Frances Dade

Frances Pemberton Dade (February 14, 1907 – January 21, 1968) was an American film and stage actress of the late 1920s and 1930s.

Family

Dade was born on February 14, 1907, to Frances Rawle Pemberton and Francis Cadwallader Dade Jr. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was grandniece to Confederate General John Clifford Pemberton and first cousin to athlete Hobey Baker. She studied for one year at the School of the Theater in New York.

Career Dade acted at the Empire Theater in Toronto in 1928 and 1929, performing in a different play each week. Her other stock theater experience came in Alabama, Michigan, and New York. She did not like performing in touring companies, saying that the experience was "like traveling in a trunk". He gave her a contract, though she later went freelance. Her first film role was in 1928, when she had an uncredited role alongside stars Dorothy Boyd and Mabel Poulton in The Constant Nymph. She also appeared in such films as Raffles (1930) and Seed (1931). She played one of the leading roles in Grumpy (1930).

In 1931, Dade was cast in the biggest role of her career as Lucy Weston in Dracula, which starred Bela Lugosi and Helen Chandler. The scene with Bela Lugosi hovering over her prostrate body remains an indelible part of pop culture. Dade was also the first actress to ever play the character of Lucy in a motion picture.

Despite her performance in Dracula, Dade's film role offers dwindled. She starred in six films in 1931, three of which were horror films. In 1932, she was featured in only one film, Big Town, and she appeared on Broadway in Collision.

Personal life and death Dade retired from acting and married wealthy socialite Brock Van Every on August 12, 1932, in Philadelphia. They had a daughter. The marriage developed problems, and they were divorced in 1958. She eventually moved back home to Philadelphia, and went into nursing.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1930 He Knew Women Monica Grey Raffles Ethel Crowley Grumpy Virginia Bullivant The Devil to Pay! Bidder for Bed Uncredited 1931 Dracula Lucy The She-Wolf Faire Breen Seed Nancy Pleasure Joan Channing Daughter of the Dragon Joan Marshall Range Law Ruth Warren 1932 Scandal for Sale Manicurist Uncredited Big Town Patricia Holman