Quick Facts
| Intro | Actress |
| Was | Actor |
| From | United States of America |
| Field | Film, TV, Stage & Radio |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 6 January 1899, Douglass, Butler County, Kansas, U.S.A. |
| Death | 19 November 1960, Canaan, Connecticut, U.S.A. (aged 61 years) |
Biography
Phyllis Maude Haver (January 6, 1899 – November 19, 1960) was an American actress of the silent film era.
Early life
Haver was born in Douglass, Kansas to James Hiram Haver (1872-1936) and Minnie Shanks Malone (1879-1949). When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, then a city of less than half a million people. Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High. After graduating, she played piano to accompany the new silent films in local theaters.
Career
Haver auditioned for comedy producer Mack Sennett on a whim. Sennett hired her as one of his original Sennett Bathing Beauties. Within a few years, she appeared as a leading lady in two-reelers for Sennett Studios.
Later, while signed with DeMille-Pathé, Haver played the part of Roxie Hart in the first film adaptation of Chicago in 1927, opposite Hungarian film actor Victor Varconi. One reviewer called her performance "astoundingly fine," and added that Haver "makes this combination of tragedy and comedy a most entertaining piece of work."
She performed in the comedy film The Battle of the Sexes (1928), directed by D. W. Griffith, and appeared with Lon Chaney in his last silent film, Thunder (1929). Haver retired from the industry with two 'sound' films to her credit.
Personal life
In 1929, she married millionaire William Seeman with a service performed by New York Mayor James J. Walker at the home of Rube Goldberg, the cartoonist. The couple divorced in 1945.
Death
Haver retired in Sharon, Connecticut. She died at age 61 from an overdose of barbiturates in 1960. Haver left no survivors.
Selected filmography
- Whose Baby? (1917)
- The Sultan's Wife (1917)
- The Pullman Bride (1917)
- A Small Town Idol (1921)
- The Balloonatic (1923 short)
- Lilies of the Field (1924)
- The Fighting Coward (1924)
- Single Wives (1924)
- The Snob (1924)
- New Brooms (1925)
- Her Husband's Secret (1925)
- The Caveman (1926)
- Up in Mabel's Room (1926)
- Don Juan (Uncredited, 1926)
- 3 Bad Men (1926)
- Fig Leaves (1926)
- What Price Glory (1926)
- The Way of All Flesh (1927)
- The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary (1927)
- The Fighting Eagle (1927)
- Chicago (1927)
- The Battle of the Sexes (1928)
- Sal of Singapore (1928)
- Tenth Avenue (1928)
- Thunder (1929)
- The Office Scandal (1929)
- She Couldn't Say No (1930)
