Violet Kemble-Cooper

Violet Kemble-Cooper (12 December 1886 – 17 August 1961) was an English-American stage and film actress who appeared on stage and in Hollywood film.

Violet Kemble-Cooper
Violet Kemble-Cooper in 1930
Born
Violet Kemble-Cooper

(1886-12-12)12 December 1886
London, England
Died17 August 1961(1961-08-17) (aged 74)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Other namesViolet Kemble Cooper
OccupationActress
Years active1905–1936
Spouse(s)Walter Ferris
RelativesLillian Kemble-Cooper (sister)
H. Cooper Cliffe (uncle)

Early life

Born in London, she was a descendant from a well-known theatrical family, the Kemble family. Her father was actor Frank Kemble-Cooper.[1] Her sisters Lillian Kemble-Cooper and Greta Kemble Cooper, and her brother Anthony Kemble Cooper were actors as well. Her uncle was revered thespian H. Cooper Cliffe.

Career

She made her first stage appearance in 1905 in her native England in a production of Charley's Aunt. By 1912 she was in America, touring and in stock plays with actors including Blanche Bates and Laurette Taylor. She appeared with John and Ethel Barrymore in Claire de Lune on Broadway in 1921.[2]

Film

As Violet spent her formative years acting in the theater she never appeared in the genre silent films. She appeared in talkies beginning with the Constance Bennett film Our Betters (1933). She appeared in several more films, including the evil spinster Miss Murdstone in the Dickens film adaption David Copperfield (1935) and Boris Karloff's mother in the horror film The Invisible Ray (1936). Kemble-Coopers last movie was the MGM costumer Romeo and Juliet (1936), where she portrayed Lady Capulet.[3]

Personal life and death

She was married to Walter Ferris, a writer. She died of a stroke and Parkinson's disease in California in 1961, aged 74.[4]

in the play Clair de Lune (1921) with John Barrymore

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1933Our BettersDuchess
1933The Invisible ManWomanUncredited
1934The FountainBaroness Van leyden
1935David CopperfieldJane Murdstone
1935Vanessa: Her Love StoryLady Herries
1935Cardinal RichelieuQueen Marie
1936The Invisible RayMother Rukh
1936Romeo and JulietLady Capulet - Wife to Capulet(final film role)

References
  1. "'On Approval' Will Open At Parson's Tomorrow Evening". Hartford Courant. Connecticut, Hartford. May 15, 1927. p. 56. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912-1976 compilations of John Parker's annual editions; 1976 versions compiled by Gale Research
  3. Who Was Who on the Screen by Evelyn M. Truitt (1983)
  4. Silent Film Necrology by Eugene Michael Vazzana c.2001
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