Carla Laemmle
| Carla Laemmle | |
|---|---|
 Laemmle in Dracula (1931) | |
| Born |
Rebekah Isabelle Laemmle[1] October 20, 1909 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died |
June 12, 2014 (aged 104) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1925–1939; 2001; 2010–2014 |
Rebekah Isabelle Laemmle (October 20, 1909 – June 12, 2014), professionally known by screen name Carla Laemmle, was an American actress of German Jewish descent, and the niece of Universal Pictures studio founder Carl Laemmle. She was a movie actress in the 1920s and 1930s, and one of the longest surviving actors of the silent film era.[1] Her career in motion pictures was also one of the longest on record, spanning 1925 to 2014.[2][3]
Career
Laemmle entered films in 1925, as "Carla Laemmle", in an uncredited role as a ballet dancer in the original silent film version of The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and later had a small role in the early talkie version of Dracula (1931). In that classic film, she portrayed (again uncredited) a bespectacled passenger riding in a bumpy horse-drawn carriage with Renfield as he is traveling to Dracula's castle, and had the first spoken line of dialogue in the film.[4] Laemmle continued to appear in small roles until the late 1930s, when she disappeared from the movie screen. She briefly came out of retirement to play a vampire in The Vampire Hunters Club (2001).
In 2009 the book Growing Up With Monsters: My Times at Universal Studios in Rhymes, co-authored by Carla Laemmle and Daniel Kinske, was released. The book details her life at Universal Studios from 1921 to 1937.[5] On October 20, 2009, she celebrated her 100th birthday with a guestlist which included Ray Bradbury, George Clayton Johnson, Bela Lugosi, Jr., Sara Karloff and Ron Chaney.[6]
On October 3, 2010 she appeared in BBC Four documentary A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss, sharing memories of her early film work with Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi. She recited her opening lines from Dracula.[7]
In November 2010 she made an appearance in the documentary Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood for Turner Classic Movies and in May 2011 she appeared in Paul Merton's Birth of Hollywood on the BBC. In March 2012, Turner Classic Movies presented a screening of Dracula, Laemmle appeared at the screening in connection with its Classic Movie Festival.[8]
Death
Laemmle died at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 104 on June 12, 2014. She never married and had no children. Her closest survivors are a great-niece, Rosemary Hilb,[9] and great-grandnieces, Antonia Carlotta and Cassandra Shaw [10]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | The Phantom of the Opera | Meg Giry | Uncredited |
| 1927 | Topsy and Eva | Angel | Uncredited |
| 1927 | Uncle Tom's Cabin | Auction Spectator | Angel |
| 1928 | The Gate Crasher | Maid | Credited as Beth Laemmle |
| 1929 | The Broadway Melody | Oyster Shell | Uncredited |
| 1929 | The Hollywood Revue of 1929 | Chorus Girl | Credited as Beth Laemmle |
| 1930 | King of Jazz | Chorine | Credited as Beth Laemmle |
| 1931 | Dracula | Coach Passenger | Uncredited |
| 1935 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Schoolgirl | Uncredited |
| 1936 | The Adventures of Frank Merriwell | Carla Rogers | |
| 1939 | On Your Toes | Ballet Dancer | Uncredited |
| 2001 | The Vampire Hunters Club | Elder Vampire | Direct-to-video release |
| 2010 | Pooltime | Zelda | |
| 2013 | A Sad State of Affairs | Connie | |
| 2015 | Mansion of Blood | Maribelle | Scenes filmed in 2014 |
| 2017 | The Extra | Minnie | Scenes filmed in 2014 |
References
- 1 2 Biodata (with correct birthname) Archived January 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine., laemmle.us; accessed June 25, 2014.
- ↑ "Carla Laemmle". IMDb.com. IMDb.
- ↑ Holman, Jordyn (June 13, 2014). "Carla Laemmle Dead: Silent Film Actress Niece of Universal Founder Dies at 104". Variety.
- ↑ DVD Documentary The Road to Dracula, produced by David J. Skal, included in the 2-DVD set Dracula: The Legacy Collection (2004), Universal Home Entertainment release # 24455.
- ↑ "Growing up with Monsters". Growing up with Monsters. Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
- ↑ Tarpinian, John King. "Carla Laemmle Celebrates 100", File 770 (online version), October 23, 2009.
- ↑ "Four Programmes – A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss". BBC. October 11, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
- ↑ McCue, Michelle (March 28, 2012). "TCM Classic Film Festival Continues To Expand In Final Weeks Before April 12 Opening". We Are Movie Geeks. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ↑ Barnes, Mike. "Carla Laemmle, Actress and Niece of Universal Studios Founder, Dies at 104". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
- ↑ Hilb, Rosemary. "The New Generation". The Official Laemmle Family Website. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.