Elise Cavanna
Encyclopedia
Elise Cavanna was an American
film actress, stage comedienne
, dancer, and artist.
, she went to the Pennsylvania Academy and studied dancing with Isadora Duncan
in Berlin
, Germany
. She gave dance recitals in New York City
until she began to dislike it. Then she became a dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies
.
Cavanna was a comedienne with Weber
and Fields
before she entered motion pictures in 1926. Her first film was Love 'Em and Leave 'Em
(1926) with Louise Brooks
and Evelyn Brent
. Next she performed as an "early morning customer" with Brooks and W.C. Fields in It's the Old Army Game (1926). She worked with Fields in four other of his films, most notably The Dentist
, and some of the scenes involving her and the comedian were deemed so risque that they were edited out by concerned censors at the time. Her on-screen interplay with Fields was compared (The Art of W.C. Fields] by William K. Everson
) to that between Groucho Marx
and Margaret Dumont
. Cavanna remained in films until the late 1930s, compiling more than twenty screen credits.
lithographs at a showing at Stendhals in Los Angeles, California
. A newspaper review commented on the "cool precision of her lines and spots of tone." The art was best appreciated through the "mind's eye" rather than the eye itself. Cavanna's art was shown in October 1949 as part of the contemporary section in the California Centennials Exhibition of Art at the Los Angeles County Museum
, Exposition Park
. Oils, water colors, and prints from 20th century artists were presented along with a historical section, which assembled early art. It displayed life in California from 1800 through 1870.
The Los Angeles Art Association
exhibited Cavanna's work in a 1954 showing at 2425 Wilshire Boulevard
. The four artists whose work was shown were known collectively as Functionists West. They were Stephen Longstreet, Helen Lundeberg
, Cavanna, and Lorser Feitelson
. By then the former actress signed her name simply, Elise. Cavanna and Feitelson presented only nonobjective paintings, though each worked in representational modes. Both artists were similar in "using only flat-colored, near geometrical forms", which either opposed or complemented each other. Cavanna was one of the first nonobjective painters in southern California. Each one of her pictures was brightly-colored, filled with energy, and could be viewed as a separate portion of a frieze
. Feitelson and Lundeberg wrote a manifesto in 1934, describing their art as post-surrealism
. Their desire was to use art to communicate the connection between the conceptual and the perceptual.
Elise Cavanna died in Hollywood, California
of cancer in 1963. She was 61.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film actress, stage comedienne
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, dancer, and artist.
Stage and film career
Born Elise Seeds in PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, she went to the Pennsylvania Academy and studied dancing with Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan was a dancer, considered by many to be the creator of modern dance. Born in the United States, she lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50. In the United States she was popular only in New York, and only later in her life...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. She gave dance recitals in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
until she began to dislike it. Then she became a dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
.
Cavanna was a comedienne with Weber
Joe Weber (vaudevillian)
Joe Weber born Joseph Morris Weber was a vaudevillian who, along with Lew Fields, formed the comedy team of Weber and Fields....
and Fields
Lew Fields
Lew Fields , born as Moses Schoenfeld, was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager and producer....
before she entered motion pictures in 1926. Her first film was Love 'Em and Leave 'Em
Love 'Em and Leave 'Em (film)
Love 'Em and Leave 'Em is a 1926 silent American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Evelyn Brent.- Cast :* Evelyn Brent as Mame Walsh* Lawrence Gray as Bill Billingsley* Louise Brooks as Janie Walsh* Osgood Perkins as Lem Woodruff...
(1926) with Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
and Evelyn Brent
Evelyn Brent
Evelyn Brent was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:Born Mary Elizabeth Riggs in Tampa, Florida and known as Betty, she was a child of 10 when her mother Eleanor died, leaving her father Arthur to raise her alone...
. Next she performed as an "early morning customer" with Brooks and W.C. Fields in It's the Old Army Game (1926). She worked with Fields in four other of his films, most notably The Dentist
The Dentist (1932 film)
The Dentist is a 1932 American comedy short starring W.C. Fields. The film is one of four short films Fields made with the "king of comedy," Mack Sennett, at Paramount. Although Sennett was near the end of his career, he found good use of the new medium of talking pictures for comedy, as the film...
, and some of the scenes involving her and the comedian were deemed so risque that they were edited out by concerned censors at the time. Her on-screen interplay with Fields was compared (The Art of W.C. Fields] by William K. Everson
William K. Everson
William Keith "Bill" Everson was an English-American archivist, author, critic, educator, collector and film historian. He often discovered lost films.-Early life and career:...
) to that between Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
and Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont was an American comedic actress. She is remembered mostly for being the comic foil to Groucho Marx in seven of the Marx Brothers films...
. Cavanna remained in films until the late 1930s, compiling more than twenty screen credits.
Post-surrealist artist
In September 1933, Cavanna presented six abstractAbstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
lithographs at a showing at Stendhals in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. A newspaper review commented on the "cool precision of her lines and spots of tone." The art was best appreciated through the "mind's eye" rather than the eye itself. Cavanna's art was shown in October 1949 as part of the contemporary section in the California Centennials Exhibition of Art at the Los Angeles County Museum
Los Angeles County Museum
The Los Angeles County Museum may refer to:* Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County* Los Angeles County Museum of Art...
, Exposition Park
Exposition Park
Exposition Park is the name of more than one place:*Exposition Park - a neighborhood in south Dallas, Texas*Exposition Park - A former baseball park in Kansas City...
. Oils, water colors, and prints from 20th century artists were presented along with a historical section, which assembled early art. It displayed life in California from 1800 through 1870.
The Los Angeles Art Association
Los Angeles Art Association
The Los Angeles Art Association is a non-profiting organization that has existed. The organization accept's artist's for the membership and provides support in the ends of their artistic careers...
exhibited Cavanna's work in a 1954 showing at 2425 Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
. The four artists whose work was shown were known collectively as Functionists West. They were Stephen Longstreet, Helen Lundeberg
Helen Lundeberg
Helen Lundeberg was an American Post-Surrealist, hard-edge painter.Lundeberg was born in Chicago. She married California artist Lorser Feitelson, her former teacher...
, Cavanna, and Lorser Feitelson
Lorser Feitelson
Lorser Feitelson was born and raised in New York city but rose to prominence on the West Coast as one of the founding fathers of Southern California-based Hard Edge painting...
. By then the former actress signed her name simply, Elise. Cavanna and Feitelson presented only nonobjective paintings, though each worked in representational modes. Both artists were similar in "using only flat-colored, near geometrical forms", which either opposed or complemented each other. Cavanna was one of the first nonobjective painters in southern California. Each one of her pictures was brightly-colored, filled with energy, and could be viewed as a separate portion of a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
. Feitelson and Lundeberg wrote a manifesto in 1934, describing their art as post-surrealism
Post-surrealism
Post-surrealism is a movement that arose in Southern California in 1934 when Helen Lundeberg and Lorser Feitelson wrote a manifesto explaining their desire to use art to convey the relationship between the perceptual and the conceptual....
. Their desire was to use art to communicate the connection between the conceptual and the perceptual.
Later years and death
In 1961, Cavanna co-authored a book with James Welton entitled Gourmet Cookery for a Low Fat Diet. The volume contained 200 recipes for making fatless meals.Elise Cavanna died in Hollywood, California
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
of cancer in 1963. She was 61.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Love 'Em and Leave 'Em Love 'Em and Leave 'Em (film) Love 'Em and Leave 'Em is a 1926 silent American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Evelyn Brent.- Cast :* Evelyn Brent as Mame Walsh* Lawrence Gray as Bill Billingsley* Louise Brooks as Janie Walsh* Osgood Perkins as Lem Woodruff... |
Miss Gimple | |
| 1931 | A Melon-Drama | Alternative title: Broadway Headliners: A Melon-Drama | |
| 1932 | The Dentist The Dentist (1932 film) The Dentist is a 1932 American comedy short starring W.C. Fields. The film is one of four short films Fields made with the "king of comedy," Mack Sennett, at Paramount. Although Sennett was near the end of his career, he found good use of the new medium of talking pictures for comedy, as the film... |
Patient (Miss Mason) | |
| 1933 | Infernal Machine | Bit Role | Uncredited |
| The Pharmacist | Mrs. Dilweg | Alternative title: The Druggist | |
| The Big Fibber | |||
| The Barber Shop | Mrs. O'Hare | ||
| Beauty for Sale Beauty for Sale Beauty for Sale is a 1933 film about the romantic entanglements of three beauty salon employees. It stars Madge Evans, Alice Brady, and Otto Kruger. It was based on the novel Beauty by Faith Baldwin.-Cast:*Madge Evans as Letty Lawson... |
Hat Saleslady | Uncredited | |
| Static | Radio Store Customer | Uncredited | |
| Day of Reckoning | Gertie | Uncredited | |
| 1934 | Hips, Hips, Hooray! Hips, Hips, Hooray! Hips, Hips, Hooray! is a 1934 slapstick comedy film starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Ruth Etting, Thelma Todd, and Dorothy Lee. During its initial theatrical run, it was preceded by the two-color Technicolor short Not Tonight, Josephine directed by Edward F. Cline.-Plot:Todd stars as Amelia... |
Miss Pilot, Radio Announcer | Uncredited |
| You're Telling Me! You're Telling Me! You’re Telling Me! is a 1934 comedy film released by Paramount Pictures, and starring W. C. Fields; this film is a remake of his earlier silent film So's Your Old Man , and both films are adapted from the story Mr. Bisbee’s Princess by Julian Leonard Street.-Synopsis:Sam Bisbee is an optometrist... |
Sarah Smith, female gossip | Uncredited | |
| Have a Heart | Genevieve, the Pianist | Uncredited | |
| 1935 | Times Square Lady | Hosiery Saleslady | Uncredited |
| Air Hawks | First Nurse | Uncredited | |
| I Dream Too Much I Dream Too Much I Dream Too Much is a 1935 romantic comedy film directed by John Cromwell. It stars Henry Fonda, Lily Pons, and Lucille Ball in one of her earliest roles. It has been described as a "somewhat wispy operetta." Songs are by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields... |
Darcy's Secretary | Uncredited | |
| 1936 | Old Hutch Old Hutch Old Hutch is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by J. Walter Ruben and starring Wallace Beery as a man who finds $100,000 in the depths of the Depression.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as Hutch Hutchins*Eric Linden as Dave Jolly... |
Travel Agency Clerk | Uncredited |
| 1938 | Everybody Sing | Colvin's Music Teacher | Uncredited |
| Having Wonderful Time Having Wonderful Time Having Wonderful Time is a 1938 romantic comedy film released by RKO Radio Pictures.-Plot summary :A bored New York office girl , goes to a camp in the Catskill Mountains called Camp Kare Free, for rest and to get away from the noise, busy, city life and finds a handsome waiter , and they fall in... |
Office Supervisor | Uncredited | |
| Three Loves Has Nancy Three Loves Has Nancy Three Loves Has Nancy is a romantic comedy film starring Janet Gaynor, Robert Montgomery and Franchot Tone. Set in New York City, it was directed by Richard Thorpe.-Cast:*Janet Gaynor as Nancy Briggs*Robert Montgomery as Mal Niles... |
Third Woman on Autograph Line | Uncredited | |
| 1939 | Naughty But Nice | Pansey, Hardwick Maid | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Ziegfeld Follies Ziegfeld Follies (film) Ziegfeld Follies is a 1945 Hollywood musical comedy film directed by Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, Robert Lewis, Vincente Minnelli, Merrill Pye, George Sidney and Charles Waters... |
Tall Woman | Uncredited |
External links
- Elise Cavanna at the Steve Turner gallery