Bliss Milford Explained

Bliss Milford
Birth Name:Bliss Phoebe MacLaren
Birth Date:April 9, 1886
Birth Place:Hope, North Dakota, US
Death Place:Bronx, New York
Restingplace:Ferncliff Cemetery
Occupation:Actress, screenwriter, songwriter
Spouse:Karl Klein
Harry Beaumont (div.)
David Higgins (div.)
Relatives:William Edward McLaren (uncle)

Bliss Milford (born Bliss Phoebe MacLaren; April 9, 1886 – July 29, 1970)[1] was an American actress, screenwriter, songwriter and singer who was active in Hollywood during the silent era.[2] [3] [4]

Biography

Bliss McLaren was born in Hope, North Dakota, to attorney C. Milford MacLaren and actress Alma Gallinger.[5] [6] She grew up primarily in Chicago, and became interested in acting when her family relocated to New York City later on;.[7] Her uncle, William Edward McLaren, was the archbishop of Chicago.[8]

When she became an actress at the age of 15 — appearing, at first, in minor roles on the stage in New York — she used her father's middle name as her last name for her film credits. She was under contract at Edison until 1914, at which point she moved to Kinetophone.[9]

She joined the company of actor and playwright David Higgins in the early 1900s, alongside her mother. Higgins and Bliss eventually married, despite their nearly 30-year age gap, but their partnership did not last.[10] Her 1915 marriage to filmmaker Harry Beaumont was similarly fated.[11] She eventually married Karl Klein in 1923, a marriage that lasted until Klein's death in the 1960s.

In addition to her work as an actress, screenwriter, and songwriter, she also served for a time on the board of directors of the Toledo School for Crippled Children.

Little is known of her life after her film career came to an end. In addition to songwriting, she apparently sang contralto at a 1928 Washington D.C. opera recital.[12] She died July 29, 1970, in the Bronx and was cremated. Her ashes rest at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.[1]

Select filmography

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=resting+places+bliss+milford Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons
  2. Web site: 23 Feb 1909. Gossip of the Stage. 2021-12-30. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. en.
  3. Web site: 10 Sep 1909. Rare Treat to See Miss Milford Act. 2021-12-30. The Morning Post. en.
  4. Web site: 18 Mar 1914. The Empire. 2021-12-30. Hartford Courant. en.
  5. Web site: 14 Oct 1907. Entertainments. 2021-12-30. Star Tribune. en.
  6. Web site: 12 Nov 1914. Who Is She?. 2021-12-30. The Hope Pioneer. en.
  7. Web site: 13 Nov 1914. Flickertail Facts and Fancies. 2021-12-30. The Bottineau Courant. en.
  8. Web site: 27 Sep 1913. Bliss Milford: Writer of Popular Songs. 2021-12-30. The News-Herald. en.
  9. Web site: 21 Dec 1914. Popular Photoplayers—No. 38. 2021-12-30. Intelligencer Journal. en.
  10. Web site: 24 Dec 1908. Bliss Milford of Higgins Co.. 2021-12-30. Buffalo Courier. en.
  11. Web site: 21 Mar 1915. Who's Married to Whom. 2021-12-30. The Columbia Record. en.
  12. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/results/?state=&date1=1920&date2=1930&proxtext=bliss+milford&x=0&y=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&rows=20&searchType=basic newspaper