Doris Rankin

Doris Marie Rankin (August 24, 1887 – March 18, 1947)[1] was an American stage and film actress.

Doris Marie Rankin
Rankin in 1920
Born
Doris Marie Rankin

(1887-08-24)August 24, 1887
New York, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 18, 1947(1947-03-18) (aged 59)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
OccupationStage and film actress
Spouse(s)
Lionel Barrymore
(m. 1904; div. 1922)
Malcolm Mortimer
(m. 1923; her death 1947)
RelativesMcKee Rankin (father)
Mabel Bert (mother)
Phyllis Rankin (half-sister)
Gladys Rankin (half-sister)

Biography

Born in New York City, Rankin was the daughter of actor Arthur McKee Rankin (only known as McKee Rankin) and Mabel Bert.[2] She was married to actor Lionel Barrymore from 1904 to 1922. Doris had two older half-sisters from her father's marriage to Kitty Blanchard: Gladys Rankin who was married to Lionel's uncle Sidney Drew and Phyllis Rankin who was married to Harry Davenport of the Davenport theatrical family.[3]

Rankin began her career with several roles with her father's company, her best remembered part being as an Italian white slave in The White Slaver. Prior to this, she performed in a number of sketches with her father and Barrymore. Rankin and Barrymore married in 1904, when he was 26 and she was 16. Barrymore retired from the theater in 1906 and Rankin did so as well. The couple lived for an extended period in Paris, France returning to the United States around 1910. Barrymore studied music and painting while he was there. They had two daughters, Ethel and Mary and both girls died in infancy. Barrymore was deeply affected by the loss and never got over it. Most likely the girls' deaths played a part in the eventual end of their marriage.

Rankin's film debut came as Mrs. Shanks in the film The Copperhead (1920) with her husband which had been a great success for them as a play on the Broadway stage. She followed this role with performances in The Devil's Garden (1920), The Great Adventure (1921), Jim the Penman (1921), and Lena Rivers (1925). She continued in motion pictures from silent movies into the era of sound. Her last credited role was in Society Smugglers (1939).

Rankin was given a divorce from Barrymore in December 1922. Barrymore married Irene Fenwick in Rome, Italy, the following June. Rankin married British author Roger Malcolm Mortimer in 1923 and they had two children.[4] The couple lived in Santa Monica allowing Rankin to be near film studios.

In 1931, Rankin was operated on for a thyroid ailment at the Park East Hospital in New York City.

Doris Rankin died in Washington, D.C. in 1947. She is buried in Suitland, Maryland at Cedar Hill Cemetery under her married name Doris Mortimer.[1]

Filmography

References
Notes
  1. Resting Places
  2. Beasley, David R. (2002). McKee Rankin and the Heyday of the American Theater. David Beasley. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  3. Doris Rankin records; Ancestry.com
  4. Wilson, Scott (August 19, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7.
Bibliography
  • Los Angeles Times, "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood", June 17, 1940, Page 12.
  • The New York Times, "Who Is Doris Rankin?", May 19, 1918, Page 54.
  • The New York Times, "Lionel Barrymore Divorced in 14 Days", December 22, 1922, Page 1.
  • The New York Times, "Lionel Barrymore to Marry in Rome", June 7, 1923, Page 4.
  • The New York Times, "Who's Who on the Stage", October 11, 1925, Page X3.
  • The New York Times, "Doris Rankin Out of Danger", November 4, 1931, Page 30.
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