Vera Reynolds


Vera Reynolds was an American film actress.

Early life and career

Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1899, Reynolds started out as a dancer, worked as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties, and became a leading lady in silent motion pictures. Among her film credits are starring roles in Sam Wood's Prodigal Daughters, and Cecil B. DeMille's Feet of Clay, The Golden Bed, The Road to Yesterday and Dragnet Patrol with George "Gabby" Hayes.

Controversy

On August 28, 1927, police in Hollywood reported that Reynolds had taken poison. Later the same evening she clarified what had occurred. She explained that an excited telephone operator had phoned the police when her mother requested a doctor. The police arrived along with an ambulance. The actress was found unconscious on the floor of a bathroom in her Hollywood home. Police responded initially to moans from the actress's mother who was outside the bathroom. When the door was opened they found the younger woman writhing in pain. Reynolds' mother believed her daughter had taken the poison by mistake, believing it to be medicine. Despite the actress's protestations she was transported to the emergency room and given emergency treatment. The attending physician said that he failed to find any trace of poison. Instead he thought Reynolds may have suffered an attack brought on by acute indigestion or ptomaine poisoning. Police had discovered a half-filled bottle of poison in the bathroom which led to their initial conclusion. Vera, upon returning to her home, described the initial report as "ridiculous"; saying "I have too much to live for." She said, "Life is indeed very sweet and I am certainly not ready to end it yet."

Marriages

She married twice:
Reynolds died in Hollywood on April 22, 1962, aged 62, at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood.

Filmography