Mabel Van Buren (born Mabel Brown Southard; July 17, 1878 – November 4, 1947)[2] was an American stage and screen actress.

Mabel Van Buren
Van Buren in 1913
Born
Mabel Brown Southard

(1878-07-17)July 17, 1878
DiedNovember 4, 1947(1947-11-04) (aged 69)
OccupationActress
Years active1909–1935
Spouses
(m. 1919; died 1924)
[1]
Children1

Biography

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As a theatrical performer she played the leading lady in both The Virginian and The Squaw Man (1909). She was an actress for the Kinemacolor Company of America.[3] Van Buren became prominent in motion pictures at the time of the development of feature-length movies in 1914. She starred in The Girl of the Golden West (1915) under the direction of Cecil B. Demille. It was Demille who brought Mabel west to Hollywood. Mabel was the first leading lady of the Famous Players–Lasky studio on Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

Her final role of note was in Neighbor's Wives (1933) in which she played Mrs. Lee. She continued acting in movies until the death of her husband, James Gordon. He was a Shakesperian actor who died in 1941. Other films in which she played prominent parts are The Warrens of Virginia (1915), The Man From Home (1914), and Craig's Wife (1928).

Van Buren's residence was 4351 Kingswell Avenue, Los Angeles, California. She died of pneumonia in 1947, age 69, at St. Vincent's Hospital. Her daughter, Katherine Charlton, was also an actress.

Partial filmography

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Film still of Mabel Van Buren with Rudolf Valentino in Beyond the Rocks (1922)

References

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  1. ^ "Photoplay: The Aristocrat of Motion Picture Magazines". 1917.
  2. ^ Nissen, Axel (August 12, 2016). Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood. ISBN 9780786497324.
  3. ^ Slide, Anthony (2014). The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry. Taylor & Francis. pp. 109–110. ISBN 9781135925611.
  • Lincoln, Nebraska Daily Star, Answers To Movie Fans, September 30, 1917, Page 30.
  • Los Angeles Times, Lasky Lot, In Ruins, Recall Early Film History, June 6, 1926, Page B10.
  • Los Angeles Times, Original Girl of the Golden West, 69, DiesNovember 6, 1947, Page 2.
  • The New York Times, Mabel Van Buren, November 6, 1947, Page 27.
  • Washington Post, Notes About Plays And Players, October 24, 1909, Page 94.
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