June Caprice
Encyclopedia
Early life and career
Born Helen Elizabeth Lawson in Arlington, MassachusettsArlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, she began her acting career in live theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and in 1916 signed with the Fox Film Corporation.
In 1916 William Fox
William Fox (producer)
William Fox born Fried Vilmos was a pioneering Hungarian American motion picture executive who founded the Fox Film Corporation in 1915 and the Fox West Coast Theatres chain in the 1920s...
searched to find a "second Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
." By the summer of that year he believed he had located the woman he predicted would be the best known female on the screen within six months time.
She made her debut on July 9 at the Academy of Music (Manhattan)
Academy of Music (Manhattan)
The Academy of Music was a New York City opera house, located at East 14th Street and Irving Place in Manhattan. The 4,000-seat hall opened on October 2, 1854. The New York Times review declared it to be an acoustical "triumph", but "In every other aspect .....
on 14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
, in Caprice of the Mountains. A New York Times film critic said of her, "she is young, pretty, graceful, petite, with an eloquence of gesture that augurs a bright future in the movies."
Adopting the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
June Caprice, she made sixteen films for Fox, half of which were directed by Harry F. Millarde
Harry F. Millarde
Harry F. Millarde was a pioneer American silent film actor and director.Millarde was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and began his acting in film in 1913 with Kalem Studios in New York City...
. The two began a personal relationship and eventually married.
In 1919, June Caprice signed with Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
for whom she appeared in six film projects. Some of the movies were made in the old Pathe studio 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...
. Her last film work was a 1921 fifteen-episode science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
called The Sky Ranger
The Sky Ranger
The Sky Ranger is a 1921 comedy film serial directed by George B. Seitz. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* George B. Seitz - George Oliver Rockwell* June Caprice - June Elliott* Harry Semels - Dr...
(aka The Man Who Stole the Moon).
Retirement
She left the film business to begin a family, giving birth to a daughter June Elizabeth MillardeToni Seven
Toni Seven was an American cover girl and actress. She was blonde.-Youth:Born June Elizabeth Millarde on July 6, 1922 in New York City, she was the only child of actress June Caprice and film director Harry F. Millarde....
in 1923. It is believed she returned to working on stage and modeling, appearing on 1920s Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
company calendar
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
s holding a fountain glass of Coke.
In 1931 her husband died at the age of forty-six. Caprice died five years later from a heart attack in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. She had been suffering from cancer. She was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
.
Caprice's daughter was thirteen years old when orphaned and was raised by her grandparents on Long Island, New York. June Millarde became a cover girl
Cover girl
A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a magazine....
known as Toni Seven
Toni Seven
Toni Seven was an American cover girl and actress. She was blonde.-Youth:Born June Elizabeth Millarde on July 6, 1922 in New York City, she was the only child of actress June Caprice and film director Harry F. Millarde....
.
The June 17, 1949 issue of Time reported that she was the heiress to an estimated $3,000,000 fortune.
External links
- June Caprice New York Public Library Digital Gallery photo
- June Caprice at silentsaregolden