Olive Borden
Encyclopedia
Olive Borden was an American actress in silent
and early talkies. Nicknamed "The Joy Girl", Borden was known for her jet-black hair and overall beauty.
in 1906. Her birth name was often reported erroneously as Sybil Tinkle until the 1990s when it was discovered that another woman with the same name had been confused with Borden. Borden's father died when she was a baby and she was raised by her mother, Sibbie, in Norfolk
and Baltimore
, Maryland
where she also attended Catholic
boarding schools. She was a distant relative of Lizzie Borden. As a teenager, she persuaded her mother to take her to Hollywood to pursue a career in show business. To support themselves they opened a candy store and Olive worked as a telephone operator.
comedy shorts. Producer Paul Bern
chose her for a role in his film The Dressmaker In Paris. She was signed by Fox after being named a WAMPAS Baby Star
in 1925 (along with cousin Natalie Joyce
). Borden quickly became one of their most popular and highest paid stars earning a salary of $1,500 a week. She had starring roles in 11 films at Fox including 3 Bad Men
and Fig Leaves
both costarring her then-boyfriend George O'Brien. During this time she worked with some directors who would go on to achieve major fame, including John Ford
, Howard Hawks
and Leo McCarey
.
When Fox cut her salary in 1927, she walked out on her contract. By this point she was a major star but she found it difficult to make the transition from silent films to "talkies"
. She worked to get rid of her Southern accent
but could not overcome her reputation as being difficult. She was still in demand as an actress and continued to work for Columbia
and RKO
. Borden cut her trademark hair into a short bob and turned herself into a modern flapper
. She made several movies in the early 1930s but her career stalled. Her last screen credit came in 1934 in the film Chloe, Love Is Calling You. She moved to New York where she had a brief stage career and made a living on the vaudeville
circuit. By the late 1930s she had filed for bankruptcy and took a job at Macy's department store.
in 1932 when it was discovered he had married Borden before divorcing his first wife. The marriage was annulled. She married her second husband, electrician John Moeller, in 1934. That marriage ended in divorce seven years later.
From 1926 until 1930 she had been romantically involved with actor George O'Brien and the press reported they were engaged. She also dated director Marshall Neilan
, producer Paul Bern
, and had a long affair with Arthur Benline, Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Construction Battalion. For most of her life Borden lived with her mother, Sibbie.
section of Los Angeles
scrubbing floors at the Sunshine Mission, a home for destitute women.
Borden died on October 1, 1947 from a stomach ailment and pneumonia
at the age of 41. The only possession she had when she died was a signed photo of herself. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California
. Her mother Sibbie was interred in the grave next to her.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Olive Borden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. She was one of the first eight stars chosen to receive a star in 1958. Her name was drawn randomly from hundreds of nominees.
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...
and early talkies. Nicknamed "The Joy Girl", Borden was known for her jet-black hair and overall beauty.
Early life
Olive Borden was born in Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
in 1906. Her birth name was often reported erroneously as Sybil Tinkle until the 1990s when it was discovered that another woman with the same name had been confused with Borden. Borden's father died when she was a baby and she was raised by her mother, Sibbie, in Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
and Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
where she also attended Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
boarding schools. She was a distant relative of Lizzie Borden. As a teenager, she persuaded her mother to take her to Hollywood to pursue a career in show business. To support themselves they opened a candy store and Olive worked as a telephone operator.
Career
Borden began her career as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties in 1922 and was soon appearing as a vamp in Hal RoachHal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
comedy shorts. Producer Paul Bern
Paul Bern
Paul Bern was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for MGM.-Early life and career:...
chose her for a role in his film The Dressmaker In Paris. She was signed by Fox after being named a WAMPAS Baby Star
WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. They were selected from 1922 to 1934, and annual...
in 1925 (along with cousin Natalie Joyce
Natalie Joyce
Natalie Joyce was an American movie actress from Norfolk, Virginia.Joyce began her motion picture career in a series of two-reel comedies produced by the Christie Film Company. She was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1925. In 1927 she co-starred with Tom Mix in The Circus Ace for Fox Pictures...
). Borden quickly became one of their most popular and highest paid stars earning a salary of $1,500 a week. She had starring roles in 11 films at Fox including 3 Bad Men
3 Bad Men
-Cast:* George O'Brien as Dan O'Malley* Olive Borden as Lee Carlton* Lou Tellegen as Sheriff Layne Hunter* Tom Santschi as 'Bull' Stanley* J. Farrell MacDonald as Mike Costigan* Frank Campeau as 'Spade' Allen* Priscilla Bonner as Millie Stanley...
and Fig Leaves
Fig Leaves
Fig Leaves is a 1926 silent comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, released by Fox Film Corporation, and starring George O'Brien. The film had one sequence, a fashion show, filmed in Technicolor...
both costarring her then-boyfriend George O'Brien. During this time she worked with some directors who would go on to achieve major fame, including John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
, Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
and Leo McCarey
Leo McCarey
Thomas Leo McCarey was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. During his lifetime he was involved in nearly 200 movies, especially comedies...
.
When Fox cut her salary in 1927, she walked out on her contract. By this point she was a major star but she found it difficult to make the transition from silent films to "talkies"
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
. She worked to get rid of her Southern accent
Southern American English
Southern American English is a group of dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from Southern and Eastern Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky to the Gulf Coast, and from the Atlantic coast to most of Texas and Oklahoma.The Southern dialects make...
but could not overcome her reputation as being difficult. She was still in demand as an actress and continued to work for Columbia
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
and RKO
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
. Borden cut her trademark hair into a short bob and turned herself into a modern flapper
Flapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
. She made several movies in the early 1930s but her career stalled. Her last screen credit came in 1934 in the film Chloe, Love Is Calling You. She moved to New York where she had a brief stage career and made a living on the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuit. By the late 1930s she had filed for bankruptcy and took a job at Macy's department store.
Personal life
Borden had two failed marriages. She married a stockbroker named Theodore Spector in March 1931. He was arrested for bigamyBigamy
In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...
in 1932 when it was discovered he had married Borden before divorcing his first wife. The marriage was annulled. She married her second husband, electrician John Moeller, in 1934. That marriage ended in divorce seven years later.
From 1926 until 1930 she had been romantically involved with actor George O'Brien and the press reported they were engaged. She also dated director Marshall Neilan
Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
, producer Paul Bern
Paul Bern
Paul Bern was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for MGM.-Early life and career:...
, and had a long affair with Arthur Benline, Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Construction Battalion. For most of her life Borden lived with her mother, Sibbie.
Later years and death
In 1942, Borden joined the WAC where she has received an army citation for bravery in turning over an enemy ammunition truck. Her Army career ended after she was hospitalized in Walter Reed medical center with a severe foot injury. After her honorable discharge she attempted an unsuccessful comeback in films. She was now struggling with alcoholism and numerous health problems. Borden's final years were spent in the skid rowSkid row
A skid row or skid road is a run-down or dilapidated urban area with a large, impoverished population. The term originally referred literally to a path along which working men skidded logs. Its current sense appears to have originated in the Pacific Northwest...
section of 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...
scrubbing floors at the Sunshine Mission, a home for destitute women.
Borden died on October 1, 1947 from a stomach ailment and pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at the age of 41. The only possession she had when she died was a signed photo of herself. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park 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...
. Her mother Sibbie was interred in the grave next to her.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Olive Borden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. She was one of the first eight stars chosen to receive a star in 1958. Her name was drawn randomly from hundreds of nominees.
Partial Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Neck and Neck | Extant(Museum of Modern Art,nitrate print) | |
| 1924 | Wide Open | Extant(private collector) | |
| 1924 | Air Pockets | ||
| 1924 | Why Men Work | ||
| 1924 | Should Landlords Live? | ||
| 1924 | Too Many Mamas | ||
| 1924 | The Royal Razz | Extant(private collection) | |
| 1924 | Just a Good Guy | Extant(UCLA Film & TV, Hungarian National Film archive) | |
| 1925 | Should Husbands be Watched? | The New Maid | Extant(Lobster films, Paris) |
| 1925 | The Dressmaker from Paris | Lost | |
| 1925 | Bad Boy | Undetermined Role | Uncredited |
| 1925 | Tell It to a Policeman | ||
| 1925 | Good Morning, Nurse | Lost' | |
| 1925 | The Happy Warrior | Ima | Lost |
| 1925 | The Overland Limited | Ruth Dent | Extant(Library of Congress) |
| 1926 | The Yankee Señor | Manuelita | Alternative title: The Conquering Blood Lost |
| 1926 | My Own Pal | Alice Deering | Lost |
| 1926 | Yellow Fingers | Saina | Extant(Narodni Film Archive, Prague) |
| 1926 | 3 Bad Men 3 Bad Men -Cast:* George O'Brien as Dan O'Malley* Olive Borden as Lee Carlton* Lou Tellegen as Sheriff Layne Hunter* Tom Santschi as 'Bull' Stanley* J. Farrell MacDonald as Mike Costigan* Frank Campeau as 'Spade' Allen* Priscilla Bonner as Millie Stanley... |
Lee Carlton | Extant (UCLA Film & TV) |
| 1926 | Fig Leaves Fig Leaves Fig Leaves is a 1926 silent comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, released by Fox Film Corporation, and starring George O'Brien. The film had one sequence, a fashion show, filmed in Technicolor... |
Eve Smith | Extant (Museum of Modern Art, Centre National de la Cinematographie (CNC)Paris, Cinematheque Royale-Brussles) |
| 1926 | The Country Beyond | Valencia | Lost |
| 1927 | The Monkey Talks | Olivette | Extant; George Eastman House |
| 1927 | Secret Studio | Rosemary Merton | Lost |
| 1927 | The Joy Girl The Joy Girl The Joy Girl is an American silent comedy film starring Olive Borden, and based on the novel of the same name by May Edginton.-Plot:... |
Jewel Courage | Extant; Museum/Modern Art |
| 1927 | Pajamas | Angela Wade | Extant; private collection, nitrate damage |
| 1927 | Come to My House | Joan Century | Lost |
| 1928 | The Albany Night Boat | Georgie | Lost |
| 1928 | Virgin Lips | Norma | Lost |
| 1928 | Gang War | Flowers | Alternative title: All Square; Lost |
| 1928 | Stool Pigeon | Goldie | Alternative title: The Decoy; Extant |
| 1928 | Sinners in Love | Ann Hardy | Extant; Centre National de la Cinematographie(CNC)Paris |
| 1929 | Love in the Desert | Zarah | Extant; CNC(Paris), Cineteca del Friuli |
| 1929 | The Eternal Woman | Anita | Extant; British Film Institute(BFI) |
| 1929 | Half Marriage | Judy Paige | Extant; UCLA Film & TV, private collectors |
| 1929 | Dance Hall | Gracie Nolan | Extant; UCLA Film & TV, private collectors |
| 1929 | Wedding Rings | Eve Quinn | Alternative title: The Dark Swan; Incomplete(UCLA Film & TV) |
| 1930 | Hello Sister | Vee Newell | Extant(private collectors) |
| 1930 | The Social Lion | Gloria Staunton | Extant(private collectors) |
| 1932 | The Divorce Racket | Marie Douglas | |
| 1933 | Hotel Variety | Alternative title: The Passing Show; Lost;IMDb | |
| 1933 | Leave It to Me | Peavey | Alternative title: Help |
| 1933 | The Mild West | Baby Doll | Short film |
| 1934 | The Inventors | Uncredited | |
| 1934 | Chloe, Love Is Calling You | Chloe (Betty Ann Gordon) |
External links
- Olive Borden Online
- Olive Borden at Silent Ladies