About Alma Tell
Lived 1898 – 1937 (aged 39). Alma Tell was an American actor, stage actor and film actor.
Alma Tell (March 27, 1898 – December 29, 1937) was an American stage and motion picture actress whose career in cinema began in 1915 and lasted into the sound films of the early 1930s.
Early years Tell was born in New York City, and, with her sister, Olive, graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1915.
Career Tell began her career as an actress in Syracuse, working for 12 weeks in stock theater. She acted in Boston and headed a stock company in Newark.
She made her screen debut in the Edward José-directed drama Simon, the Jester, released in September 1915. Tell's career never paralleled that of her older sister, and she often was cast in films as the second leading lady.
Throughout the 1920s, Tell appeared opposite such leading silent film actresses as Mae Murray, Corinne Griffith and Madge Kennedy and then achieved leading lady status in 1923's The Silent Command, opposite actors Edmund Lowe, Martha Mansfield and Béla Lugosi, in his first American film role.
Tell made her last film appearance in the 1934 romantic-drama Imitation of Life, which starred Claudette Colbert.
Personal life and death Tell was married to actor Stanley Blystone until her death. She died as the result of a heart attack in 1937 and was buried at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
Selected filmography The Smugglers (1916) Nearly Married (1917) Right to Love (1920) On with the Dance (1920) Paying the Piper (1921) The Iron Trail (1921) Broadway Rose (1922) The Silent Command (1923) San Francisco Nights (1928) Love Comes Along (1930)
Theater appearances The Squab Farm (1918)
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Important facts
Family & relationships
People in Alma Tell's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Alma Tell's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Alma Tell?
American actress (1898-1937)
When was Alma Tell born?
Alma Tell was born on 27 March 1898 in New York City.
When did Alma Tell die?
Alma Tell died on 29 December 1937 in Los Angeles.
What was Alma Tell's occupation?
Alma Tell was an actor, stage actor and film actor.
What nationality was Alma Tell?
Alma Tell was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Alma Tell. https://biography.guide/alma-tell/
MLA: "Alma Tell." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/alma-tell/.
Chicago: "Alma Tell." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/alma-tell/.
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