June Caprice

June Caprice (born Helen Elizabeth Lawson, November 19, 1895 – November 9, 1936)[1] [2] was an American silent film actress.

June Caprice
Born
Helen Elizabeth Lawson

(1895-11-19)November 19, 1895
Arlington, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 9, 1936(1936-11-09) (aged 40)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesThe Vamp
Years active1916–1921
Spouse(s)Harry F. Millarde (m.1923–1931, his death)
ChildrenToni Seven
The Ragged Princess (1916)

Early life and career

Born Helen Elizabeth Lawson in Arlington, Massachusetts, Caprice was educated in Boston.[3]

She began her acting career in live theatre and in 1916 signed with the Fox Film Corporation. In 1916 William Fox searched to find a "second Mary Pickford." By the summer of that year he believed he had located the woman he predicted would be the best known female on the screen within six months time.[4] The 1916 press release claimed both that she was a 17-year-old teenager, and in the same press release "just a little over 17 years of age."[5] Her obituary in 1936 listed her age as 40, making her about 20 years of age at her discovery.[6]

Caprice's screen debut came in Caprice of the Mountains (1916).[3] A New York Times film critic said of her, "she is young, pretty, graceful, petite, with an eloquence of gesture that augurs a bright future in the movies." Adopting the stage name June Caprice, she made sixteen films for Fox, half of which were directed by Harry F. Millarde. The two began a personal relationship and eventually married.[7]

Retirement

She left the film business to begin a family, giving birth to a daughter June Elizabeth Millarde in 1922. It is believed she returned to working on stage and modeling, appearing on 1920s Coca-Cola company calendars holding a fountain glass of Coke. In 1931 her husband died at the age of forty-six. Caprice died five years later from a heart attack in Los Angeles. She had been suffering from cancer. She was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.[8]

Caprice's daughter was fourteen years old when orphaned and was raised by her grandparents on Long Island, New York. June Millarde became a cover girl known as Toni Seven.[9] She was the heiress to an estimated $3,000,000 fortune.[10]

Filmography
Film credits of June Caprice
Year Title Role Studio/Distributor Ref(s)
1916 The Ragged Princess Alicia Jones Fox Film [11]
1916 Caprice of the Mountains Caprice Talbert Fox Film [12]
1916 Little Miss Happiness Lucy White Fox Film [13]
1916 The Mischief Maker Effie Marchand Fox Film [14]
1917 The Small Town Girl June Fox Film [15]
1917 A Child of the Wild June Griest Fox Film [16]
1917 Patsy Patsy Prim Fox Film [17]
1917 Miss U.S.A. June Fox Film [18]
1917 Every Girl's Dream Gretchen Fox Film [19]
1917 A Modern Cinderella Joyce Fox Film [20]
1917 The Sunshine Maid (unknown) Fox Film [21]
1917 Unknown 274 Dora Belton, in later life Fox Film [22]
1918 A Camouflage Kiss Martha Thorne Fox Film [23]
1918 Blue-Eyed Mary Mary Du Bois Fox Film [24]
1918 The Heart of Romance Eloise Jackson Fox Film [25]
1918 Miss Innocence Dolores May Fox Film [26]
1919 A Damsel in Distress Maud Marsh Albert Capellani Productions, Inc. [27]
1919 Oh, Boy! Lou Ellen Carter Albert Capellani Productions, Inc. [28]
1919 The Love Cheat Louise Gordon Albert Capellani Productions, Inc. [29]
1920 Rogues and Romance feature-length version of Pirate Gold Sylvia Lee George B. Seitz Productions [30]
1920 In Walked Mary Mary Ann Hubbard Albert Capellani Productions, Inc. [31]
1921 The Sky Ranger June Elliott George B. Seitz Productions [32]

References
  1. "(photo caption)". gettyimagers. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  2. "June Caprice". BFI. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019.
  3. Lowe, Denise (2014). An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films: 1895-1930. Routledge. pp. 102–103. ISBN 9781317718970. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  4. Fox & Silver 1920, p. 122.
  5. "Great Corporation Will Give Fame and Fortune to This Girl in One Year". The Ogden Standard. May 27, 1916. p. Image 18. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  6. "Funeral for Ex-Film Star". Oakland Tribune. November 11, 1936. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  7. "Last Rites Held for Film Director". Times Union. November 5, 1931. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  8. "June Caprice". silenthollywood.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  9. "Sarasota Herald-Tribune". news.google.com. June 12, 1950. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  10. "U. S. Senator, Actress Vanish". Oakland Tribune. January 7, 1949. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  11. "The Ragged Princess". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  12. "Caprice of the Mountains". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  13. "Little Miss Happiness". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  14. "The Mischief Maker". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  15. "The Small Town Girl". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  16. "A Child of the Wild". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  17. "Patsy". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  18. "Miss U.S.A." catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  19. "Every Girl's Dream". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  20. "A Modern Cinderella". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  21. "The Sunshine Maid". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  22. "Unknown 274". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  23. "A Camouflage Kiss". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  24. "Blue-Eyed Mary". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  25. "The Heart of Romance". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  26. "Miss Innocence". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  27. "A Damsel in Distress". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  28. "Oh, Boy!". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  29. "The Love Cheat". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  30. "Rogues and Romance". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  31. "In Walked Mary!". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  32. "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". www.silentera.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

Bibliography
  • Fox, Charles Donald.; Silver, Milton L. (1920). Who's who on the screen. Ross Publishing Co.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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