Bessie Eyton
American postcard in the Selig Players series, 1914. Photo: Selig Polyscope Co.
American actress Bessie Eyton (1890-1965) starred in at least 200 melodramas, Westerns, and crime films. She was one of Selig's most popular stars.
Bessie Eyton was born Bessie Harrison in Santa Barbara in 1890. Her father Edgar Thomas Harrison was a musician. In 1910 she was visiting the Selig Film studios with a party of friends when a director saw and liked her red hair. He said it would photograph a beautiful black, so he offered her a minor role. Bessie had no formal stage training, as did many early film actors. However, she was talented and soon rose to be one of Selig's most popular stars. Her first major role as a leading actress was opposite Tom Mix in The Sheriff of Tuolomne (Francis Boggs, 1911). Bessie is perhaps best remembered as Helen Chester in The Spoilers (Colin Campbell, 1914) with co-star William Farnum and as Virginia Carvel in The Crisis (Colin Campbell, 1916), with George Fawcett and based on Winston Churchill's sprawling novel. Bessie remained with Selig until 1918.
Bessie Eyton was last seen in a supporting role as Ada Tremaine in The Girl of Gold (John Ince, 1925) starring Florence Vidor and Malcolm McGregor for the Regal Film Co. She returned to the screen in the 1930s as an extra. Bessie reportedly had a terrible argument with her mother Claribel, walked out of her Hollywood home, and was never seen or heard from again. Her brother Elbert spent years searching for her but was unsuccessful. In 1908, the 19-years-old Bessie married Selig film producer Charles Eyton. They divorced in 1915. The following year, she married Clark B. Coffey, but they divorced in 1923. In 1965, Bessie Eyton died from congestive heart failure in Thousand Oaks, California, at the age of 74.
Sources: Paul Rothwell-Smith (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Bessie Eyton
American postcard in the Selig Players series, 1914. Photo: Selig Polyscope Co.
American actress Bessie Eyton (1890-1965) starred in at least 200 melodramas, Westerns, and crime films. She was one of Selig's most popular stars.
Bessie Eyton was born Bessie Harrison in Santa Barbara in 1890. Her father Edgar Thomas Harrison was a musician. In 1910 she was visiting the Selig Film studios with a party of friends when a director saw and liked her red hair. He said it would photograph a beautiful black, so he offered her a minor role. Bessie had no formal stage training, as did many early film actors. However, she was talented and soon rose to be one of Selig's most popular stars. Her first major role as a leading actress was opposite Tom Mix in The Sheriff of Tuolomne (Francis Boggs, 1911). Bessie is perhaps best remembered as Helen Chester in The Spoilers (Colin Campbell, 1914) with co-star William Farnum and as Virginia Carvel in The Crisis (Colin Campbell, 1916), with George Fawcett and based on Winston Churchill's sprawling novel. Bessie remained with Selig until 1918.
Bessie Eyton was last seen in a supporting role as Ada Tremaine in The Girl of Gold (John Ince, 1925) starring Florence Vidor and Malcolm McGregor for the Regal Film Co. She returned to the screen in the 1930s as an extra. Bessie reportedly had a terrible argument with her mother Claribel, walked out of her Hollywood home, and was never seen or heard from again. Her brother Elbert spent years searching for her but was unsuccessful. In 1908, the 19-years-old Bessie married Selig film producer Charles Eyton. They divorced in 1915. The following year, she married Clark B. Coffey, but they divorced in 1923. In 1965, Bessie Eyton died from congestive heart failure in Thousand Oaks, California, at the age of 74.
Sources: Paul Rothwell-Smith (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.