Nance O'Neil
Birthday: 1874-10-08 Place of Birth: Oakland, California, USA
Synopsis
Nance O'Neil, born Gertrude Lamson, was an American stage and screen actress. When she decided to become an actress, her religious father, George Lamson, an auctioneer, denounced his daughter in church for going on the stage and asked the congregation to pray for her. O'Neil's first performance in a professional production was in the role of a nun in Sarah at the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco on October 16, 1893. At the height of her career, she was promoted on theatre bills and in period trade publications and newspapers as the "American Sarah Bernhardt".
Acting
Cimarron
When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.
Secret Service
In 1864 a Secret Service agent for the Union army goes undercover in Richmond and pretends to be a Confederate captain.
The Lady of Scandal
A famous British actress gets involved with two members of a reserved British noble family, whose plan to get rid of her backfires.
Call of the Flesh
A student nun falls in love with a Mexican singer starring in a cafe next door to her convent.
Ladies of Leisure
Kay Arnold is a gold digger who wanders from party to party with the intention of catching a rich suitor. Jerry Strong is a young man from a wealthy family who strives to succeed as an artist. What begins as a relationship of mutual convenience soon turns into something else.
The Florodora Girl
A chorus girl gets bad advice from her fellow chorines in handling a rich suitor who assumes she is a gold digger.
The Rogue Song
In czarist Russia, a princess falls for a dashing bandit leader, but their romance proves a stormy one.
His Glorious Night
Being engaged against her will with a wealthy man, Princess Orsolini (Catherine Dale Owen) is in love with Captain Kovacs (John Gilbert), a cavalry officer she is secretly meeting. Her mother Eugenie (Nance O'Neil), who has found out about the affair forces her to dump Kovacs and take part in the arranged marriage. Though not believing her own words, Orsolini reluctantly tells Kovacs she cannot ever fall in love with a man with his social position. Feeling deeply hurt, Kovacs decides to take revenge by indulging in blackmail, spreading a rumor that he is an imposter and a swindler.
