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You are here: Home / Archives for Movie Star Biographies

Movie Star Biographies

Biographies of movie stars from the Silent period through Hollywood's Golden Age. These include a great amount of research and are often annotated throughout. Since mid-2008 these are all written by Cliff Aliperti. Older entries point to freelance articles by other contributing authors that were originally posted at an older version of this website.

Miriam Hopkins Biography — Star of Stage and Screen, 1902-1972

January 9, 2017 By Cliff Aliperti 2 Comments

Miriam Hopkins 1936 Nestle Stars of the Silver Screen

Biography of Miriam Hopkins (1902-1972), whose legacy should be her racy and sophisticated Paramount pre-Code output—not her feud with Bette Davis, or missing out on Gone With the Wind despite being Margaret Mitchell’s favorite for Scarlett O’Hara.

Filed Under: Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: Miriam Hopkins

Stanley Fields Biography — Blustery Thirties Character Actor

December 18, 2016 By Cliff Aliperti 10 Comments

Stanley Fields in Little Caesar

Unraveling truth and myth in the life of character actor Stanley Fields. Born Walter L. Agnew, you’ll know him from Cimarron, Little Caesar (1931), Island of Lost Souls (1932), Algiers (1938), and several other major 1930s Hollywood releases.

Filed Under: Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: Stanley Fields, what a character

Helen Mack — Brief Biography of The Son of Kong Star

November 30, 2016 By Cliff Aliperti Leave a Comment

Helen Mack in The Son of Kong

A brief biography of The Son of Kong star Helen Mack centered around her breakthrough role in RKO’s Sweepings earlier in 1933. With coverage of Mack as child star and explanation of how she reentered the movies in 1931.

Filed Under: Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: Helen Mack

Merna Kennedy – Chaplin Leading Lady; Also Star of Broadway

March 28, 2016 By Cliff Aliperti 3 Comments

Merna Kennedy in The Circus

Merna Kennedy was an unknown dancer and actress when she emerged alongside Charlie Chaplin in The Circus (1928), the peak to a short movie career. This biography covers Merna Kennedy’s background, a few of her films, and her tragically premature death.

Filed Under: Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: Charlie Chaplin, Merna Kennedy

Guy Kibbee Biography – Character Actor Played Sugar Daddies, Goofballs, and Patriarchs

January 11, 2016 By Cliff Aliperti 3 Comments

Guy Kibbee in Big Hearted Herbert

Biography of 1930s and 1940s character actor Guy Kibbee, who starred in over one hundred Hollywood films. Lovable Kibbee could play lecherous sugar daddies and folksy patriarchs with equal skill.

Filed Under: Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: character actors, Guy Kibbee, what a character

Viola Dana – A Biography in Clippings

June 26, 2015 By Cliff Aliperti 1 Comment

Viola Dana 1915 Cahill Igoe Schedule Card

A collection of 26 clippings spanning 1905-1987 that cover the life and career of silent screen actress Viola Dana. Illustrated with vintage movie collectibles. Also includes screen captures of her 1963 appearance on My Three Sons.

Filed Under: Clippings, Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: Viola Dana

Helen Lowell, 1880s Gilbert & Sullivan to 1930s Cranky Character Parts

June 2, 2015 By Cliff Aliperti Leave a Comment

Helen Lowell in Party Wire

A brief appraisal of Helen Lowell’s brief 1930s movie career followed by a collection of clippings highlighting her stage work from 1882 through the 1920s.

Filed Under: Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: Helen Lowell

Helen Vinson Biography – A Socialite Specializing in Socialites

May 28, 2015 By Cliff Aliperti 2 Comments

Helen Vinson 1930s Warner Bros portrait

Born Helen Rulfs in Beaumont, Texas, this biography traces Helen Vinson’s life and career through Houston to New York, Hollywood, and beyond. Born to money, Vinson excelled at playing icy socialites in the movies. Married three times including her 1930s union with Wimbledon champ Fred Perry.

Filed Under: Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: Helen Vinson

Arthur Hohl – Broadway to Hollywood, Double-Dealers All the Way

May 21, 2015 By Cliff Aliperti 4 Comments

Arthur Hohl in Jimmy the Gent

A biography of character actor Arthur Hohl, whose Broadway stardom typed him as cowardly villains and humorless prosecutors throughout Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Filed Under: Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: Arthur Hohl, character actors

Ralf Harolde, Expert Portrayer of Lowlifes and Junkies

May 17, 2015 By Cliff Aliperti 7 Comments

Ralf Harolde in Picture Snatcher

Appraisal of Ralf Harolde’s talents as ultimate pre-Code lowlife with biographical bits assembled where possible. Busy character actor of the 1930s-40s, who made his mark in films such as Night Nurse, Safe in Hell, and Picture Snatcher.

Filed Under: Movie Star Biographies Tagged With: character actors, Ralf Harolde

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About Cliff

I write about old movies and movie stars from the 1920s to the 1950s. I also sell movie cards, still photos and other ephemera. Immortal Ephemera connects the stories with the collectibles. Read More…

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Cliff’s Books & eBooks:

Click any image to browse or buy at Amazon.com. Previews available for all titles.

Helen Twelvetrees Perfect Ingenue by Cliff Aliperti

Helen Twelvetrees, Perfect Ingenue

Kindle $5.99

Paperback $21.95

11 Pre Code Hollywood Movie Histories book

11 Pre Code Hollywood Movie Histories

Still Just $2.99

Freddie Bartholomew An Informal Biography by Cliff Aliperti

The first Freddie Bartholomew biography in over 75 years!

Still just 99c

Praise for Helen Twelvetrees, Perfect Ingenue

Recommended BooksJames L. Neibaur of Examiner.com calls it: "One of the most interesting and important film books of the young year," adding, "the documentation is original and significant." Full review.

Recommended BooksJacqueline T. Lynch, author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer.Star., says: "A prime example of a classic film fan taking the reins to produce a scholarly study of a neglected figure from the Golden Age of classic films in a way that I feel is refreshing, infinitely helpful to fans and students of old movies." Full review.

Recommended BooksSilver Screenings says: "A fascinating account of an ambitious and hard-working woman ... Aliperti’s book is well written and incredibly well researched." Full review.

Recommended BooksSpeakeasy says: "Despite her decline, this is not a sad or bleak book but an enjoyable history ... Any fan of the collectible Citadel “Films of” book series will appreciate the modern twist on that format, a full biography followed by an expanded filmography." Full review.

Recommended BooksA Classic Movie Blog says: "I think this is a good format for performers with short lives and brief careers ... I went into it with only mild curiosity about Twelvetrees and now I find my self pining for copies of unavailable, but intriguing films." Full review.

Helen Twelvetrees, Perfect Ingenue is available in paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon.com.


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Helen Twelvetrees, Perfect Ingenue

Available through Amazon.com in paperback at $21.95 or for your Kindle at $5.99 — Buy the paperback and get the Kindle edition for FREE.

Helen Twelvetrees, Perfect Ingenue is one-half biography, one-half film retrospective. The life, loves, and career of an unexpectedly modern woman are presented in Part 1, while Part 2 is comprised of separate chapters covering each of her 32 movies: the good, the bad, and the lost.

Buy it Now, at Amazon.com

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Edward Everett Horton 1926 Publicity Still

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