1897-11-24 Chadwicks, New York, USA
Helene Chadwick (November 25, 1897 – September 4, 1940) was an American actress in Silent and early sound films. Chadwick was born in the small town of Chadwicks, New York, which was named for her grandfather. Her mother was a singer who performed on the stage and her father was a businessman. She began making films for Pathe Pictures in Manhattan, New York. A director was impressed by Chadwick's talent as an equestrian, thus she began acting as a western star, but this did not continue with the exodus of film production from the east to the west coast. Signed by Samuel Goldwyn, Chadwick went to California in 1913 and entered silent movies in 1916. She was a star from 1920 through 1925. At the pinnacle of her acting career, she earned a salary estimated to have been $2,000 per week. From 1929 until 1935, she found success as a character actress when sound was being introduced to films. In the final five years of her life she was reduced to taking roles as an extra, playing "atmospheric parts". She was always optimistic that her fortunes would turn for the better. Helene made movies with Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, and other studios. Her most noteworthy performances came in The Long Arm of Mannister (1919), The Cup of Fury (1920), Heartsease (1919), The Sin Flood (1922), Dangerous Curve Ahead (1921), From The Ground Up (1921), The Glorious Fool (1922), Yellow Men and Gold (1922), Dust Flower (1922), Godless Men (1920), and Quicksands (1923). In January 1919, Chadwick became engaged to Lieutenant William A. Wellman, an American pilot with the Lafayette Flying Corps. He had just returned from France and was cited for bravery for his valour in World War I. The couple had met at a party at the house of a friend. Wellman was signed to play a prominent role in an upcoming movie with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The couple wed in July 1921, but in the summer of 1923 Chadwick sued Wellman for divorce on grounds of desertion and non-support. At the time of their separation William was directing movies for Fox Film. Wellman directed Wings, the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as many other notable films. Helene Chadwick died at St. Vincent's Hospital, Los Angeles, California, aged 42, in 1940. Her death was indirectly the result of an accident she suffered in June 1939.
 |
The Perfect Set-Up | Mary (uncredited) | 1936-02-01 |
 |
Frisco Kid | Saloon Girl (uncredited) | 1935-11-30 |
 |
Mississippi | Atendee at Opening (uncredited) | 1935-03-22 |
 |
Mary Burns, Fugitive | Prison Matron (uncredited) | 1935-11-15 |
 |
Good Dame | Mrs. Crosby | 1934-03-16 |
 |
School for Girls | Larson | 1934-03-22 |
 |
Managed Money | Mrs. George Myers | 1934-02-22 |
 |
A Wicked Woman | Mother (uncredited) | 1934-12-07 |
 |
Employees' Entrance | Attendee at Meeting of Department Heads (uncredited) | 1933-02-11 |
 |
Merrily Yours | Mrs. Rogers | 1933-10-05 |
 |
Morning Glory | Secretary (uncredited) | 1933-08-18 |
 |
Night World | Nightclub Patron (uncredited) | 1932-05-04 |
 |
So Big! | Townsperson (uncredited) | 1932-04-30 |
 |
The Bad Sister | Amy, Sam's Wife (uncredited) | 1931-03-29 |
 |
Hell Bound | Sanford's Sister | 1931-05-01 |
 |
Men Are Like That | Clara Hyland | 1930-03-22 |
 |
Father and Son | Miss White | 1929-05-13 |
 |
Women Who Dare | Stella Mowbray | 1928-03-31 |
 |
Modern Mothers | Adele Dayton | 1928-05-13 |
 |
Say It with Sables | Helen Caswell | 1928-07-13 |
 |
The Bachelor's Baby | Eleanor Carter | 1927-02-20 |
 |
Stolen Pleasures | Doris Manning | 1927-01-05 |
 |
The Still Alarm | Lucy Fay | 1926-05-02 |
 |
Hard Boiled | Marjorie Gregg | 1926-06-06 |
|
Dancing Days | Alice Hedman | 1926-09-27 |
 |
Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes | Helene | 1926-10-02 |
 |
The Woman Hater | 1925-07-12 | |
 |
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent | Betty Joe | 1925-02-15 |
 |
The Golden Cocoon | Molly Shannon | 1925-12-14 |
 |
Love of Women | Cynthia Redfield | 1924-06-30 |
 |
The Masked Dancer | Betty Powell | 1924-02-15 |
 |
Her Own Free Will | Nan Everard | 1924-07-20 |
 |
Why Men Leave Home | Irene Emerson | 1924-03-03 |
 |
The Dark Swan | Cornelia Quinn | 1924-11-26 |
 |
The Border Legion | Joan Randle | 1924-10-19 |
|
Trouping with Ellen | Ellen Llewellyn | 1924-10-05 |
 |
Quicksands | The Girl | 1923-02-28 |
 |
Gimme | Fanny Daniels | 1923-01-14 |
 |
Reno | Mrs. Emily Dysart Tappan | 1923-12-09 |
 |
The Dust Flower | Letty Gravely | 1922-07-02 |
 |
The Glorious Fool | Jane Brown | 1922-01-01 |
 |
The Sin Flood | Poppy | 1922-11-12 |
 |
Yellow Men and Gold | Bessie | 1922-05-20 |
 |
Made in Heaven | Claudia Royce | 1921-05-01 |
 |
Dangerous Curve Ahead | Phoebe (Mabee) Jones | 1921-10-02 |
 |
The Old Nest | Emily at 22 | 1921-06-28 |
 |
Cupid the Cowpuncher | Macie Sewell | 1920-07-25 |
 |
Godless Men | Ruth Lytton | 1920-11-06 |
 |
The Cup of Fury | Marie Louise - 'Mamise' | 1920-01-01 |
 |
The Long Arm of Mannister | Sylvia De La Mere | 1919-11-15 |
 |
Girls | Kate West | 1919-06-29 |
|
Go-Get-Em Garringer | Wilma Wharton | 1919-03-23 |
 |
An Adventure in Hearts | Countess Lucia Bonavia D'Orano | 1919-12-07 |
 |
A Very Good Young Man | Ruth Douglas | 1919-07-06 |
 |
The Solitary Sin | Mary | 1919-07-01 |
 |
The Yellow Ticket | Miss Seaton | 1918-05-26 |
|
The Honest Thief | Edith Marbury | 1918-09-15 |
 |
The Naulahka | Kate Sheriff | 1918-02-14 |
 |
The House of Hate | Queenie Kate | 1918-01-02 |
 |
The Last of the Carnabys | The Kept Woman | 1917-07-22 |
 |
Vengeance Is Mine | Marion De Long | 1917-12-16 |
 |
The Mystery of the Double Cross | 1917-03-17 | |
 |
Blind Man's Luck | Helen | 1917-06-10 |
 |
The Angel Factory | Florence Lamont | 1917-09-15 |
 |
The Challenge | Alberta Bradley | 1916-12-10 |
