Eugenie Besserer

Eugenie Besserer (25 December 1868 – 28 May 1934) was an actress born in Watertown, New York of French Canadian parents, who starred in silent films and features of the early sound motion picture era, beginning in 1910.

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Orphan in Canada

She was taken by her parents to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada as a girl and spent her childhood in Canada. She was left an orphan and escaped from her guardians at the age of twelve. She came to New York City and arrived at Grand Central Station with but twenty-five cents of Canadian money in her pocket. Miss Besserer located a former governess through the assistance of a street car conductor. The governess helped Eugenie locate an uncle and she found a home at his residence. She continued her education, becoming proficient in both cooking and athletics. She claimed to have held her own with the noted fencer Alexander Salvini.

Theater and motion picture player

Besserer's initial theatrical experience came with McKee Rankin when the producer had for a star, Nance O'Neill. Soon she appeared with stage luminaries like Frank Keenan and Wilton Lackaye. As a youth she played a juvenile part with Maurice Barrymore. She performed a season at Pike's Opera House in Portland Oregon. Another season Eugenie acted in a drama opposite Henry Kolker.

The actress came to Hollywood in 1910 when films were just starting to be made there. The illness of her sister brought her to the west coast. In motion pictures Eugenie was usually cast in mother roles, most famously as mother of the Al Jolson character in The Jazz Singer ("Mammy"). Eugenie became associated with the Selig Polyscope Company. A significant part for the actress was her role as Aunt Ray Innis in The Circular Staircase (1915). The film was adapted from the novel of Mary Roberts Rinehart.

Domestic life

She shared a home with her husband, Albert W. Hegger, an art dealer, from the time she came to California. They lived a serene life high above Silver Lake in a hilltop home.

Besserer died in 1934, age 65, of a heart attack, at her home, 2215 Baxter Street. She had married Hegger at the age of fifteen. The couple would have celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1935. A mass for the actress was held at St. Theresa's Church with a rosary service at Edwards Brothers Colonial Mortuary, Venice Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California. Her grave is located in Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles.

Filmography

1930s

1920s

1910s

References