Happy 132nd Birthday Pearl White

Today is the 132nd birthday of the actress and activist Pearl While. I honestly do not know how she made so many movies a year. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Pearl White
OCCUPATION: Women’s Rights Activist, Film Actress
BIRTH DATE: March 4, 1889
DEATH DATE: August 4, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH: Green Ridge, Missouri
PLACE OF DEATH: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
REMAINS: Buried, Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6838 Hollywood Blvd.

Father: Edward G. White (farmer)
Mother: Elizabeth House (d. when Pearl was three)
Brother: Fred
Sister: Grace
Husband: Victor Sutherland (m. 11-Oct-1907, div. 24-Apr-1914)
Husband: Wallace McCutcheon (m. Jun-1919, div. 26-Jul-1921, d. 27-Jan-1928 suicide)
Boyfriend: Theodore Cossika

BEST KNOWN FOR: Pearl White was an American silent film actress best known for her role in The Perils of Pauline, in which she did her own stunt work.

White was born in Green Ridge, Missouri to Edgar White, a farmer, and Inez White. She had four brothers and sisters. The family later moved to Springfield, Missouri. At age 6, she made her stage debut as “Little Eva” in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. When she was 13 years old, White worked as a bareback rider for the circus.

She began performing with the Diemer Theater Company, located on Commercial Street, while in her second year of high school. Against the wishes of her father, White dropped out of high school and, in 1907 at age 18, she went on the road with the Trousedale Stock Company, working evening shows while keeping her day job to help support her family. She was soon able to join the company full-time, touring through the American Midwest. White played minor roles for several years, when she was spotted by the Powers Film Company in New York. She claimed she had also performed in Cuba for a time under the name “Miss Mazee”, singing American songs in a dance hall. Her travels as a singer took her to South America, where she performed in casinos and dance halls. In 1910, White had trouble with her throat, and her voice began to fail from the nightly theatrical performances. She made her debut in films that year, starring in a series of one-reel dramas and comedies for Pat Powers in the Bronx. It was at Powers Films that White honed her skills at physical comedy and stunt work. She became a popular player with the company and caught the attention of Pathé Frères.

In 1910, White was offered a role by Pathé Frères in The Girl From Arizona, the French company’s first American film produced at their new studio in Bound Brook, New Jersey. She then worked at Lubin Studios in 1911 and several other of the independents, until the Crystal Film Company in Manhattan gave her top billing in a number of slapstick comedy shorts from 1912 to 1914. White then took a vacation in Europe. Upon her return, she signed with Eclectic Film Company, a subsidiary of Pathé in 1914.

Pathé director Louis J. Gasnier offered her the starring role in film serial The Perils of Pauline, based on a story by playwright Charles W. Goddard. The film features the central character of “Pauline” in a story involving considerable action, which the athletic Pearl White proved ideally suited for. The Perils of Pauline consisted of twenty, two-reel episodes that were released weekly. The serial proved to be a hit with audiences and made White a major celebrity, and she was soon earning $1,750 a week. She followed this with an even bigger box office hit, The Exploits of Elaine (1914-1915). Over the next five years, White would appear in the popular serials The New Exploits of Elaine (1915), The Romance of Elaine (1915), The Iron Claw (1916), Pearl of the Army (1916-1917), The Fatal Ring (1917), The House of Hate (1918), The Lightening Raider (1919) and The Black Secret (1919-1920). In these serials, White flew airplanes, raced cars, swam across rivers, and did other similar feats. She did much of her own stunt work until Pathé decided that they could not risk injuring one of their most popular stars (She had already injured her spine during the filming of The Perils of Pauline, an injury that would cause her pain for the rest of her life). A male stunt double wearing a wig would perform the majority of the more dangerous stunts in White’s later films. The public was largely unaware that White and other actors utilized stunt doubles because studios made a point to publicize that the actors did their own stunts. In August 1922, the public finally learned the truth. During the filming of White’s final serial Plunder, John Stevenson, an actor who was doubling for White, was supposed to leap from the top of a bus on 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue onto an elevated girder. He missed the girder and struck his head. Stevenson died of a fractured skull. After the filming of Plunder was complete, White traveled to Europe for another vacation.

By 1919, White had grown tired of film serials and signed with Fox Film Corporation with the ambition to appear in dramatic roles. Over the next two years, White appeared in ten drama films for Fox but her popularity had begun to wane.

Influenced by her French friends from Pathé Studios, White was drawn to the artistic gathering in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris. While living there, she made her last film for her friend, Belgian-born director Edward José, who had directed her in several serials. Silent films could be made in any country, and as White was a recognizable star worldwide, she was offered many roles in France. She made her final film, Terreur (released as The Perils of Paris in the United States), in France in 1924. White returned to the stage in a Montmartre production Tu Perds la Boule (You Lose the Ball). In 1925 she accepted an offer to star with comedian Max Wall in the “London Review” at the Lyceum Theatre in London where she earned $3,000 a week. She then retired from performing.

By the time she retired from films in 1924, White had amassed a fortune of $2 million. A shrewd businesswoman, she invested in a successful Parisian nightclub, a Biarritz resort hotel/casino, and a stable of ten race horses. White divided her time between her townhouse in Passy and a 54-acre estate near Rambouillet. She became involved with Theodore Cossika, a Greek businessman who shared her love of travel. Together they purchased a home near Cairo, Egypt, and White travelled with him throughout the Middle East and the Orient.

According to published reports after her death, White’s friends claimed that she intended to make a comeback in sound films. White later told friends that after she made a test for sound films in 1929, she was told that her voice was unsuitable. White made occasional visits to the United States in 1924, 1927 and 1937. On her last visit, White would tell reporters that she was not interested in making a comeback and mused that acting in silent films was more difficult than acting in the then-new “talkies” though she did praise Greta Garbo. By this time, White had gained a substantial amount of weight. She told reporters she did not like to be photographed as she felt that photos made her face look fat adding, “Why should I have my picture taken when I can get paid for it?”.

White was married twice and had no children. She married actor Victor Sutherland on October 10, 1907. They divorced in 1914. In 1919, she married for the second time to actor Wallace McCutcheon. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1921.

By 1937, White was dying of liver failure. The injury she sustained to her spine while filming The Perils of Pauline had continued to cause her pain which she eased with drugs and alcohol. A year before her death, White got her affairs in order, purchased a plot in Cimetière de Passy (Passy Cemetery) near her home and arranged her own funeral. In early July 1938, she checked herself into the American Hospital in the Paris suburb of Neuilly, due to issues with her liver. She slipped into a coma on August 3, 1938 and died the following day of what was identified in her obituaries as a “liver ailment” (likely cirrhosis due to years of heavy drinking). She was 49 years old. White was buried in Cimetière de Passy after a small, private funeral.

White left the majority of her fortune, including jewelery and property, to Theodore Cossika. She also bequeathed money to her father, nieces, and nephews, and willed $73,000 to charities.

Pearl White’s place in film history is important in both the evolution of cinema genres and the role of women. Like many silent film actors, many of White’s films are now considered lost. The Perils of Pauline is only known to exist in a reduced nine-reel version released in Europe in 1916, but The Exploits of Elaine survives and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. All of her films were made at studios on the east coast of the United States, as White reportedly never visited Hollywood, California.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Pearl White has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6838 Hollywood Blvd.

The 1947 Paramount Pictures film The Perils of Pauline, starring Betty Hutton, is a fictionalized biography of Pearl White.

1910

His Yankee Girl (Short)
The Missing Bridegroom (Short) as Clarice Moulton
The Horse Shoer’s Girl (Short)
The Burlesque Queen (Short)
The Matinee Idol (Short) as Helen Durand
The Music Teacher (Short) as Louise Faber
A Woman’s Wit (Short) as Grace Brown
The Sheriff and Miss Jones (Short) as Mary Noyes
The New Magdalene (Short) as Mercy Merrick
The Woman Hater (Short)
When the World Sleeps (Short) as Mrs. Madison

1911

Monte Cristo (Short) as Mercedes
An Unforeseen Complication (Short) as The Professor’s Daughter
Home Sweet Home (Short) as Mary Lanon
Helping Him Out (Short) as Pearl
The Angel of the Slums (Short) as The Angel of the Slums
The Heart of an Indian Maid (Short) as Indian Maid
The Society Girl and the Gypsy (Short) as Grace
The Stepsisters (Short) as The Stepmother’s Spoiled Daughter
His Birthday (Short) as Mrs. Grey – the Wife
Memories of the Past (Short)
The Flaming Arrows (Short)
The Message of the Arrow (Short)
Through the Window (Short)
A Prisoner of the Mohicans (Short)
The Squaw’s Mistaken Love (Short) as Pearl
For Massa’s Sake (Short)
Love Molds Labor (Short) as Margaret Fuller – the Foreman’s Sweetheart
The Terms of the Will (Short)
The Power of Love (Short) as Margaret Fuller – the Foreman’s Sweetheart
Love’s Renunciation (Short)
Western Postemistress (Short) as The Western Postmistress
The Reporter (Short) as Alice Wayne
The Lost Necklace (Short) as The Sleepwalking Heroine
The Fatal Portrait (Short) as Madeleine
The Doll (Short) as The Wife

1912

The Life of Buffalo Bill (Short)
For the Honor of the Name (Short)
The Arrowmaker’s Daughter (Short) as The Arrowmaker’s Daughter
The Hand of Destiny (Short) as Señora Martinez – the Wife
The Man from the North Pole (Short)
The Girl in the Next Room (Short) as Alice Brady
Naughty Marietta (Short) as Marietta
McGuirk, the Sleuth (Short) as Byrdie May
Her Dressmaker’s Bills (Short) as Mrs. Owing
The Only Woman in Town (Short) as The Widow Chase
Bella’s Beaus (Short) as Bella
The Blonde Lady (Short) as Mabel
A Pair of Fools (Short) as Pearl
Oh, Such a Night! (Short) as Pearl
The Gypsy Flirt (Short) as Mabel
The Chorus Girl (Short) as The Wife aka The Chorus Girl
Her Old Love (Short) as Irene
The Valet and the Maid (Short) as The Maid
The Quarrel (Short) as Mrs. Lovey
Locked Out (Short) as Mrs. Happy
The Spendthrift’s Reform (Short) as Mrs. Dan Steele
A Tangled Marriage (Short) as Pearl
The Mind Cure (Short) as Pearl
Oh! That Lemonade (Short) as The Widow
His Wife’s Stratagem (Short) as Pearl
Her Visitor (Short) as Pearl Burnham
The Mad Lover (Short) as Ethel Marion

1913

Her Kid Sister (Short) as Pearl
Heroic Harold (Short) as Pearl
A Night at the Club (Short) as Mrs. Boredman
The Fake Gas-Man (Short) as Bridget the Maid
A Dip Into Society (Short) as Maggie the Maid
The False Alarm (Short) as Minor Role
Pearl’s Admirers (Short) as Pearl
With Her Rival’s Help (Short) as Nellie
Box and Cox (Short) as Tillie – the Housemaid
Her Lady Friend (Short) as Miss Alden
Accident Insurance (Short) as Pearl
Strictly Business (Short) as Pearl
An Awful Scene (Short)
That Other Girl (Short) as Pearl
Schultz’s Lottery Ticket (Short) as Mrs. Schultz
An Innocent Bridegroom (Short) as The Widow Keene
A Night in the Town (Short) as Nellie Thomas – the Housemaid
Ma and the Boys (Short) as Violet
Knights and Ladies (Short) as Pearl
Who Is the Goat? (Short) as Pearl Sweet
Calicowani (Short) as Mrs. Blake
Lovers Three (Short) as Pearl
His Twin Brother (Short) as Dolly
The Drummer’s Note Book (Short) as Pearl
Pearl as a Clairvoyant (Short) as Pearl
The Veiled Lady (Short) as Pearl
Our Parents-In-Law (Short) as Carrie
Two Lunatics (Short) as Pearl
His Romantic Wife (Short) as Mrs. Cool
Forgetful Flossie (Short) as Forgetful Flossie
A Joke on the Sheriff (Short) as The Widow Floss
When Love Is Young (Short) as Pearl
Pearl as a Detective (Short) as Pearl
Oh, Whiskers! (Short) as Miss Hegg
His Awful Daughter (Short) as Nellie
Our Willie (Short) as Willie’s Ma
Homlock Shermes (Short) as Pearl – the Girl Detective
Toodelums (Short) as Pearl
A Supper for Three (Short)
Where Charity Begins (Short) as Helen Morris
Hooked (Short) as Mrs. Short
Clancy, the Model (Short)
Mary’s Romance (Short) as Mary
The New Typist (Short) as Pearl – the Office Stenographer
False Love and True (Short) as Grace Roberts
Her Joke on Belmont (Short) as The Doctor’s Sister
A Call from Home (Short)
Will Power (Short) as Pearl
The Smuggled Laces (Short)
Out of the Past (Short) as Rose Vale – the Country Girl
Who Is in the Box? (Short) as Pearl
An Hour of Terror (Short) as Mrs. Brown
The Girl Reporter (Short) as Pearl White – the Girl Reporter
Muchly Engaged (Short)
True Rivalry (Short) as Georgia Allison
Pearl’s Dilemma (Short) as Pearl Howell, a Young Matron
The Hall-Room Girls (Short) as Pearl
The Broken Spell (Short) as Valerie Monroe
College Chums (Short) as Pearl
The Paper Doll (Short) as Alice Wilson
What Papa Got (Short) as Pearl
A Child’s Influence (Short)
Starving for Love (Short) as Mabel
Oh! You Scotch Lassie (Short) as Pearl
How Women Love (Short) as Alice Howard
Pearl and the Tramp (Short) as Pearl
The Great Influence (Short) as Norah
Caught in the Act (Short) as Mrs. Brown
That Crying Baby (Short)
His Aunt Emma (Short) as Pearl
Much Ado About Nothing (Short) as Pearl
Lost in the Night (Short) as Pearl Barry
Some Luck (Short)
Pleasing Her Husband (Short) as Pearl Greene
The Hand of Providence (Short) as Pearl
A News Item (Short) as Pearl
Misplaced Love (Short) as Rose
Pearl and the Poet (Short) as Pearl
The Last Gamble (Short) as Pearl Letterell
The Dress Reform (Short) as Pearl – the Wife
The Woman and the Law (Short) as Pearl
Pearl’s Mistake (Short) as Pearl
Hearts Entangled (Short)
Willie’s Great Scheme (Short) as Pearl
Robert’s Lesson (Short) as Pearl
The Rich Uncle (Short) as Pearl
A Hidden Love (Short) as Alice
Girls Will Be Boys (Short) as Pearl
When Duty Calls (Short) as Grace
Daisy Wins (Short)
Oh! You Pearl (Short) as Pearl
Out of the Grave (Short)
Her Secretaries (Short) as Pearl
The Cabaret Singer (Short) as Madge
Hubby’s New Coat (Short) as Mrs. Joyful
The Convict’s Daughter (Short) as Pearl Bentley – the Convict’s Daughter
A Woman’ Revenge (Short)
Pearl’s Hero (Short) as Pearl
First Love (Short)
The Soubrette (Short) as The Soubrette
The Heart of an Artist (Short) as Aline Morey
The Lure of the Stage (Short) as Lola – the Actress
The Kitchen Mechanic (Short) as Sal
Through Fire and Air

1914

The Lifted Veil (Short)
Shadowed (Short) as The Suspicious Wife
The Ring (Short) as Mrs. Gray
It May Come to This (Short) as Wifey
A Father’s Devotion (Short)
Jones’ Burglar Trap (Short) as Mrs. Jones
The Shadow of a Crime (Short) as Edith Winslow
Oh! You Puppy (Short) as Pearl
A Grateful Outcast (Short) as Pearl
What Didn’t Happen to Mary? (Short) as Mary
For a Woman (Short) as Nellie
Getting Reuben Back (Short) as Annie
A Sure Cure (Short)
McSweeney’s Masterpiece (Short) as Cleopatra
Lizzie and the Iceman (Short) as Lizzie
The Fat and Thin of It (Short) as Pearl – the Professor’s Assistant
The Perils of Pauline (Serial)
Going Some (Short) as Pearl
The Lady Doctor (Short)
Get Out and Get Under (Short) as Pearl
A Telephone Engagement (Short) as Pearl White
The Mashers (Short)
The Dancing Craze (Short) as The Tango Instructor
Easy Money (Short) as Lizzie
The Girl in Pants (Short) as Vivian’s Mother
Her New Hat (Short) as Pearl
What Pearl’s Pearls Did (Short) as Pearl
Willie’s Disguise (Short) as Pearl – the Schoolteacher
Was He a Hero? (Short)
East Lynne in Bugville (Short)
Liferitis (Short)
Some Collectors (Short)
Oh! You Mummy (Short) as The Mummy
The Exploits of Elaine (Serial) as Elaine Dodge

1915

Oh! You City Girl (Short)
A Lady in Distress (Short)
Sapho Up-to-Date (Short)
The New Exploits of Elaine as Elaine Dodge
The Romance of Elaine as Elaine Dodge

1916

The King’s Game as Catherine Dardinilis
Hazel Kirke as Hazel Kirke
The Iron Claw (Serial) as Margery Golden
Pearl of the Army as Pearl Date

1917

Mayblossom as Anabel Lee
The Fatal Ring as Violet Standish

1918

The House of Hate as Pearl Grant (Waldon) / Jenny Acton

1919

The Lightning Raider (Serial) as The Lightning Raider
The Black Secret (Serial) as Evelyn Ereth

1920

The White Moll as Rhoda, The White Moll
The Tiger’s Cub as Tiger’s Cub
The Thief (Short) as Mary Vantyne

1921

The Mountain Woman as Alexander McGiverns
Know Your Men as Ellen Schuyler
Beyond Price as Sally Marrio
Annabel’s Romance
A Virgin Paradise as Gratia Latham

1922

Any Wife as Myrtle (Mrs. John Hill)
The Broadway Peacock as Myrtle May
Without Fear as Ruth Hamilton

1923

Plunder (Serial) as Pearl Travers

1924

Terror as Hélène Lorfeuil (final film role)