Fanny Midgley


Fanny Midgley was an American film actress of Hollywood's early years, mostly in silent films.

Biography

Midgley was born Fanny B. Frier in Cincinnati, Ohio, making her move to Hollywood to pursue an acting career in the early days of film making, in 1911. Her first film role was with Francis Ford in the earliest film version of the Battle of the Alamo, titled The Immortal Alamo, a film which today has no existing copies. She had three film roles in 1912 and 1913, then in 1914 her career took off. In 1914 alone, she had 27 film appearances, including The Sheriff of Bisbee, in which she starred with actress Mildred Harris, the future mother of Charlie Chaplin's first child. From 1915 through 1919, she appeared in another 32 films, mostly in supporting roles. Her last film appearance during this period was the 1919 film The Lottery Man, in which she starred with Wanda Hawley and Wallace Reid.
During the 1920s, her career began to slow, appearing in 22 films between 1920 and 1926, with her biggest film role during that time being in the 1922 film The Young Rajah with Rudolph Valentino. From 1927 to 1929, her career almost completely halted compared to her previous years, with only five film appearances during this period, most notably with Buddy Roosevelt in The Cowboy Cavalier in 1928.
She did transition somewhat successfully to sound films, and appeared in the 1930 movie The Poor Millionaire, starring Richard Talmadge and Constance Howard. In 1931, she appeared in An American Tragedy, starring Sylvia Sidney and Phillips Holmes. Fanny Midgley died unexpectedly at the age of 52 on January 4, 1932 in Hollywood.

Partial filmography