Lule Warrenton

Lule Warrenton (June 22, 1862 – May 14, 1932) was an American actress, director, and producer during the silent film era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1913 and 1922. She was born in Flint, Michigan and died in Laguna Beach, California and was the mother of cinematographer Gilbert Warrenton.

Early life Warrenton was born to a production manager father. Under the supervision of her uncle, Sheridan Corbyn, Warrenton had played child parts and had been and continued to be on stage and in motion pictures for most of her life.

Warrenton attended St. Rose's Convent and later studied at the University of Michigan. Following her time at Michigan, Warrenton began her stage career as an elocutionist at the University of Notre Dame. She later progressed into a Shakespearian reader, performing in her first show at Victoria Rifle's Armory in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Actress Warrenton appeared in a total of 81 films over the course of her career. Although she claimed a few lead roles, she generally played supporting roles more often. Warrenton more popularly appeared within the genres of comedy or westerns. She had the reputation of being a versatile actress and played an assortment of diverse roles, including as a black woman in The Queen of Jungleland and as a male Chinese Mandarin, complete with a mustache, under director Henry McRae.

In a review of one of her performances, the Pittsburgh Press said that "playing different parts, the more difficult the better, is the work and pastime of Lule Warrenton".

Director

Better known for her career as a director, Warrenton became the only woman director in the world at the time to have her own studio during her time at Universal. Warrenton did some of the writing for her films, but her assistant Allen Watt took responsibility for the majority of the writing. Warrenton's son, Gilbert Warrenton, was often in charge of photography in many of his mother's motion pictures.

Warrenton began her directing career primarily by filming comedies, but later made the previously unprecedented move to making films specifically designed for children, which she called "Film for Little Ones". Calling Linda was her first Film for Little Ones in 1916. Warrenton directed and produced A Bit o'Heaven in 1917, which featured four-year-old child acting prodigy Mary Louise; this film was an adaptation of Kate Douglas Wiggin's novel The Birds' Christmas Carol that sold over 1.5 million copies.

Warrenton also was one of four founders of the Hollywood Studio Club, an organization for which any woman connected to a motion picture studio in any capacity is eligible to join. This drama club originated in the basement of the Hollywood Public Library. Eventually the Y.W.C.A. got involved and the group flourished, growing in size to 175 members by 1917.

Post Universal Studios career Warrenton began her career at Universal Studios in 1912, but severed ties with the film giant in 1917 and continued to produce juvenile films independently.

Following the split with Universal, Warrenton eventually left Hollywood and joined the San Diego Conservatory of Music while simultaneously becoming the head of an all-women film company, also located in San Diego.

Warrenton stood at a height of five feet, six inches tall, weighed 150 pounds, and had long brown hair with blue eyes. She died in 1932 at Laguna Hospital.

Partial filmography

The Werewolf (1913) Samson (1914) Bound on the Wheel (1915) Jewel (1915) The College Orphan (1915) Secret Love (1916) Her Bitter Cup (1916) The Gilded Spider (1916) Bobbie of the Ballet (1916) It Happened in Honolulu (1916) The Secret of the Swamp (1916) Princess Virtue (1917) The Silent Lady (1917) More Trouble (1918) Daughter Angele (1918) Heart of the Sunset (1918) The Wilderness Trail (1919) Molly of the Follies (1919) A Fugitive from Matrimony (1919) The Sin That Was His (1920) Blind Hearts (1921) The Jolt (1921) The Dangerous Moment (1921) Ladies Must Live (1921) Shirley of the Circus (1922) Calvert's Valley (1922) Strength of the Pines (1922)