Edythe Sterling
Edythe Sterling (October 1893[1] – June 5, 1962), born Edith May Kessinger, was an American actress, stunt rider, and producer in silent films, mainly Westerns.
Edythe Sterling | |
|---|---|
Edythe Sterling, from a 1916 publication | |
| Born | Edith May Kessinger October 1893 Leavenworth, Kansas |
| Died | June 5, 1962 (age 68) Los Angeles, California |
| Other names | Edythe Acord, Edythe Sterling-Billingsley, Edythe Younger |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse(s) | Art Acord, Milo Billingsley, Clifford L. Younger |
Early life and education edit
Edith May Kessinger was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, the daughter of John Letcher Kessinger and Nettie Ryherd Kessinger. She left Kansas at age 15, to seek a career on the stage.[2]
Career edit
Sterling appeared in dozens of silent films from 1913 to 1923, many of them shorts or westerns,[3] including The Girl from Texas (1914), A Cattle Queen's Romance (1915), The Ghost Wagon (1915),[4] The Secret Man (1917) with Harry Carey, The Arizona Cat Claw (1919),[4] The One-Way Trail (1919),[5] Call of the West (1920), The Cowboy's Sweetheart (1920), The Fiddler of the Little Big Horn (1920), The Stranger of Canyon Valley (1922),[6] Crimson Gold (1923) and Danger (1923).[4]
Sterling had her own production company, and often had very active roles in her films, riding, fighting, shooting, and working with large animals.[7][8][9] For example, in The Girl Who Dared (1920), she plays a sheriff in a western town, battling cattle rustlers.[10] In The One-Way Trail (1919), she rescues her male co-star.[8][11] In another picture, Nancy's Birthright (1916), her title character struggles to overcome inherited "criminal tendencies".[12]
After her screen career ended, Sterling turned to live performances of riding stunts, for example in a "wild west" show in Los Angeles in 1923,[13] and a vaudeville act in 1924.[14][15] She also served a short jail sentence in Pasadena in 1923, for speeding and contempt of court.[16] She toured as director and "interpreter"[17] for a band of Hopi dancers from 1926 into the 1930s.[18][19][20] She traveled with a pet Arizona kit fox on these tours.[21]
Personal life edit
Sterling married fellow actor Art Acord in 1913;[22] they divorced in 1919.[23][24] In 1920 and 1921, there was a scandal when she and her married manager, L. T. Osborne, presented themselves as a married couple while traveling.[25][26] In 1926 she married Milo William Billingsley, a theatrical producer; they later divorced.[19] Her last husband was Clifford L. Younger. She died in 1962, in her sixties or seventies, in Los Angeles, California. Her grave is in Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood.
References edit
- ^ Sterling's birth year varies in sources, from 1886 to 1896. She is recorded in her parents' Kansas household as a six-year-old in the 1900 census, and her birthdate is given as October 1893; via Ancestry.
- ^ "Mrs. Kessinger Has No Word of Hasty Marriage". The Leavenworth Times. 1913-07-24. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McGowan, John J. (2005-01-01). J.P. McGowan: Biography of a Hollywood Pioneer. McFarland. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-7864-1994-4.
- ^ a b c Langman, Larry (1992-10-20). A Guide to Silent Westerns. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 9, 71, 75, 94, 96, 103, 140, 171, 173, 175. ISBN 978-0-313-27858-7.
- ^ Meniketti, Marco (2020-06-05). Timber, Sail, and Rail: An Archaeology of Industry, Immigration, and the Loma Prieta Mill. Berghahn Books. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-78920-727-9.
- ^ "Film Honors Go to Equestrienne; Riding of Edyth Sterling Furnishes Thrills in Western Drama". The Spokesman-Review. 1924-08-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Edythe Sterling". The Moving Picture World. 26 (1): 66. October 2, 1915.
- ^ a b Swift, Carolyn (2020-10-18). "Pictures from the Past: One Way Trail". TPG Online Daily. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ "Giant Pachyderm Tests Tire Tube". San Francisco Call. February 3, 1917. p. 7. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "The Girl Who Dared". The Maui News. 1922-05-05. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-08-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Edythe Sterling at the Victor". The Akron Beacon Journal. 1920-07-13. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Edythe Sterling in a 4-Part Master at Lyceum". The Leavenworth Post. 1916-06-07. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Grocers Will be Thrilled by New Stunt at Rodeo". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1923-09-07. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Edythe Sterling Rides a White Horse on Cabrillo Stage as Vaudeville Headliner". News-Pilot. 1924-02-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Western Girl of Movie Fame Directs Traffic". The Daily Item. 1924-07-29. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Edythe Sterling Is Jailed for Contempt After Auto Speeding". Press-Telegram. 1923-07-14. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Edythe Sterling, Hopi Indian Interpreter and Indian Worker, Former Screen Star, now at Victoria". Shamokin News-Dispatch. 1927-03-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Band of Hopi Indians Coming Here Saturday; Edythe Sterling Billngsley to Accompany Tribe to Fremont". The News-Messenger. 1932-03-23. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Medley, R. John; Ellis, Catherine H. (2018). "Enterprising Hopi: M. W. Billingsley, Shriners, and Second Mesa Hopi". The Journal of Arizona History. 59 (4): 339–376. ISSN 0021-9053. JSTOR 45217465.
- ^ "Indian Dancers from Hopi Tripe to Appear Here". The Daily Tar Heel. 1928-01-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Visit President". Arizona Republic. 1930-01-12. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Weds 'The Dearest'; Edith Kessinger Notifies Mother of Big Event". The Leavenworth Times. 1913-07-25. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Edythe Sterling Says When Love is Dead, It's Dead". Los Angeles Herald. July 24, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Art Acord of Screen Fame Asks Decree". Los Angeles Herald. July 10, 1919. p. 19. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Scandal Charged in Tour of Actress and Picture Producer". The Sacramento Bee. 1921-11-21. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-08-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Girl Named in Osborne Case Denies Charge". Los Angeles Herald. July 26, 1920. p. 1. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
External links edit
- Edythe Sterling at IMDb