Vera Reynolds

Vera Reynolds (November 25, 1899 – April 22, 1962) was an American film actress.

Vera Reynolds
Reynolds in the 1920s
Born(1899-11-25)November 25, 1899
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
DiedApril 22, 1962(1962-04-22) (aged 62)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress

Early life and career

Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1899, Reynolds started out as a dancer, worked as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties, and became a leading lady in silent motion pictures. Among her film credits are starring roles in Sam Wood's Prodigal Daughters (1923), and Cecil B. DeMille's Feet of Clay (1924), The Golden Bed (1925), The Road to Yesterday (1925) and Dragnet Patrol (1931) with George "Gabby" Hayes.

Controversy

On August 28, 1927, police in Hollywood reported that Reynolds had taken poison. Later the same evening she clarified what had occurred. She explained that an excited telephone operator had phoned the police when her mother requested a doctor. The police arrived along with an ambulance. The actress was found unconscious on the floor of a bathroom in her Hollywood home. Police responded initially to moans from the actress's mother who was outside the bathroom. When the door was opened they found the younger woman writhing in pain. Reynolds' mother believed her daughter had taken the poison by mistake, believing it to be medicine. Despite the actress's protestations she was transported to the emergency room and given emergency treatment. The attending physician said that he failed to find any trace of poison. Instead he thought Reynolds may have suffered an attack brought on by acute indigestion or ptomaine poisoning. Police had discovered a half-filled bottle of poison in the bathroom which led to their initial conclusion. Vera, upon returning to her home, described the initial report as "ridiculous"; saying "I have too much to live for." She said, "Life is indeed very sweet and I am certainly not ready to end it yet."

Marriages

She married twice:

  • To comedian Earl Montgomery; they divorced in 1926.
  • To Robert Ellis du Reel (1892–1974). In March 1938, Reynolds brought a breach of promise suit against Reel was reported. She sued Reel for $150,000, and contended she lived with Reel for nine years before she learned that they were not married. The suit claimed he promised to marry her, but failed to do so. During a recess in the trial Hollywood film director Robert G. Vignola, who believed the case could be reconciled out of court, assumed the role of peacemaker. Reynolds claimed to have had a marriage ceremony with Reel in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1926. Reel denied there had been a wedding, and stated the two had lived together unmarried. He remarked they "had the edge" on their unhappy married friends.

Death

Reynolds died in Hollywood on April 22, 1962, aged 62, at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood.

Filmography
  • Luke's Trolley Troubles (1917, Short)
  • That Dawgone Dog (1917, Short) as The Girl
  • A Self-Made Hero (1917, Short)
  • A Winning Loser (1917, Short)
  • His Criminal Career (1917, Short)
  • A Laundry Clean-Up (1917, Short)
  • A Janitor's Vengeance (1917, Short)
  • His Sudden Rival (1917, Short)
  • His Hidden Talent (1917, Short) as The Fellow's Sweetheart
  • Caught in the End (1917, Short) as The Jealous Husband's Wife
  • A Prairie Heiress (1917, Short)
  • It Pays to Exercise (1918, Short) as Gym Girl (uncredited)
  • A Saphead's Sacrifice (1920, Short)
  • Twin Bedlam (1920, Short)
  • Dry and Thirsty (1920, Short) as Mrs. Tryan
  • Parked in the Park (1920, Short)
  • Rough on Rubes (1920, Short)
  • Kissed in a Harem (1920, Short)
  • Beaned on the Border (1920, Short)
  • Stay Down East (1921, Short)
  • Should Brides Marry? (1921, Short)
  • Home Blues (1921, Short)
  • His Hansom Butler (1921, Short)
  • Designing Husbands (192, Short)
  • Cleo's Easy Mark (1921, Short)
  • All at Sea (1921, Short)
  • Tomale-O (1922, Short)
  • Sweet Cookie (1922, Short)
  • Koo Koo Kids (1922, Short)
  • What Next? (1922, Short)
  • Whose Husband Are You? (1922, Short)
  • Rented Trouble (1922, Short)
  • But a Butler! (1922, Short)
  • Easy Pickin' (1922, Short)
  • The Pest (1922, Short) as The poor tenant
  • Prodigal Daughters (1923) as Marjory Forbes
  • Woman-Proof (1923) as Celeste Rockwood
  • Chop Suey Louie (1923, Short)
  • Shadows of Paris (1924) as Liane
  • Flapper Wives (1924) as Sadie Callahan
  • Icebound (1924) as Nettie Moore
  • For Sale (1924) as Betty Twombly-Smith
  • Broken Barriers (1924) as Sadie Denton
  • Feet of Clay (1924) as Amy Loring
  • Cheap Kisses (1924) as Kitty Dillingham
  • The Night Club (1925) as Grace Henderson
  • The Golden Bed (1925) as Margaret Peake
  • The Million Dollar Handicap (1925)
  • The Limited Mail (1925) as Caroline Dale
  • Without Mercy (1925) as Margaret Garth
  • The Road to Yesterday (1925) as Beth Tyrell
  • Steel Preferred (1925) as Amy Creeth
  • Silence (1926) as Norma Drake / Norma Powers
  • Sunny Side Up (1926) as Sunny Ducrow
  • Risky Business (1926) as Cecily Stoughton
  • Corporal Kate (1926) as Kate O'Reilly
  • The Little Adventuress (1927) as Helen Davis
  • Wedding Bill$ (1927)
  • The Main Event (1927) as Glory Frayne
  • Almost Human (1927) as Mary Kelly
  • Golf Widows (1928) as Alice Anderson
  • The Divine Sinner (1928) as Lillia Ludwig
  • Jazzland (1928) as Stella Baggott
  • Back from Shanghai (1929)
  • Tonight at Twelve (1929) as Barbara Warren
  • The Last Dance (1930) as Sally Kelly
  • The Lone Rider (1930) as Mary Stevens
  • Borrowed Wives (1930) as Alice Blake
  • The Lawless Woman (1931) as June Page
  • Hell-Bent for Frisco (1931) as Ellen Garwood
  • Neck and Neck (1931) as Norma Rickson
  • Dragnet Patrol (1931) as Millie White
  • The Monster Walks (1932) as Ruth Earlton
  • Gorilla Ship (1932) as Helen Wells
  • Tangled Destinies (1932) as Ruth, the Airline Stewardess (final film role)

References
  • Dunkirk Evening Observer, "Breach Of Promise Suit Of Vera Reynolds Is Near Settlement", Saturday, March 26, 1938, p. 3
  • Los Angeles Times, "Screen Star Vera Reynolds Funeral Set", April 25, 1962, Page B1
  • Newark Advocate and American Tribune (Ohio), "Vera Reynolds, Pretty Blue-eyed Brunet, Possesses the Unusual - Is Popular", Saturday, July 28, 1928, p. 7
  • Oakland Tribune, "Vera Reynolds Not Poisoned", August 29, 1927, p. 1
  • St. Johns, Ivan, "A Surf Board Flapper," Photoplay, September 1924, p. 65.
  • Syracuse Herald, "Vera Reynolds Wearies Of Being Farmed Out", July 31, 1928, p. 9
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