Other names Virginia Louise Noonan Years active 1925 - 1937 | Occupation Actor Ex-spouse Stewart S. Battles | |
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Born October 23, 1908 ( 1908-10-23 ) Bayonne, New Jersey
United States Died 18 June 1968, Galesburg, Illinois, United States Parents Hannah Kelly, Thomas Francis Patrick Noonan Siblings Molly O'Day, Isabelle Noonan Movies Battling Butler, Sally - Irene and Mary, The Brat, The Battle of the Sexes, Broadway Scandals Similar Molly O'Day, John P McCarthy, Edmund Goulding, Hobart Henley, Marshall Neilan | ||
Sally O'Neil (October 23, 1908 – June 18, 1968) was an American film actress of the 1920s. She appeared in more than 40 films, often with her name above the title.
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Early years
O'Neil was born Virginia Louise Noonan, one of 9 children born to Mr. and Mrs. F.T. Noonan in Bayonne, New Jersey. Her father was a lawyer and a judge. One of her sisters was actress Suzanne Dobson Noonan, an actress known professionally as Molly O'Day. Another sister, Isabelle, also acted in films.
Films
Convent-educated, she started her career in vaudeville, billed as "Chotsie Noonan" and known for her petite but curvaceous frame and curly brown hair. She was teamed with Constance Bennett and Joan Crawford in the MGM film Sally, Irene and Mary (1925), directed by Edmund Goulding, which was "her big break."
She was paired with Crawford again as a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1926. Her fame began to subside after [talkies]] replaced silent pictures; she also had a problem with stage fright.
Her pictures include The Brat, a 1931 Pre-Code film directed by John Ford and screened at New York City's Museum of Modern Art in November 2016. A showcase for O'Neil, the movie involves a brash chorus girl's effect upon a snobbish family when their son brings her home in order to research a novel.
Stage
O'Neil appeared on Broadway in When We Are Married (1940).
Later years
By the late 1930s, her film career was over, but she continued on stage and toured with the USO until the 1950s.
Personal life
In October 1953, O'Neil married businessman S.S. Battles. They divorced in 1957, but they soon remarried.:13
Death
O'Neil died of pneumonia in Galesburg, Illinois, aged 59, on June 18, 1968.:13