Dorothy Seastrom was an American silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 actress.

Early life and career

Born in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, Seastrom got into acting after winning the a beauty competition.
Her film career began in 1923 with the role of Eleanor Harmon in The Call of the Canyon

The Call of the Canyon

The Call of the Canyon is a silent Western directed by Victor Fleming. The film was based on the story of the same name by Zane Grey.-Preservation status:...

, directed by Victor Fleming

Victor Fleming

Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with the Wind , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.-Life and career:Fleming was born in La Canada, California, the son of Elizabeth Evaleen ...

. Later she acted under the direction of Cecil B. Demille

Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...

. She signed a five year contract with First National Pictures in September 1925. Seastrom was called the "Candy Kid" at First National because of her taffy

Taffy

Taffy can refer to any of the following:* Taffy , a type of chewy, often colored, candy* Taffy is a sometimes pejorative term for a Welsh person or thing...

 colored hair.

She appeared in The Perfect Flapper with Colleen Moore

Colleen Moore

Colleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...

 and Classified with Corinne Griffith

Corinne Griffith

Corinne Mae Griffith was an American actress. Dubbed "The Orchid Lady of the Screen", she was one of the most popular film actresses of the 1920s and widely considered the most beautiful actress of the silent screen...

. Seastrom barely avoided a potentially disfiguring accident during the filming of We Moderns (1925). A shower of sparks from a short-circuited light fell upon her hair and shoulders at the United Studios. Seastrom escaped injury when assistant director James Dunne grabbed a table cloth from a prop table and covered the actress' head. Electricians shut off the power to a light which hung from the Fly system

Fly system

A fly system, flying system or theatrical rigging system, is a system of lines , blocks , counterweights and related devices within a theatre that enable a stage crew to quickly, quietly and safely fly components such as curtains, lights, scenery, stage effects and, sometimes, people...

 above the scene. Seastrom made a full recovery from the burns she sustained. She returned to complete the John Francis Dillon directed film.

Death

Due to declining health, Seastrom returned to Dallas for a rest in the fall of 1925 where she became ill. Physicians ordered her to a rest sanatorium for several months. It was feared that if she continued working, she would be forced out of movies completely. First National management agreed to hold the starting date of her contract temporarily, until she regained her health. She lost a role in Irene

Irene (1926 film)

Irene is a silent romantic comedy film starring Colleen Moore, and partially shot in Technicolor. It was directed by Alfred E. Green and was based on the play Irene O'Dare written by James Montgomery. As reported in the book and documentary film The Celluloid Closet, actor George K...

(1926), which she was scheduled to make with Colleen Moore. Her frail strength and a hard work regimen left her a victim of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

.

She was taken by her husband to a sanatorium in the hills of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 to recuperate. In 1926, Seastrom returned and appeared in her final film It Must Be Love. Seastrom died of tuberculosis in Dallas on January 31, 1930. She was 26 years old.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role
1923	The Call of the Canyon The Call of the Canyon The Call of the Canyon is a silent Western directed by Victor Fleming. The film was based on the story of the same name by Zane Grey.-Preservation status:...	Eleanor Harmon
1924	Jonah Jones	Margaret Morgan
	Crushed	Miss Brown
1926	Hooked	Dorothy
	Fifth Avenue Models	Mannequin
	King Cotton
	Pretty Ladies Pretty Ladies Pretty Ladies is a silent comedy-drama film starring ZaSu Pitts and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is a fictional recreation of the famed Ziegfeld Follies. Directed by Monta Bell, the film was written by Alice D.G...	Diamond Tights
	We Moderns We Moderns We Moderns was an American silent comedy film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Colleen Moore, the same team from Flaming Youth . The film was produced by Moore's husband John McCormick , was released through First National Pictures, and was based on the play and novel by Israel Zangwill...	Dolly Wimple
1926	It Must Be Love	Min

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