Maude Fealy ~ Ave Maria

Black and white photo, colored by me in GIMP.

MAUDE FEALY (1886-1971) In the first decade of the 20th century, Memphis-born Maude Fealy became the favorite actress of the post-card and cabinet card collectors.
She performed in historical dramas and spectacles, but her forte proved to be comedy. In 1907 she married a Denver drama critic Hugo L. Sherwin, but refused to live with him, even when threatened with court orders. In 1909 they divorced. The life of a stock company diva tired on her in 1931 and she headed for Hollywood where she played minor roles in numerous movies. Cecil B. DeMille, who knew her from his acting days, put her in every sound film he made. During the First World War she had made a number of silent films, but her theatrical gesturing then seemed too extravagant.