Alta Allen


Alta Allen was an American actress.

Biography

Allen was born in Oakland, California in 1904 to a Scottish mother, Jessie Robertson, and W. J. Crowin, who hailed from the West Coast. She made her first professional performance at an Oakland theater in a production of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Allen's role in this production was as Beth March. She was ten years old at the time.
In November 1920, Allen married the actor, screenwriter and director Hampton Del Ruth. The same year, William Fox, the founder of the Fox Film Corporation, observed Allen as she performed the leading role at a musical revue within the Fairmont Hotel. Subsequently, she signed a contract with his studios, although she would only perform one role in any silent film released by Fox Film: the 1921 comedy Skirts. She would subsequently sign a contract with Universal Studios, and later appeared in several films released by this corporation, including The Marriage Chance, and A Self-Made Failure. Her final credited screen appearance occurred in 1926, as Thora Barton in the cast of The Set-Up.
Alta Allen died of natural causes at her Boonsboro home on June 24, 1998 the age of 93.

Filmography

YearFilmRoleNotes
1921A Shocking NightBessie Lane
1921Seven Years Bad LuckBettyMax's Fiancée
1921Be My WifeMaryThe subject of the main characters' affections
1921SkirtsKidnapped girl
1922The Marriage ChanceEleanor Douglas
1924A Self-Made FailureMrs. Spike MaloneAlternative title: The Goof
1924Daring ChancesAgnes Rushton
1926The Set-UpThora BartonDaughter of Cliff Barton, the murder victim
1926Raggedy RoseRose's former co-workerUncredited role