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Sylvia Breamer

October 17, 2023

Sylvia Poppy Bremer[1][2] (9 June 1897 – 7 June 1943), known professionally as Sylvia Breamer, was an Australian actress who appeared in American silent motion pictures beginning in 1917.

Sylvia Breamer
Breamer, 1924
Born
Sylvia Poppy Bremer

(1897-06-09)9 June 1897
Sydney, Australia
Died7 June 1943(1943-06-07) (aged 45)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Spouses
E.W. Morrison
​
​
(m. 1914; div. 1917)​
​
​
(m. 1924; div. 1926)​
Edmund R. Bohan
​
​
(m. 1931; div. 1940)​

Childhood and early career in Australia Edit

Sylvia Poppy Bremer was born on 9 June 1897 in the Sydney suburb of Double Bay, to Frederick Glasse Bremer and Jessie Bremer (née Platt).[3] She had a sister named Doris, who later married actor William J. Kelly.[4]

From a young age she trained for the stage with Walter Bentley and later at a Sydney Dramatic school run by Douglas Ancelon and Stella Chapman. She started to appear at recitations and on stage from the age of 13, soon after in productions for J. C. Williamson throughout Australia and New Zealand.[5] The Manly Biographical Dictionary project reports that Bremer lived with her mother Jessie and step-father, Arthur George Crook Plunkett on the East Esplanade, Manly, in the early 1910s.[6] By 1915 she had come to the notice of reviewers, particularly after she stood in for Muriel Starr in a lead role in the Sydney run of George Broadhurst's play, Bought and Paid for.[7] By this time she was also famous enough to appear in newspaper advertisements for "Clement's Tonic." In 1914 Bremer married 46 year old E.W. Morrison, a US actor-director who regularly worked for J.C.Williamson.[8] Like her Australian contemporary Enid Bennett, she determined to try her luck in the United States, and the couple departed for San Francisco in October 1916. The marriage appears to have been short lived however and Morrison returned to Australia in February 1917 without her.

Silent screen actress Edit

 
Sylvia Breamer in Photoplay, 1918.

Within a few months of arriving in the US, Breamer had appeared on stage in Boston and been tested by Thomas H. Ince.[9][10]

Her first movie for Ince was The Pinch Hitter, released in April 1917, where she took the leading female role next to Charles Ray. In 1918, she changed the spelling of her surname to Breamer, apparently to sound less German.[11] After Ince left the Triangle Film Corporation, she made numerous films for a variety of producers, including Ince and J. Stuart Blackton and opposite leading men including William S. Hart, Will Rogers, John Gilbert, Frank Mayo and Wallace Beery. Her film output was significant - she had appeared in forty films by 1924 and was an established and bankable star. In 1917 Ince had "predicted a future for Sylvia Breamer equally brilliant to that of his first Australian acquisition, Enid Bennett; and the initial assessment was, as the Lone Hand put it, that she "surpassed Bennett as actress by a long way."[5] Breamer's final leading role in a film was in Lightning Reporter, in 1926, opposite Johnnie Walker. When no further film roles came her way she returned to the stage, appearing in a number of plays in 1926–30.[12]

In the early 1930s she famously criticized life and work in Hollywood. She reportedly said she "now loathes pictures and everything Hollywood means. There can be no real friendship in Hollywood - nothing but jealousy and sham."[13]

She had one minor role in a talkie, a supporting part in the 1936 Frances Farmer, Lester Matthews vehicle Too Many Parents.

Personal life and death Edit

Breamer's sister Doris joined her in the United States in the 1920s, marrying actor William J. Kelly in 1925. Breamer's mother and step-father also moved to the US in the early 1920s.

On 1 November 1924 Breamer married Dr. Harry Martin at the Glenwood Inn in Riverside, California, announcing she would be retiring from films. Their divorce in 1926 was acrimonious and public, with Martin accusing her of cruelty.[14] Martin later went on to a long marriage to the columnist Louella Parsons.

In 1931, Breamer's engagement to actor Douglas Wood was announced, but it appears the marriage did not eventuate. In 1940, she was again in the news following a dispute over money after a divorce from aspiring politician Edmund R. Bohan.[15]

She died in her apartment in the Royalton Hotel on 7 June 1943 as a result of a heart attack.[16]

Partial filmography Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, 12 June 1897 Accessed 6 December 2015
  2. ^ Los Angeles Times 21 Feb 1940, page A3 "Former Actress fights for Cash"
  3. ^ In later years she was to claim her father was Captain of HMS Powerful, flagship of the Royal Navy's Australian Squadron, and her uncle the commander of the British cruiser HMS Queen Mary. See Photoplay, 1 Sep 1918 – 31 Dec 1918, Chicago, Photoplay Magazine Publishing. "The Daughter of the Powerful" by Julian Johnson. Neither claim appears compatible with the historical record. It appears likely she was a grand-daughter of Admiral Sir James John Gordon Bremer rather than a daughter, as was often claimed by the contemporary US press. See for example The Los Angeles Times, 2 November 1924, P.7, "Sylvia Breamer is married." Accessed 14 December 2015
  4. ^ Rees, Anne (Mar. 8, 2019), "An Australian in Silent Hollywood", Inside Story
  5. ^ a b Desley Deacon, 2013. "From Victorian Accomplishment to Modern Profession: Elocution Takes Judith Anderson, Sylvia Bremer and Dorothy Cumming to Hollywood, 1912-1918." Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies, Vol 18, No.1, p. 40-65, Oct. 2013. ISSN 1327-8746. Accessed 6 January 2017
  6. ^ John Macritchie, Manly Biographical Dictionary, City of Manly Accessed 6 January 2017
  7. ^ Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930) 21 March 1915 Accessed 11 December 2015
  8. ^ Ralph L. Marsden (2016) Who Was Sylvia? p.30, Screencrafts Productions Publications, Melbourne, Australia. ISBN 978-0-646-94269-8
  9. ^ The Mirror of Australia (Sydney, NSW : 1915 - 1917) 17 March 1917 Accessed 11 December 2015
  10. ^ Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938) "Behind the Silver Sheet" by Kathleen Ussher, p. 13, 27 June 1923 Accessed 8/1/2016
  11. ^ Punch (Melbourne, Vic.: 1900 - 1918), 18 July 1918 Accessed 10 December 2015
  12. ^ Ralph L. Marsden (2016), pp. 179-183 and 231-235
  13. ^ Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954) 14 December 1930, Page 11, "Miss Sylvia Breamer Outspoken" Accessed 9/1/2016
  14. ^ The Los Angeles Times "Physician seeks divorce." 20 April 1926. Page A10. Accessed 13 December 2015
  15. ^ The Los Angeles Times."Sylvia Breamer loses suit." 15 March 1940. Page A.1. Accessed 13 December 2015
  16. ^ Ralph L Marsden (2016) p.214
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sylvia Breamer.

External links Edit

  • Sylvia Breamer at IMDb
  • Unseen Forces (1920). Video of preserved print rediscovered at the New Zealand Film Archive.

October 17, 2023
sylvia, breamer, sylvia, poppy, bremer, june, 1897, june, 1943, known, professionally, australian, actress, appeared, american, silent, motion, pictures, beginning, 1917, breamer, 1924bornsylvia, poppy, bremer, 1897, june, 1897sydney, australiadied7, june, 194. Sylvia Poppy Bremer 1 2 9 June 1897 7 June 1943 known professionally as Sylvia Breamer was an Australian actress who appeared in American silent motion pictures beginning in 1917 Sylvia BreamerBreamer 1924BornSylvia Poppy Bremer 1897 06 09 9 June 1897Sydney AustraliaDied7 June 1943 1943 06 07 aged 45 New York City U S OccupationActressSpousesE W Morrison m 1914 div 1917 wbr Dr Harry Martin m 1924 div 1926 wbr Edmund R Bohan m 1931 div 1940 wbr Contents 1 Childhood and early career in Australia 2 Silent screen actress 3 Personal life and death 4 Partial filmography 5 References 6 External linksChildhood and early career in Australia EditSylvia Poppy Bremer was born on 9 June 1897 in the Sydney suburb of Double Bay to Frederick Glasse Bremer and Jessie Bremer nee Platt 3 She had a sister named Doris who later married actor William J Kelly 4 From a young age she trained for the stage with Walter Bentley and later at a Sydney Dramatic school run by Douglas Ancelon and Stella Chapman She started to appear at recitations and on stage from the age of 13 soon after in productions for J C Williamson throughout Australia and New Zealand 5 The Manly Biographical Dictionary project reports that Bremer lived with her mother Jessie and step father Arthur George Crook Plunkett on the East Esplanade Manly in the early 1910s 6 By 1915 she had come to the notice of reviewers particularly after she stood in for Muriel Starr in a lead role in the Sydney run of George Broadhurst s play Bought and Paid for 7 By this time she was also famous enough to appear in newspaper advertisements for Clement s Tonic In 1914 Bremer married 46 year old E W Morrison a US actor director who regularly worked for J C Williamson 8 Like her Australian contemporary Enid Bennett she determined to try her luck in the United States and the couple departed for San Francisco in October 1916 The marriage appears to have been short lived however and Morrison returned to Australia in February 1917 without her Silent screen actress Edit nbsp Sylvia Breamer in Photoplay 1918 Within a few months of arriving in the US Breamer had appeared on stage in Boston and been tested by Thomas H Ince 9 10 Her first movie for Ince was The Pinch Hitter released in April 1917 where she took the leading female role next to Charles Ray In 1918 she changed the spelling of her surname to Breamer apparently to sound less German 11 After Ince left the Triangle Film Corporation she made numerous films for a variety of producers including Ince and J Stuart Blackton and opposite leading men including William S Hart Will Rogers John Gilbert Frank Mayo and Wallace Beery Her film output was significant she had appeared in forty films by 1924 and was an established and bankable star In 1917 Ince had predicted a future for Sylvia Breamer equally brilliant to that of his first Australian acquisition Enid Bennett and the initial assessment was as the Lone Hand put it that she surpassed Bennett as actress by a long way 5 Breamer s final leading role in a film was in Lightning Reporter in 1926 opposite Johnnie Walker When no further film roles came her way she returned to the stage appearing in a number of plays in 1926 30 12 In the early 1930s she famously criticized life and work in Hollywood She reportedly said she now loathes pictures and everything Hollywood means There can be no real friendship in Hollywood nothing but jealousy and sham 13 She had one minor role in a talkie a supporting part in the 1936 Frances Farmer Lester Matthews vehicle Too Many Parents Personal life and death EditBreamer s sister Doris joined her in the United States in the 1920s marrying actor William J Kelly in 1925 Breamer s mother and step father also moved to the US in the early 1920s On 1 November 1924 Breamer married Dr Harry Martin at the Glenwood Inn in Riverside California announcing she would be retiring from films Their divorce in 1926 was acrimonious and public with Martin accusing her of cruelty 14 Martin later went on to a long marriage to the columnist Louella Parsons In 1931 Breamer s engagement to actor Douglas Wood was announced but it appears the marriage did not eventuate In 1940 she was again in the news following a dispute over money after a divorce from aspiring politician Edmund R Bohan 15 She died in her apartment in the Royalton Hotel on 7 June 1943 as a result of a heart attack 16 Partial filmography EditThe Pinch Hitter 1917 Sudden Jim 1917 The Cold Deck 1917 incomplete The Narrow Trail 1917 The Millionaire Vagrant 1917 The Family Skeleton 1918 Missing 1918 We Can t Have Everything 1918 lost film The Temple of Dusk 1918 lost film A House Divided 1919 The Common Cause 1919 lost film My Lady s Garter 1919 lost film The Blood Barrier 1920 My Husband s Other Wife 1920 Unseen Forces 1920 Respectable by Proxy 1920 The Devil 1921 Doubling for Romeo 1921 A Poor Relation 1921 Not Guilty 1921 The Face Between 1922 Wolf Law 1922 The Man Who Married His Own Wife 1922 Sherlock Brown 1922 Calvert s Valley 1922 The Man Unconquerable 1922 Bavu 1923 Thundergate 1923 The Barefoot Boy 1923 The Girl of the Golden West 1923 lost film Flaming Youth 1923 lost film only one reel survives The First Degree was considered lost until found in June 2020 Her Temporary Husband 1923 lost film Reckless Romance 1924 Lilies of the Field 1924 lost film The Woman on the Jury 1924 lost film Too Much Youth 1925 Women and Gold 1925 Lightning Reporter 1926 Up in Mabel s Room 1926 Too Many Parents 1936 References Edit Sydney Morning Herald 12 June 1897 Accessed 6 December 2015 Los Angeles Times 21 Feb 1940 page A3 Former Actress fights for Cash In later years she was to claim her father was Captain of HMS Powerful flagship of the Royal Navy s Australian Squadron and her uncle the commander of the British cruiser HMS Queen Mary See Photoplay 1 Sep 1918 31 Dec 1918 Chicago Photoplay Magazine Publishing The Daughter of the Powerful by Julian Johnson Neither claim appears compatible with the historical record It appears likely she was a grand daughter of Admiral Sir James John Gordon Bremer rather than a daughter as was often claimed by the contemporary US press See for example The Los Angeles Times 2 November 1924 P 7 Sylvia Breamer is married Accessed 14 December 2015 Rees Anne Mar 8 2019 An Australian in Silent Hollywood Inside Story a b Desley Deacon 2013 From Victorian Accomplishment to Modern Profession Elocution Takes Judith Anderson Sylvia Bremer and Dorothy Cumming to Hollywood 1912 1918 Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies Vol 18 No 1 p 40 65 Oct 2013 ISSN 1327 8746 Accessed 6 January 2017 John Macritchie Manly Biographical Dictionary City of Manly Accessed 6 January 2017 Sunday Times Sydney NSW 1895 1930 21 March 1915 Accessed 11 December 2015 Ralph L Marsden 2016 Who Was Sylvia p 30 Screencrafts Productions Publications Melbourne Australia ISBN 978 0 646 94269 8 The Mirror of Australia Sydney NSW 1915 1917 17 March 1917 Accessed 11 December 2015 Sydney Mail NSW 1912 1938 Behind the Silver Sheet by Kathleen Ussher p 13 27 June 1923 Accessed 8 1 2016 Punch Melbourne Vic 1900 1918 18 July 1918 Accessed 10 December 2015 Ralph L Marsden 2016 pp 179 183 and 231 235 Sunday Times Perth WA 1902 1954 14 December 1930 Page 11 Miss Sylvia Breamer Outspoken Accessed 9 1 2016 The Los Angeles Times Physician seeks divorce 20 April 1926 Page A10 Accessed 13 December 2015 The Los Angeles Times Sylvia Breamer loses suit 15 March 1940 Page A 1 Accessed 13 December 2015 Ralph L Marsden 2016 p 214 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sylvia Breamer External links EditSylvia Breamer at IMDb Unseen Forces 1920 Video of preserved print rediscovered at the New Zealand Film Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sylvia Breamer amp oldid 1168281208, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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