Kitty Gordon Explained

Kitty Gordon
Birth Date:22 April 1878
Birth Name:Constance Minnie Blades
Birth Place:Folkestone, Kent, U.K.
Death Place:Brentwood, New York, U.S.
Occupation:Actor
Spouse:Maxwell James
Michael Levenston (Dec 10, 1903–Mar 29, 1904) (his death)
Captain Henry Beresford (Oct. 1904 – 1924. his death)
Ralph Ranlet (1932 – ?)

Kitty Gordon (born Constance Minnie Blades; 22 April 1878 – 26 May 1974) was an English stage and silent film actress.

Career

Constance Minnie Blades was born in Folkestone, Kent, to Col. Blades of the Royal Artillery.[1] [2] Her first professional stage appearance was at the Princes Theatre in Bristol in 1901 in the touring production of San Toy.[3] She appeared in The Duchess of Dantzic in 1903, the operetta Véronique in 1904 and The Three Kisses in 1907. In 1909 she moved to New York City, where she became a regular on the New York stage.

She made her first film appearance in 1916 in As in a Looking Glass. During the next three years she made twenty-one films. On 19 October 1911, she starred in the debut of composer Victor Herbert's musical The Enchantress at the New York Theatre.[4] She continued her stage work from 1919 onwards. She also made television appearances.

Personal life

Her first husband was Maxwell James with whom she had a child, Vera. She later also had a career as an actress known on the stage and in film as Vera Beresforf. After his death, she married theatre manager Michael Levenston on 10 December 1903. He died on 29 March 1904, and in October 1904, Kitty married Captain Henry "Harry" Horsley-Beresford (1876– 1924), a son of the 3rd Baron Decies.[5] Kitty's child became Cynthia Vera Beresford, who became an actress. In 1932 Kitty married Ralph Ranlet.[6] Kitty's daughter Vera died in 1945.[7]

Kitty Gordon died in a nursing home in Brentwood, New York in 1974.[8]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1916As in a Looking Glass Lila Despard Lost film
1916Her Maternal Right Nina Seabury Lost film
1916The Crucial Test Thanya Lost film
1917Vera, the Medium Vera Lost film
1917Forget Me Not Stefanie Paoli Lost film
1917The Beloved Adventuress Juliette La Monde Lost film
1917Her Hour Rita Castle Lost film
1917National Red Cross Pageant Bruges Flemish episode
Lost film
1917Diamonds and Pearls Violetta D'Arcy Lost film
1917The Volunteer Herself, Cameo Appearance Lost film
1918The Divine Sacrifice Madeline Spencer Lost film
1918The Wasp Grace Culver Lost film
1918The Purple Lily Marie Burguet Lost film
1918Stolen Orders Felicia Gaveston Lost film
1918The Interloper Jane Cameron Lost film
1918Tinsel Princess Sylvia Carzoni
1918Merely Players Nadine Trent Lost film
1919Adele Adele Bleneau Lost film
1919Mandarin's Gold Betty Cardon Lost film
1919The Unveiling Hand Margaret Ellis Lost film
1919The Scar Cora Lost film
1919Playthings of Passion Helen Rowland Lost film

Notes and References

  1. Book: Metcalfe, Cranstoun. Peeresses of the Stage. London. A. Melrose. 1913. 227.
  2. Book: Gänzl . Kurt . The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre . 2001 . Schirmer Books . New York . 9780028649702 . 792 . 2nd.
  3. Web site: Gillan . Don . Kitty Gordon (1878-1974) . www.stagebeauty.net.
  4. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/10/20/104879632.pdf Music that charms by Victor Herbert
  5. The Times 29 January 1924.
  6. http://www.cityfarmer.org/KittyGordonmarries1932.jpg Mrs. Beresford wed to Ralph Ranlet
  7. “Deaths.” The New York Times, 8 Oct. 1945, p. 15.
  8. “Kitty Gordon, Star of 1911 'Enchantress,' Is Dead.” The New York Times, 29 May 1974, p. 44.