Helene Chadwick

Helene Chadwick (November 25, 1897 – September 4, 1940) was an American actress in silent and in early sound films.

Early life and career Chadwick was born in the small town of Chadwicks, New York, which was named for her great-grandfather. Her parents were George W. Chadwick Jr. and Marie Louise Norton Chadwick. Her mother was a singer who performed on the stage and her father was a business man.

She began making films for Pathé Pictures in Manhattan, New York. Her first film was The Challenge (1916), which was produced by Astra Film Corporation and released by Pathé. A director was impressed by Chadwicks's talent as an equestrian, thus she began acting as a western star but this did not continue with the exodus of film production from the east to the west coast. Signed by Samuel Goldwyn, Chadwick went to California in 1913 and entered silent movies in 1916. At the pinnacle of her acting career, she earned a salary estimated to have been $2,000 per week. From 1929 until 1935, she found success as a character actress when sound was being introduced to films.

In the final five years of her life, she was reduced to taking roles as an extra, playing "atmospheric parts". Helene made movies with Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, and other studios. Her final film was Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935).

Her most noteworthy performances came in Heartsease (1919), The Long Arm of the Manister (1919), The Cup of Fury (1920), Godless Men (1920), Dangerous Curve Ahead (1921), From The Ground Up (1921), Yellow Men and Gold (1922), Dust Flower (1922), The Sin Flood (1922), The Glorious Fool (1922), and Quicksands (1923).

Personal life and death Helene's great-grandparents were the founders of Chadwicks, New York, a small village in Oneida County, NY. Her great-grandfather built a cotton factory on Sauquoit Creek and was one of the premier manufacturers of textiles in the Mohawk Valley. Her family came from England, in Oldham, Lancashire County. She attended school at a one-room schoolhouse provided by her great-grandfather for the mill workers.

Chadwick married Louis Fontaine in July 1915 in Geneva, New York. They separated after he returned from serving in World War I, and he became aware that she cared for someone else. They eventually were divorced. In January 1919, Chadwick became engaged to William A. Wellman, an American pilot with the Lafayette Flying Corps. He had just returned from France and was cited for bravery for his valor in World War I. The couple had met at a party at the house of a friend. Wellman was signed to play a prominent role in an upcoming movie with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The couple wed on July 2, 1921, separated in July 1923, and were divorced in September 1923. At the time of their separation, Wellman was directing movies for Fox Film.

Chadwick's funeral was conducted by Pierce Brothers Mortuary and attended by stage and screen friends. Cause of death was cirohosis of the liver. Her body was returned to Chadwicks and she was first buried in the Sauquoit Valley Cemetery and the following year her remains were moved to Forest Hill Cemetery, Utica.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes 1916 The Challenge Alberta Bradley 1917 The Mystery of the Double Cross Lost film The Iron Heart Grace Lost film Blind Man's Luck Helen Lost film The Last of the Carnabys The Kept Woman Lost film The Angel Factory Florence Lamont Lost film Vengeance Is Mine Marion De Long Lost film 1918 Convict 993 Neva Stokes Lost film For Sale Annie Lost film The Naulahka Kate Sheriff Lost film The House of Hate Queenie Kate Lost film The Yellow Ticket Miss Seaton Lost film Getaway Kate Kate Sherwood Short Lost film Go-Get-Em Garringer Wilma Wharton Lost film 1919 Girls Kate West Lost film Heartsease Margaret Neville Caleb Piper's Girl Mary Piper The Solitary Sin Mary Lost film A Very Good Man Ruth Douglas Lost film The Long Arm of Mannister Sylvia De La Mere Lost film An Adventure in Hearts Countess D'Orano Lost film 1920 The Cup of Fury Marie Louise - 'Mamise' Lost film Godless Men Ruth Lytton Scratch My Back Madeline Cupid the Cowpuncher Macie Sewell Lost film Cupid Lost film 1921 Dangerous Curve Ahead Phoebe Mabee Lost film Made in Heaven Claudia Royce Lost film From the Ground Up Philena Mortimer The Old Nest Emily at 22 1922 The Sin Flood Poppy Lost filmThe Glorious Fool Jane Brown Lost film Yellow Men and Gold Bessie Lost film Dust Flower Letty Gravely Lost film Brothers Under the Skin Millie Craddock Incomplete film 1923 Gimme Fanny Daniels Lost film Quicksands The Girl Lost film Reno Mrs. Emily Dysart Tappan 1924 The Masked Dancer Betty Powell Lost film Why Men Leave Home Irene Emerson Love of Women Cynthia Redfield Lost film Her Own Free Will Nan Everard Lost film The Border Legion Joan Randle Lost film Trouping with Ellen Ellen Llewellyn Lost film The Dark Swan Cornelia Quinn Lost film 1925 The Re-Creation of Brian Kent Betty Joe Lost film The Woman Hater Marie Lamont—the Actress Lost film The Golden Cocoon Molly Shannon 1926 Pleasures of the Rich Mary Wilson Lost film Trailer survives Library of Congress The Still Alarm Lucy Fay Lost film Hard Boiled Marjorie Gregg Lost film Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes Helene Short film Dancing Days Alice Hedman 1927 Stage Kisses Fay Leslie Lost film Stolen Pleasures Doris Manning Lost film The Bachelor's Baby Eleanor Carter The Rose of Kildare Eillen O'Moore Lost film 1928 Say It With Sables Helen Caswell Lost filmWomen Who Dare Stella Mowbray Confessions of a Wife Marion Atwell Modern Mothers Adele Dayton Lost film 1929 Father and Son Miss White 1930 Men Are Like That Clara Fisher Hyland 1931 Hell Bound Sanford's Sister Bad Sister Amy, Sam's Wife Uncredited 1932 So Big! Townsperson Uncredited Night World Night Club Customer Uncredited 1933 Employees' Entrance Attendee at Meeting of Department Heads Uncredited The Circus Queen Murder Crying Woman Uncredited Emergency Call Miss McCabe - Averill's Secretary Uncredited No Marriage Ties Adrienne Deane's Secretary Uncredited Morning Glory Miss Murray Uncredited Merrily Yours Mrs. Rogers 1934 Managed Money Mrs. George Rogers Short Good Dame Mrs. Crosby Uncredited School for Girls Larson Ever Since Eve Governess Uncredited It's a Gift Mrs. Abernathy Uncredited A Wicked Woman Mother Uncredited 1935 Mississippi Attendee at Opening Uncredited Call of the Wild Dawson Townswoman Uncredited Mary Burns, Fugitive Prison Matron Uncredited School for Girls Larson Another Face Nurse Daniels UncreditedAlternative title: It Happened in Hollywood Frisco Kid Saloon Girl Uncredited 1936 The Perfect Set-Up Mary Short Uncredited San Francisco Earthquake Survivor Uncredited Pennies from Heaven Mrs. Arbuthnot Uncredited 1937 A Star Is Born Woman at preview Uncredited