Claire Adams

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Claire Adams (Mackinnon) (24 September 1896 - 25 September 1978) film actress and benefactor, was born in Winnipeg, Canada, daughter of Stanley Wells Adams, a welsh-born accountant and his Canadian wife Lillian, nee Kennedy. Educated in Canada and England, she worked briefly as a Red Cross nurse during World War I.

In 1920 she signed a five year contract with Benjamin Bowles Hampton, a Hollywood producer. She later moved to California where she acted in more than forty silent films, including melodramas, comedies and westerns.

Described as 'patricianly beautiful' Adams worked with many of Hollywood's leading actors, including Adolphe Menjou, Tom Mix, Wallace Beery and Lon Chaney. In 1923 she was Rin Tin Tin's leading lady in 'Where the North Begins' which was a huge success often credited with saving Warner Brothers from bankruptcy. She later maintained that Rin Tin Tin was her 'favourite leading man'. Her best known film was 'The Big Parade' (the second largest grossing silent film in cinema history) directed by King Vidor starring alongside John Gilbert. Her most memorable role was as the undercover detective who "humanizes" crippled crime boss Lon Chaney in 'The Penalty' (1920

At Hollywood on 18 September 1924 she married film producer Ben Hampton. They had no children. He died in 1932 leaving her very wealthy.

In 1932 Adams met Scobie Mackinnon, second son of L.K.S. Mackinnon, at a London party and three weeks later they married on 1 April at Mayfair. They remained childless.

After a protracted honeymoon, in March 1938, Scobie brought Adams to Victoria. The couple divided their time between Mooramong a Western District grazing property and their Melbourne townhouse at 220 Domain Road South Yarra. They entertained often at Mooramong, which they transformed from a staid Victorian homestead into a Jazz Age folly. On their frequent trips to Melbourne to attend the races and innumerable cocktail parties they travelled in their Silver Ghost Rolls Royce. Adorned in smart hats and chic outfits, and often graced with her diamonds Adams was an exotic figure at Government House functions and at the race course.

She was a life governor of Skipton hospital and vice president of Lort Smith Hosiptal for sick animals.

On his death in 1974 Scobie Mackinnon's estate was worth $2,111, 729 AUD which was left entirely to Claire. She died in 1978 at Windsor, Melbourne and was cremated. After generous bequests to friends and family and animal welfare bodies she left the remainder of her estates to the National Trust of Victoria for the creation of a wildlife sanctuary and fauna and flora park at Mooramong.

[edit] Filmography

  • "Empire" aka Big G (UK)
  • Between Friday and Monday (1963) TV Episode (as Peggy Adams) .... Debbie
  • What a Mother-in-Law! (1934) .... Frances
  • Combat (1927) .... Wanda (his ward)... aka The Isle of Mystery (UK)
  • Married Alive (1927) .... Viola Helmesley Duxbury
  • The Lunatic (1927)
  • The Sea Wolf (1926) .... Maud Brewster
  • The Combat (1926)
  • Yellow Fingers (1926) .... Nona Deering
  • The Big Parade (1925) .... Justyn Reed
  • The Wheel (1925) .... Kate O'Hara
  • Souls for Sables (1925) (uncredited)
  • The Kiss Barrier (1925) .... Marion Weston
  • Men and Women (1925) .... Agnes Prescott
  • The Devil's Cargo (1925) .... Martha Joyce
  • The Brass Bowl (1924) .... Sylvia
  • The Fast Set (1924) .... Fay Colleen
  • The Painted Flapper (1924) .... Eunice Whitney
  • Helen's Babies (1924) .... Helen Lawrence
  • Oh, You Tony! (1924) .... Betty Faine
  • Honor Among Men (1924) .... Patricia Carson
  • The Girl in the Limousine (1924) .... The Girl
  • Missing Daughters (1924) .... Claire Mathers
  • The Night Hawk (1924) .... Clia Milton
  • Daddies (1924) .... Bobette Audrey
  • The Clean-Up (1923) .... Phyllis Andrews
  • Legally Dead (1923) .... Minnie O'Reilly
  • Where the North Begins (1923) .... Felice McTavish
  • Stepping Fast (1923) .... Helen Durant
  • Brass Commandments (1923) .... Ellen Bosworth
  • The Scarlet Car (1923) .... Beatrice Forbes
  • Do and Dare (1922) .... Juanita Sánchez
  • Heart's Haven (1922) .... Vivian Breed
  • Just Tony (1922) .... Marianne Jordan
  • Golden Dreams (1922) .... Mercedes McDonald
  • When Romance Rides (1922) .... Lucy Bostil
  • The Gray Dawn (1922) .... Nan Bennett
  • The Mysterious Rider (1921) .... Columbine
  • Man of the Forest (1921) .... Helen Raynor
  • A Certain Rich Man (1921) .... Molly Culpepper
  • The Lure of Egypt (1921) .... Margaret Lampton
  • Black Beauty (1921/II)
  • The Killer (1921) .... Ruth Emory
  • The Spenders (1921) .... Avice Milbrey
  • The Dwelling Place of Light (1920) .... Janet Butler
  • The Penalty (1920/I) .... Barbara
  • Riders of the Dawn (1920) .... Lenore Anderson... aka Desert of Wheat
  • The White Dove (1920) (as Clare Adams) .... Ella De Fries
  • The Key to Power (1920) .... Ann Blair
  • The Money Changers (1920) .... Lucy Hegan
  • The Great Lover (1920) .... Ethel
  • The Invisible Bond (1919) .... Leila Templeton... aka Should a Wife Forgive? (USA)
  • A Misfit Earl (1919) .... Phyllis Burton... aka The Misfit Earl (USA: review title)
  • Speedy Meade (1919) .... Alice Hall
  • The End of the Road (1919) .... Mary Lee
  • The Spirit of the Red Cross (1918) .... Ethel
  • Adam and Some Eves (1918)
  • The Man-Eater (1918) (as Peggy Adams)
  • Nutty Knitters (1917)
  • Faint Heart and Fair Lady (1917)
  • Your Obedient Servant (1917)
  • Chris and His Wonderful Lamp (1917) .... Betty
  • The Widow's Suitors (1913) (as Clara Adams)
  • Boy Wanted (1913) (as Clara Adams)
  • A Shower of Slippers (1913) (as Clara Adams)
  • Aunt Elsa's Visit (1913) (as Clara Adams)
  • The Office Boy's Birthday (1913) (as Clara Adams)
  • Bragg's New Suit (1913) (as Clara Adams)
  • Kitty at Boarding School (1912)
  • Revenge Is Sweet (1912) (as Clara Adams)
  • The Artist's Joke (1912) (as Clara Adams)
  • An Intelligent Camera (1912)
  • Apple Pies (1912) (as Clara Adams)
  • Kitty's Holdup (1912)
  • Eddie's Exploit (1912) (as Clara Adams)
  • Curing the Office Boy (1912) (as Clara Adams)
  • A Heroic Rescue (1912) (as Clara Adams)

[edit] References

  • Photoplay Dec,1924
  • Film Index, No 3, 1970, p.12
  • Social History Report on Morramong, Skipton by D. Hellier (1989). National Trust of Australia, Victoria branch.
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