Gladys Brockwell

Gladys Brockwell (née Lindeman; September 26, 1894 – July 2, 1929) was an American actress whose career began during the silent film era.

Early life and career

Brockwell was born Gladys Lindeman in Brooklyn, New York, on September 26, 1894. Her father was H.R. Lindeman. Her mother, Lillian Lindeman ( Voltaire), a chorus girl turned actress, put her daughter on stage at an early age. By age 7, Brockwell was performing in dramatic productions with a stock company in Williamsport, West Virginia. By the time Gladys was 14, she played leading roles, and when she was 17 she had her own company. She took on the stage name Gladys Brockwell, and made her film debut in 1913 for Lubin Studios.

On July 1, 1918, she married Harry Edwards, a film director, but the marriage was annulled the next year.

Death

Brockwell died in Hollywood Hospital in Los Angeles on July 2, 1929, of peritonitis that resulted from internal injuries from an automobile accident.

On June 27, 1929, Brockwell and a friend, Thomas Stanely Brennan, were involved in an automobile accident near Calabasas, California. Brennan, a Los Angeles advertising man, was driving when the automobile went over a embankment on the Ventura Highway near Calabasas. Brockwell was crushed beneath the automobile.

She underwent four blood transfusions as part of the effort to save her life, the last just before her death. Following a second blood transfusion, Brockwell appeared to improve until peritonitis set in from her internal injuries, particularly a puncture of her large intestine. Brennan recovered after sustaining serious injuries. He said a bit of dust had blown into his eye, temporarily blinding him. No negligence was placed on Brennan, who was still recovering in the hospital. Brockwell's final film, The Drake Case, was directed by Edward Laemmle while she was on loan to Universal Pictures, and was released posthumously in September 1929.

Gladys Brockwell was cremated at Hollywood Cemetery and her ashes given to her mother. Her ashes now lie with her mother in the columbarium of Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Selected filmography