Nell Franzen

Nell W. Franzen (November 17, 1889 – August 21, 1973) was an American film and stage actress of the silent era. A native of Portland, Oregon, Franzen began her career acting in local theatre. She signed with the Baker Theatre Company and performed in various stage productions, becoming a prolific stage actress in the Pacific Northwest.

Nell Franzen
Franzen ca. 1922
Born(1889-11-17)November 17, 1889
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
DiedAugust 21, 1973(1973-08-21) (aged 83)
Orange, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
34.1252°N 118.2437°E / 34.1252; 118.2437
OccupationActress
Years active1913–1924

She later moved to Los Angeles in 1913 to pursue a career in silent films, signing a contract with the America Film Company. One of her earliest film appearances was in Love and the Law (1913) with Wallace Reid, followed by 1916's Lord Loveland Discovers America, and Embers. Franzen made her final film appearance in 1924 before retiring from acting.

Early life

Nell Franzen was born on November 17, 1889 in Portland, Oregon[1] to John O'Flarrity Franzen and Mary Ellen Coshow. According to the 1930 United States Census, Franzen's father was from Massachusetts, and her mother a native of Missouri.[2] She was the second of two children; she had one older sister, Mae Frances Franzen.

Career

Stage career

She began her career as an actress working in stock theater.[3] She began performing onstage with the Baker Stock Company at their Baker Theatre location in Portland in 1910,[4] under stage director Marshall Farnum.[5] She appeared in the stage production of The Toyshop in 1908,[6] and also performed with the Sanford Stock Company in Vancouver, British Columbia.[7]

In 1912, Franzen appeared with the Harry Corson Clarke theatre company in Honolulu, Hawaii.[8]

Films
Franzen with Wallace Reid in Love and the Law (1913)

After moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in silent films, Franzen toured the world performing for veterans in soldier's camps during World War I alongside fellow silent film star Neva Gerber.[9]

Among her earliest credits was opposite Wallace Reid in Love is the Law (1913).[10] In a 1916 issue of Motography, it was noted: "Nell Franzen, who has been playing minor parts in American film productions, is climbing up in the profession...Miss Franzen won her advancement through the good work done in the small parts given her. She is small and pretty and has a pleasing screen appearance."[11]

Her success with audiences and critics led to larger roles in silent films, most of them with the American Film Company of Santa Barbara, in which she often acted opposite Constance Crawley and Arthur Maude; these roles included parts in Lord Loveland Discovers America (1916) and Embers (1916).[12] She also appeared in the first chapter of the film serial The Diamond from the Sky with Lottie Pickford.[13]

She also continued to work in theatre, performing in a touring one act play titled "Room 13," written by Sherwood MacDonald, opposite Helen Emma Reaume, wife of Tyrone Power. The one-act toured throughout southern California in 1919.[14]

Personal life

According to the California Death Index, she died on August 21, 1973 in Orange, California, at the age of 83.[15] She is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, alongside her mother, Mary, and sister, Mae.

Credits

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1913Love and the LawN/A[10]
1913The Ashes of ThreeN/A[13]
1915Ima Simp, DetectiveN/A[16]
1915The Ladder of LoveJohn's Sister[13]
1915 The Diamond from the SkyN/ACh. 1 of serial[13]
1915The Trail of the SerpentCarlotta[13]
1915Film TempoCharlotte Briggs[13]
1915In the Sunset CountryMadge, The Lost Soul[13]
1915Yes or NoN/A[13]
1916Time and TideRuth Walters[13]
1916DustN/A[17]
1916Lord Loveland Discovers AmericaIzzy[13]
1916Life's Blind AlleyRose McKee[13]
1916EmbersMaysie Stafford[18]
1916RevelationsMarie[13]
1916The CourtesanBettie Howard[13]
1916PurityMaiden[13]
1916 The Strength of Donald McKenzieN/A[13]
1924Sagebrush GospelMrs. Harper[19]

Stage credits
Year Title Role Location
1908The ToyshopDollBaker Theatre, Portland, Oregon, U.S.
1909Merely Mary AnnSister TrippittBaker Theater, Portland, Oregon, U.S.[20]
1910Under Southern SkiesAnner LizerThe Spokane in Spokane, Washington, U.S.[21]
1910The Prince ChapPhoebe PuckersBaker Theater, Portland, Oregon, U.S.[7]
1910The Man from MexicoN/ABaker Theater, Portland, Oregon, U.S.
1910All the Comforts of HomeEmily PettiboneBaker Theater, Portland, Oregon, U.S.
1910SaphoSoubriseBaker Theater, Portland, Oregon, U.S.[22]
1911Brown's in TownFreda Von HollenbeckBungalow Theater, Portland, Oregon, U.S.[23]
1919Room 13N/ASan Diego, California; Los Angeles, California, U.S.

References
  1. The Eugene Guard 1911, p. 5.
  2. "Nell W. Franzen". The United States Census. 1930. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  3. Schilling 1961, p. 363.
  4. Logan 1910, p. 17.
  5. New York Dramatic Mirror & December 1910, p. 17.
  6. The Sunday Oregonian 1908, p. 4.
  7. The Morning Oregonian 1910, p. 14.
  8. Long 2004, p. 16.
  9. The Sunday Oregonian 1921, p. 4.
  10. Fleming 2013, p. 52.
  11. Motography XV 1916, p. 206.
  12. "Lord Lovelane Discovers America (1916)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  13. "Nell Franzen". American Film Company database. University of California, Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  14. The Los Angeles Herald 1919, p. 26.
  15. ""California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch Nell W Franzen, 21 Aug 1973". Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  16. Jura & Bardin 1999, pp. 223–24.
  17. Moving Picture World 1916, p. 271.
  18. Flowers & Frizler 2004, p. 194.
  19. Lentz 1996, p. 297.
  20. Greene 1909, p. 7.
  21. The Spokane Daily Chronicle 1910, p. 2.
  22. The Morning Oregonian 1910, p. 2.
  23. The Morning Oregonian 1911, p. 7.

Sources

Further reading
  • Katchmer, George A. (1991). Eighty Silent Film Stars: Biographies and Filmographies of the Obscure to the Well Known. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-899-50494-0.
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