Charlotte Merriam
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Charlotte Merriam (April 5, 1906-July 10, 1972) was a motion picture actress from Sheridan, Illinois. Her childhood ambition was to become a concert pianist.
[edit] Silent film star
Merriam's film career began in 1919 with a role in Sweet Dry and Dry. She visited Universal Pictures that year and was offered a part in a comedy series starring Eddie Lyons and Leo Moran. Merriam accepted. Afterwards she played leads in one and two reel comedies and appeared in important parts in longer features.
She performed with Colleen Moore in The Nth Commandment (1923) and was the feminine lead in The Brass Bottle (1923), directed by Maurice Tourneur.
She signed a long-term contract with the Vitagraph Studios in June 1924. At the time she was playing the part of Mary Trail in Captain Blood (1924). This was when she was making the transition from comedy to more serious films. Merriam was associated with Warner Brothers Pictures from 1929, when she signed to play the role of Camilla in Dumbbells In Ermie (1930). She was cast with Paul Hurst in a comedy series produced by the Tiffany (movie studio) about prize fighting. The short is titled De Woild Champeen (1930).
[edit] Personal life
In December 1923 Merriam was named a corespondent in a divorce suit brought by Mrs. May Morris, the wife of film director Reggie Morris. Merriam married actor Rex Lease in 1925. The two met when he appeared in one of her films two years earlier. The actress filed for divorce in 1929. Merriam was later married to freelance actor, Don Douglas, who died in 1946. Their residence was at 12423 Laurel Terrace, Studio City, California.
She continued her musical education as a screen actress. She studied to be a vocalist with Felix Hughes.
In January 1931 Merriam was operated on for an emergency appendicitis in San Francisco, California. She was in the bay area to participate in the entertainment for an automobile show.
Charlotte Merriam died in Los Angeles, California in 1972.
[edit] References
- Los Angeles Times, She Made Grade At One Jump, November 23, 1923, Page II10.
- Los Angeles Times, Wife Names Actress In Her Divorce, December 7, 1923, Page II3.
- Los Angeles Times, Film Luminary's Rise Prophesied, June 29, 1924, Page B29.
- Los Angeles Times, Actress Again Seeks Divorce, April 5, 1929, Page A20.
- Los Angeles Times, Charlotte Merriam In It, December 24, 1929, Page A6.
- Los Angeles Times, Charlotte In New Film, October 26, 1930, Page B10.
- Los Angeles Times, Actress Stricken With Appendicitis, January 31, 1931, Page A1.
- Los Angeles Times, Don Douglas, Actor, Dies, January 1, 1946, Page
Page 7.
