Patsy Ruth Miller
Spanish card by La Novela Semanal Cinematográfica, no. 99.
Patsy Ruth Miller (1904-1995) was an American film actress who played Esmeralda in the silent version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) opposite Lon Chaney. After a few early talkies, she retired in 1931. She later became known as a prize-winning writer.
Patricia "Patsy" Ruth Miller was born Ruth Mae Miller in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her brother Winston Miller later became a film writer and producer. As a girl, Patsy had a screen test in Hollywood, but her mother was advised to take her home because she had no potential to be an actress. However, she changed her name to avoid confusion with another actress, Ruth Miller, who was already active in film. At 16, she and her family were vacationing in Los Angeles in 1920 when she spotted Alla Nazimova at a party and had herself introduced to the star. Within a short time, Patsy was offered a screen test. Nazimova gave Miller a small role in Camille (Ray C. Smallwood, 1921), which starred Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino. Miller's roles gradually improved, and she was chosen as a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922. In 1923, she was acclaimed for her performance as Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Wallace Worsley, 1923) opposite Lon Chaney. In the later part of the decade, Miller appeared chiefly in light romantic comedies, opposite such actors as Clive Brook and Edward Everett Horton. Among her film credits in the late 1920s are Broken Hearts of Hollywood (Lloyd Bacon, 1926), A Hero for a Night (William James Craft, 1927), Hot Heels (William James Craft, 1928), and The Aviator (Roy Del Ruth, 1929) with Edward Everett Horton.
Patsy Ruth Miller retired from films in 1931. She performed for a brief time on Broadway. In 1951, she made a cameo appearance in the historical drama Quebec (George Templeton, 1951), which starred John Barrymore Jr. She later stated in her autobiography that she had participated as a joke. She came out of retirement to do the film Mother (Brian Pinette, 1978) with Coleen Gray. She achieved recognition as a writer. She wrote a book about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 'Music in My Heart', which was produced as an original musical at the Adelphi Theatre on Broadway and ran for 124 performances in 1947-1948. Miller won three O. Henry Awards for her short stories, wrote radio scripts, and plays. Patsy Ruth Miller was married three times, the first two ended in divorce. Her first husband was film director Tay Garnett (1929-1933) and the second was screenwriter John Lee Mahin (1937-1946), with whom she had a son, Timothy Mahin. In 1951, she wed her third husband, the businessman E.S. Deans, who died in 1986. In 1988, she published her autobiography 'My Hollywood: When Both of Us Were Young'. Reviewer Richard Brody of The New Yorker called the memoir "a hidden masterwork of the genre". Patsy Ruth Miller died at her home in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 91. Her granddaughter is filmmaker Christine Lee Mahin.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Patsy Ruth Miller
Spanish card by La Novela Semanal Cinematográfica, no. 99.
Patsy Ruth Miller (1904-1995) was an American film actress who played Esmeralda in the silent version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) opposite Lon Chaney. After a few early talkies, she retired in 1931. She later became known as a prize-winning writer.
Patricia "Patsy" Ruth Miller was born Ruth Mae Miller in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her brother Winston Miller later became a film writer and producer. As a girl, Patsy had a screen test in Hollywood, but her mother was advised to take her home because she had no potential to be an actress. However, she changed her name to avoid confusion with another actress, Ruth Miller, who was already active in film. At 16, she and her family were vacationing in Los Angeles in 1920 when she spotted Alla Nazimova at a party and had herself introduced to the star. Within a short time, Patsy was offered a screen test. Nazimova gave Miller a small role in Camille (Ray C. Smallwood, 1921), which starred Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino. Miller's roles gradually improved, and she was chosen as a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922. In 1923, she was acclaimed for her performance as Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Wallace Worsley, 1923) opposite Lon Chaney. In the later part of the decade, Miller appeared chiefly in light romantic comedies, opposite such actors as Clive Brook and Edward Everett Horton. Among her film credits in the late 1920s are Broken Hearts of Hollywood (Lloyd Bacon, 1926), A Hero for a Night (William James Craft, 1927), Hot Heels (William James Craft, 1928), and The Aviator (Roy Del Ruth, 1929) with Edward Everett Horton.
Patsy Ruth Miller retired from films in 1931. She performed for a brief time on Broadway. In 1951, she made a cameo appearance in the historical drama Quebec (George Templeton, 1951), which starred John Barrymore Jr. She later stated in her autobiography that she had participated as a joke. She came out of retirement to do the film Mother (Brian Pinette, 1978) with Coleen Gray. She achieved recognition as a writer. She wrote a book about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 'Music in My Heart', which was produced as an original musical at the Adelphi Theatre on Broadway and ran for 124 performances in 1947-1948. Miller won three O. Henry Awards for her short stories, wrote radio scripts, and plays. Patsy Ruth Miller was married three times, the first two ended in divorce. Her first husband was film director Tay Garnett (1929-1933) and the second was screenwriter John Lee Mahin (1937-1946), with whom she had a son, Timothy Mahin. In 1951, she wed her third husband, the businessman E.S. Deans, who died in 1986. In 1988, she published her autobiography 'My Hollywood: When Both of Us Were Young'. Reviewer Richard Brody of The New Yorker called the memoir "a hidden masterwork of the genre". Patsy Ruth Miller died at her home in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 91. Her granddaughter is filmmaker Christine Lee Mahin.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.