success in talkies.
Death
On June 27, 1929, Brockwell and a friend, Thomas Brennan, were involved in an automobile accident near Calabasas, California. She was crushed beneath the automobile driven by Brennan, an advertising man from Los Angeles, California. The auto went over a 75-foot (23 m) embankment on the Ventura Highway near Calabasas.
Seriously injured, four blood transfusions were performed in an effort to save her life, the last just before her death. Brennan recovered after sustaining serious injuries. He said a bit of dust had blown into his eye, temporarily blinding him. Following a second blood transfusion, Brockwell appeared to improve until peritonitis set in from her internal injuries, particularly a puncture of her large intestine.
After two more transfusions, Brockwell died at 7 p.m. on July 2, 1929 at Osteopathic Hospital. No negligence was placed on Brennan, who was still recovering in the hospital. Her final film, The Drake Case, was directed by Edward Laemmle while she was on loan to Universal Pictures, and was released posthumously in September 1929.