Betsy Ann Hisle

Betsy Ann Hisle (born Juanita J. Hisle; May 30, 1917 – September 20, 1978) was an American child actress. She is best known for appearing in Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model, The Way of All Flesh (1927) and Sorrell and Son (1927).

Early life and career Hisle and a team of Russian wolfhounds (Borzoi), on page 96 of the October 1922 Photoplay. Betsy Ann Hisle was born in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Walter W. Hisle and Luella Mammer Hisle, who had moved west from Lamoni, Iowa. Displaying performing talent from early childhood, she began dance lessons in Seattle after recovering from illness as a toddler and was soon appearing in children’s benefit programs. By age three she was noted for her ability to sing, swim, and dance with unusual poise, traits that led to early attention from motion-picture representatives. Publicists frequently described her as “golden-haired” and “natural-born,” emphasizing her aversion to stage cosmetics and her preference for authentic childlike performances.

By 1924 she had established herself as one of Hollywood’s most prominent child performers, reportedly sharing the screen with Jackie Coogan in A Boy of Flanders and appearing in features such as Nellie the Beautiful Cloak Model and The Poverty of Riches.

At seven years old Hisle joined Paramount Pictures, where she was cast by Herbert Brenon in the adventure epic Beau Geste. During production she was known to keep a pet cat named Ginger, who was briefly slated to appear alongside her before disappearing from the set—a light-hearted anecdote that highlighted her early Hollywood experience. The following year she was chosen by Universal Pictures to portray Little Eva in the studio’s adaptation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Studio reports noted that at nine she was the youngest actor ever given the part, and that she had previously performed charitable stage work in Seattle with Charles Gilpin, later cast as Uncle Tom.

Hisle continued to secure juvenile roles through the late silent era, appearing in The Dark Angel (1925) as the child version of Vilma Bánky, and later as Emil Jannings’s daughter in The Way of All Flesh (1927). By mid-decade her name and image were also used in promotional tie-ins, including the “Little Miss Kelly-Springfield Girl” advertising campaign and a branded Betsy Ann Ice Cream enterprise that opened in Pasadena in 1926.

Outside film work, Hisle remained active in community performance. During the late 1920s she participated in children’s orchestras and local music clubs in Pasadena and Altadena, performing ukulele and harmonica and appearing with the Pasadena Post American Legion Troubadours at civic events.

Later life By 1930 Hisle had become a familiar figure in Northern California charity and publicity circuits. She served for consecutive years as mistress of ceremonies and honorary hostess at the Oakland Police and Fire Departments’ Friendship Party, a large annual celebration for underprivileged children held at Neptune Beach in Alameda. She was twice flown from Los Angeles to Oakland by airplane to preside over the event, where she received joint honorary badges from both departments in gratitude for her volunteer work.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1921 The Poverty of Riches Little Girl (uncredited) 1922 Fire Fighters Mabel 'Mike' (as Hal Roach's Rascals) 1922 The Kentucky Derby Little Girl (uncredited) 1922 A Blind Bargain Little Girl (uncredited) 1923 Look Your Best Little Girl (uncredited) 1923 The Sheik of Hollywood Little Girl (short, uncredited) 1924 Pied Piper Malone Child (uncredited) 1924 Poisoned Paradise: The Forbidden Story of Monte Carlo Little Girl Feeding Pigeons (uncredited) 1924 The Fighting Coward Little Girl (uncredited) 1924 A Boy of Flanders Little Girl (uncredited) 1924 Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model Nellie at age 5 (uncredited) 1924 Sherlock Jr. Little Girl (uncredited) 1924 The Hollywood Kid Pico's Older Daughter 1924 Girl Shy Little Girl (uncredited) 1924 Going East Little Girl (uncredited) 1924 Dark Stairways Little Girl (uncredited) 1924 Her Marriage Vow The Hilton Daughter (as Dorothy Vaughn) 1924 Dynamite Dan Little Girl (uncredited) 1924 Husbands and Lovers Little Girl (uncredited) 1924 All Night Long One of Harry's Children short 1924 Gold Heels Little Jane 1925 The Golden Bed Child (uncredited) 1925 A Thief in Paradise Little Girl (uncredited) 1925 Scarlet and Gold The Little Girl 1925 The Dressmaker from Paris Little Girl (uncredited) 1925 Sally Little Girl (uncredited) 1925 Remember When? Harry as a Child short 1925 Zander the Great Little Girl (uncredited) 1925 Rose of the Desert Girl 1925 The Dark Angel Flower Girl 1926 The Greater Glory Lily 1926 Buster's Mix-Up Kid at Party short 1926 The Scarlet Letter Child (uncredited) 1926 Beau Geste Isabel Rivers - Younger (uncredited) 1927 The Way of All Flesh Charlotte 1927 Sorrell and Son Molly as a Child 1928 Laugh, Clown, Laugh Little Girl at Tito's Death (uncredited) 1930 The Sins of the Children Katherine Wagenkampf as a Child (uncredited) 1933 Jennie Gerhardt Veronica Gerhardt (uncredited)