Helen Louise Gardner (September 2, 1884[1] – November 20, 1968) was an American stage and film actress, screenwriter, film producer and costume designer. She was the first film actor to form her own production company.[2] Her productions were primarily feature-length films, making her one of the earliest adopters of the feature film.[3] Gardner's work was distinct for frequently centering female characters.[4] Gardner is also considered one of the screen's first vamps.[5]
Career
Gardner was born to a wealthy family in Binghamton, New York. She spent much of her youth in European boarding schools, taking an interest in performance and often participating in private theatricals. Gardner continued pursuing theater while attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After graduating, she studied under Broadway actress and playwright Maude Fulton.[6] In 1910 she became a Vitagraph Studios player. Her breakthrough role came in 1911, when she portrayed Becky Sharp in the film version of the novel Vanity Fair. Gardner received widespread critical acclaim for her performance.[7]
The Helen Gardner Picture Players
In 1912, following her success with Vitagraph Studios, Gardner formed her own production company: The Helen Gardner Picture Players. The company was established in Tappan, New York with capital provided by Gardner's mother. It was the first film production company to be owned by an individual actor.[2] Gardner hired former Vitagraph collaborator Charles L. Gaskill as a director and scenarist. Gardner's first production was Cleopatra (1912), one of the first American full-length films. Following Cleopatra's success, Gardner continued to release popular films, specializing in feature-length motion pictures of at least five or six reels in length.[6]
Gardner frequently acted in her own productions. Trained as a dancer, Gardner was known for her physically expressive performances.[8] Her sensual, commanding portrayal of female characters was entirely new at the time, leading to her classification as the screen's first vamp, predating Theda Bara, Valeska Suratt and Louise Glaum.[3] Beyond personal performance, Gardner's work was frequently centered on female stories. Her three most popular films — Cleopatra, A Sister to Carmen and A Daughter of Pan — all center female protagonists.
Gardner produced eleven feature films through The Helen Gardner Picture Players. In 1914, competition from better funded studios forced her to permanently close her production company.[2] In 1915, she returned to Vitagraph briefly before signing with Universal. By this time, her popularity began to wane and she retired from acting in 1924.[9]
Personal life
Before Gardner embarked on an acting career, she married socially prominent businessman Duncan Clarkson Pell Sr., on October 16, 1902, in West Haven, Connecticut.[10] The marriage took place shortly after Gardner's 18th birthday and one week after Pell's divorce from his first wife, Anna. Duncan and Anna Pell's divorce was covered in the gossip columns of The New York Times.[9] The couple had one child in 1904.[11] Gardner left Pell in 1906 to continue her acting career but they never divorced.[12] They remained married until Pell's death in 1964.[2]
Some sources state that Gardner married for a second time to Charles Gaskill, the director of many of her films. Gardner's granddaughter and biographer, Dorin Gardner Schumacher, states that this is incorrect and that Gardner never divorced Duncan C. Pell Sr.[2]
Later years and death
In the 1950s, Gardner returned to Orlando, Florida where she had previously lived with her estranged husband. Gardner died in Orlando on November 20, 1968, at the age of 84.[9]
