Jewel Carmen

occupation = Actress years_active = 1912–1926 spouse =

Jewel Carmen (born Florence Lavina Quick; July 13, 1897 – March 4, 1984) was an American silent film actress who appeared in over 30 films, primarily in the late 1910s. In addition to her film career, she was involved in several scandals.

Raised in Portland, Oregon, Carmen began acting in Hollywood at age 15, eventually performing with Keystone Studios. She first garnered public attention for her involvement in a statutory rape case against a 35-year-old automobile dealer in Los Angeles, but the charges against him were ultimately dropped after she could not prove her age.

Carmen resumed her career, appearing in several films throughout the 1910s, including a small role in D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916), followed by leads in American Aristocracy (1916) with Douglas Fairbanks and in Frank Lloyd's A Tale of Two Cities (1917). She also starred as Cosette in Lloyd's adaptation of Les Misérables (also 1917). In 1918, she married film director Roland West. Carmen made her final film appearance in West's horror film The Bat (1926).

In December 1935, Carmen drew significant media coverage over the death of actress Thelma Todd, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage of Carmen and West's home in Pacific Palisades. Carmen became embroiled in the investigation after she claimed to have seen Todd on Hollywood Boulevard hours after the time police determined Todd had died. A grand jury ultimately ruled Todd's death accidental. The consensus was that she inadvertently caused her own death by running her car inside the garage to warm herself after West locked her out of the home. Todd and West had been engaged in a romantic affair at the time. Following Todd's death, Carmen and West divorced. She lived the remainder of her life outside the public eye, then died in a nursing home in El Cajon, California in 1984 at age 86.

Life and career 1897–1912: Early life Carmen was born Florence Lavina Quick on July 13, 1897 in Portland, Oregon, to Amos William and Minerva Quick. Her father was a native of Kentucky, and her mother was born in Arkansas. In 1911, Amos left his wife and children to seek work in Los Angeles.

1912–1916: Career beginnings and scandal In February 1912, Quick moved with her mother to Los Angeles, following her father; she aspired to be an actress. Within two weeks, she found work as a film extra for the DeMille Company. Shortly after, her siblings, who had temporarily remained in Portland, also moved to Los Angeles. Quick made her film debut in the 1912 film The Will of Destiny, credited as Florence La Vinci, and subsequently appeared in several films for Keystone Studios, including The Ragtime Band, using the name Evelyn Quick, because the studio mandated performers be age 16 or older, she lied about her age, claiming to be 17. Throughout early 1913, Carmen appeared in minor roles in numerous films for Mack Sennett under this name.

In April 1913, Quick was involved in one of the first major scandals in Hollywood: A grand jury had indicted 35-year-old William La Casse, a wealthy automobile dealer, on charges of statutory rape. La Casse had been investigated over a potential connection to a white slavery ring, but his relationship with a then-15-year-old Quick was uncovered. However, La Casse denied that the two had been intimate. Quick testified against him in court, also implicating William Hollingsworth, a friend of La Casse, in having intimate relations with her. Because Quick did not possess a birth certificate proving herself a minor, the grand jury attempted to use other means—including sworn testimony from Minerva and the recorded names and birthdates in the Quicks' family Bible—as evidence. However, with the jury lacking sufficient evidence proving Quick's age, and after the failure of two witnesses to appear in court (one of them being Quick), the charges against La Casse were dropped.

Following the scandal, Quick resumed her career in films using the name Jewel Carmen, and she appeared in Daphne and the Pirate (1916) with Lillian Gish and in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916). She won her second case because Fox's interference with her employment with Keeney had been outside the law, but Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo made clear that he did not approve of the legal loophole that allowed Carmen to break her contract with Fox.

In the midst of the ongoing lawsuits, Carmen married film director Roland West. West subsequently cast her as the lead of his 1921 film The Silver Lining, in which she portrayed one of two orphaned sisters who is adopted by a thief. She followed it with the drama Nobody, also released in 1921. Todd was found deceased from carbon monoxide poisoning in her car, which was parked and running inside the garage of Castillo del Mar, a residence owned by Carmen and West in Pacific Palisades. Castillo del Mar was located one block away from the Thelma Todd Cafe, a restaurant for which Todd served as the face, and which was backed financially by West and owned by Carmen. hours after police estimated Todd had died. Following Todd's death, the marriage between Carmen and West ended, and she retired from the public eye.

Death Carmen died of lymphoma at Helix View Nursing Home in El Cajon, California on March 4, 1984, age 86.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes 1912 The Will of Destiny Frances credited as Florence La Vinci 1913 Those Good Old Days Lady in Court credited as Evelyn Quick The Professor's Daughter credited as Evelyn Quick A Strong Revenge Party Guest credited as Evelyn Quick The Two Widows Widow credited as Evelyn Quick Wife Wanted Girl credited as Evelyn Quick Cupid in a Dental Parlor Ethel Parks credited as Evelyn Quick The New Conductor Woman on Streetcar credited as Evelyn Quick That Ragtime Band Girl in Audience credited as Evelyn Quick The Gangsters Girl credited as Evelyn Quick Professional Jealousy credited as Evelyn Quick He and Himself credited as Evelyn Quick Four Queens and a Jack The Girl credited as Evelyn Quick Their Husbands credited as Evelyn Quick 1916 Daphne and the Pirate credited as Jewell Carman Sunshine Dad Charlotte The Children in the House Jane Courtenay Flirting with Fate Gladys, the Girl alternative title: The Assassin The Half-Breed Nellie alternative title: The Carquinez Woods Intolerance Favorite of the Harem uncredited Manhattan Madness The Girl American Aristocracy Geraldine Hicks 1917 The Kingdom of Love Violet Carson A Tale of Two Cities Lucie Manette American Methods Claire de Beaulieu To Honor and Obey Rose Delvane The Conqueror Eliza Allen When a Man Sees Red Captain Sutton Les Misérables Cosette at age 18 1918 The Girl with the Champagne Eyes Nellie Proctor The Bride of Fear Ann Carter Confession Mary Anderson Fallen Angel Jill Cummings alternative title: Paying the Piper Lawless Love LaBelle Geraldine alternative title: Above the Law 1921 The Silver Lining The Angel Nobody Little Mrs. Smith 1926 The Bat Miss Dale Ogden