Alma Tell

Alma Tell (March 27, 1898 – December 29, 1937)[1] was an American stage and motion picture actress whose career in cinema began in 1915 and lasted into the sound films of the early 1930s.

Portrait of Tell by Luther S. White, New York, c. 1920

Early years

Tell was born in New York City,[1] the younger sister of stage and film actress Olive Tell (1895–1951). She attended schools in London and Paris[2] and, with her actress sister, Olive, graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1915.[3]

Career

Tell began her career as an actress in Syracuse, working for 12 weeks in stock theater. She acted in Boston and headed a stock company in Newark.[3]

She made her screen debut in the Edward José-directed drama Simon, the Jester, released in September 1915. Tell's career never paralleled that of her older sister, and she often was cast in films as the second leading lady.[4]

Throughout the 1920s, Tell appeared opposite such leading silent film actresses as Mae Murray, Corinne Griffith and Madge Kennedy and then achieved leading lady status in 1923's The Silent Command, opposite actors Edmund Lowe, Martha Mansfield and Béla Lugosi, in his first American film role.

Tell made her last film appearance in the 1934 romantic-drama Imitation of Life, which starred Claudette Colbert.

Personal life and death

Tell was married to actor Stanley Blystone[1] from 1932[5] until her death. She died in 1937 and was interred at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California.

Selected filmography

Theater starring roles

References
  1. Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 208. ISBN 9780786409839. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  2. "Alma Don't Tell Anything but Her Stage Cognomen". The Washington Herald. D.C, Washington. January 4, 1920. p. 15. Retrieved 23 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Credit to American Academy of Dramatic Arts". The Musical Leader. 36 (3): 52. July 18, 1918. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  4. Alma Tell profile, AllMovie.com; accessed March 27, 2016.
  5. "Alma Tell Wed by Film Actor". Star Tribune. Minnesota, Minneapolis. Associated Press. December 19, 1932. p. 9. Retrieved 23 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17678631/squab_farm_review/
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