Sylvia Ashton
Encyclopedia
Sylvia Ashton was an American film actress of the silent era
. She appeared in 134 films between 1912 and 1929. She was born in Denver, Colorado
and died in Los Angeles, California
. She bore a heavyset resemblance to Jane Darwell and like Darwell was playing mother and grandmother roles, though more famously than Darwell in the silents, while still in her 30s & 40s. For years she was a regular member of Cecil B. DeMille
's troupe of character actors. She retired from movies almost immediately at the dawn of sound
, one of her last films being the part-talkie, The Barker
(1928).
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...
. She appeared in 134 films between 1912 and 1929. She was born in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and died 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...
. She bore a heavyset resemblance to Jane Darwell and like Darwell was playing mother and grandmother roles, though more famously than Darwell in the silents, while still in her 30s & 40s. For years she was a regular member 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...
's troupe of character actors. She retired from movies almost immediately at the dawn of sound
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...
, one of her last films being the part-talkie, The Barker
The Barker
The Barker is a 1928 romantic drama film which tells the story of a woman who comes between a man and his estranged son. It stars Milton Sills, Dorothy Mackaill, Betty Compson, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and released by First National Pictures in December 1928...
(1928).
Selected filmography
- The Nick of Time BabyThe Nick of Time BabyThe Nick of Time Baby is a 1916 silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson.-Cast:* Sylvia Ashton* Robert Bolder - * Helen Bray* Teddy the Dog* Tom Kennedy* Larry Lyndon* Earle Rodney...
(1916) - Matching DreamsMatching DreamsMatching Dreams is a 1916 short comedy film produced by the American Film Manufacturing Company, released by Mutual Film and directed by B. Reeves Eason.-Cast:* Sylvia Ashton* Jimsy Maye* Vivian Rich* Gayne Whitman -...
(1916) - VivianaVivianaViviana is a 1916 short drama film directed by B. Reeves Eason....
(1916) - A Sanitarium ScrambleA Sanitarium ScrambleA Sanitarium Scramble is a 1916 short comedy film produced by the American Film Manufacturing Company, released by Mutual Film and directed by B. Reeves Eason.-Cast:* Sylvia Ashton* Hugh Bennett* Vivian Rich* Gayne Whitman -...
(1916) - Haystacks and SteeplesHaystacks and SteeplesHaystacks and Steeples is a 1916 silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson.-Cast:* Sylvia Ashton* Helen Bray* George Felix* Reggie Morris* Della Pringle* Gloria Swanson* Josef Swickard* Eva Thatcher...
(1916) - Whose Baby?Whose Baby?Whose Baby? is a 1917 silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson.-Cast:* Bobby Vernon* Gloria Swanson* Jay Dwiggins* Martha Trick* Robert Milliken* Fritz Schade* Juanita Hansen* Sylvia Ashton* Helen Bray...
(1917) - Old Wives for NewOld Wives for NewOld Wives for New is a 1918 drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Prints of the film survive at the International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House.-Cast:* Elliott Dexter - Charles Murdock* Florence Vidor - Juliet Raeburn...
(1918) - We Can't Have EverythingWe Can't Have EverythingWe Can't Have Everything is a 1918 drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Kathlyn Williams - Charity Coe Cheever* Elliott Dexter - Jim Dyckman* Wanda Hawley - Kedzie Thropp* Sylvia Breamer - Zada L'Etoile...
(1918) - Fuss and FeathersFuss and FeathersFuss and Feathers is a 1918 silent comedy film directed by Fred Niblo.-Cast:* Enid Bennett - Susie Baldwin* Douglas MacLean - Robert Leedyard* J. P. Lockney - Pete Baldwin * Charles K. French - Martin Ledyard...
(1918) - Don't Change Your HusbandDon't Change Your HusbandDon't Change Your Husband is a 1919 comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. A print of the film survives.-Cast:* Elliott Dexter - James Denby Porter* Gloria Swanson - Leila Porter* Lew Cody - Schuyler Van Sutphen* Sylvia Ashton - Mrs. Huckney...
(1919) - For Better, for Worse (1919)
- Why Change Your Wife?Why Change Your Wife?-Plot:Frumpy wife Beth devotes herself to bettering her husband's mind and expanding his appreciation for the finer things in life, such as classical music. When he goes shopping at a lingerie store to buy some sexier clothes for her, he meets Sally, the shop girl. Rejected by his wife for a night...
(1920) - Conrad in Quest of His YouthConrad in Quest of His YouthConrad in Quest of His Youth is a 1920 silent film dramedy directed by William C. deMille and starring Thomas Meighan. The film is based on a novel Conrad in Quest of His Youth by Leonard Merrick adapted and written for the screen by Olga Printzlau. This film survives at the Library of Congress...
(1920) - Saturday Night (1922)
- ManslaughterManslaughter (1922 film)Manslaughter is a 1922 silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Thomas Meighan, Leatrice Joy and Lois Wilson.-Plot summary:...
(1922) - The White FlowerThe White FlowerThe White Flower is a 1923 silent film romantic drama produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was the last film directed by early female director Julia Crawford Ivers whose son James Van Trees was the film's cinematographer. Betty Compson and Edmund Lowe star in...
(1923) - GreedGreed (film)Greed is a 1924 American dramatic silent film. It was directed by Erich von Stroheim and starring Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt, Dale Fuller, Tempe Pigott, Sylvia Ashton, Chester Conklin, Joan Standing and Jack Curtis....
(1924) - The BarkerThe BarkerThe Barker is a 1928 romantic drama film which tells the story of a woman who comes between a man and his estranged son. It stars Milton Sills, Dorothy Mackaill, Betty Compson, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and released by First National Pictures in December 1928...
(1928)