Helen Gilmore
Born
Antoinette A. Field

c. 1872
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.[1][2]
DiedApril 1936
New York, New York, U.S.[3][4][5][6]
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Years active1894–1932
Spouse
Joseph B. Zahner
​
​
(m. 1894; died 1900)​

Helen Gilmore (born Antoinette A. Field, c. 1872 – April 1936) was an American actress of the stage and silent motion pictures from Louisville, Kentucky. She appeared in over 140 films between 1913 and 1932.

Early life and career

In approximately 1872, Gilmore was born to Richard Field and Mary Cilia Daniels.[2] In 1894, she toured with comic actor Stuart Robson's company, even substituting, on at least one occasion, for Mrs. Robson—the temporarily unavailable May Waldron—in the role of Adriana in Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors.[7] It was during that tour that Gilmore met and married fellow cast member (and fellow Kentuckian), Joseph B. Zahner, hurriedly tying the knot at New York's City Hall on Friday, July 13.[1] Scarcely five years later, Zahner, then 33, suffered a fatal heart attack.[8]

Between 1910 and 1913, Gilmore appeared on Broadway in 4 musical revues: Deems Taylor's The Echo, Manuel Klein's Around the World and Under All Flags (both at the New York Hippodrome), and Oscar Straus's My Little Friend.[9][10] Shortly thereafter, she made her screen debut in A Female Fagin.

As Mrs. Hobbs in A Petticoat Pilot (1918), Gilmore was commended for her careful character study. The Paramount Pictures film was directed by Rollin S. Sturgeon and was based on the novel by Evelyn Lincoln.[11] She played the head nurse in Too Much Business (1922). This was a comedy which originated with a Saturday Evening Post story by Earl Derr Biggers. In it Gilmore was cast with Elsa Lorimer and Mack Fenton.[12] Her final motion picture credit is for the role of a motorist in the Laurel and Hardy short Two Tars (1928).

Theatre performances

Year Play Author Character Venue or Company Notes
1893 – 1894 The Comedy of Errors Shakespeare Phryne, the reigning beauty of Ephesus; Adriana, wife to Antipholus of Ephesus (standby for May Waldron)[7] Touring with Stuart Robson September 18, 1893[13][14][15] - July 7, 1894[16]
1910 The Echo Deems Taylor Chorus Globe Theatre August 17, 1920 – October 1, 1920; 53 performances.[17]
1911 – 1912 Around the World Manuel Klein New York Hippodrome September 2, 1911 – May 18, 1912; 445 performances.[18]
1912 – 1913 Under Many Flags Manuel Klein New York Hippodrome August 31, 1912 – May 17, 1913; 445 performances.[19]
1913 My Little Friend Oscar Straus Baroness DuBois New Amsterdam Theatre May 19 – June 24, 1913; 24 performances.[20]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 "Actors Rush to the Altar". The Inter Ocean. July 14, 1894. p. 14.
  2. 1 2 "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24CZ-6JM : 10 February 2018), Joseph Zahner and Antoinette Field, 13 Jul 1894; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,493,121.
  3. ↑ "Actress, Formerly of Louisville, Found Dead". The Courier-Journal. April 12, 1936. p. 12.
  4. ↑ Associated Press (April 13, 1936). "Body of Actress Found". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
  5. ↑ "Woman Is Found Dead; Body of Former Actress Discovered in Apartment by Friend". The New York Times. April 12, 1936. p. 31.
  6. ↑ "Obituaries: Helen Gilmore". Variety. April 15, 1936. p. 61.
  7. 1 2 "The Two Dromeos". The Topeka Daily Press. January 9, 1894. p. 5.
  8. ↑ "Promising Career Cut Short by Death". Minneapolis Star Tribune. January 21, 1900. p. 17.
  9. ↑ "Helen Gilmore". IBDB.
  10. ↑ Hines, Dixie; Hanaford, Harry Prescott (1914). Who's Who in Music and Drama. New York : H.P. Hanaford. p. 443.
  11. ↑ "A Petticoat Pilot". Daily Kennebec Journal. March 14, 1918, p. 3.
  12. ↑ "Movies". Constitution Tribune. June 12, 1923. p. 5
  13. ↑ "At the Brooklyn Theatres". The New York World. September 9, 1893. p. 3. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  14. ↑ "For Playgoers: Notable Productions on the Local Stage Last Night". The Brooklyn Citizen. September 19, 1893. p. 3. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  15. ↑ "News of the Theatres; Notes of the Stage". The New York Times. December 31, 1993. p. 13. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  16. ↑ "The Theaters". Minneapolis Tribune. June 24, 1894. p. 21. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  17. ↑ "'The Echo': About This Production". IBDB.
  18. ↑ "'Around the World': About This Production". IBDB.
  19. ↑ "'Under Many Flags': About This Production". IBDB.
  20. ↑ "'My Little Friend': About This Production". IBDB.

Further reading

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