|
Post by spruance on Mar 17, 2010 19:11:33 GMT -6
Biograph's own website makes much of the fact that they have been making movies since 1895 and that D.W. Griffith worked with them from 1910 so they are certainly the real deal. They are also widely accredited as being the oldest movie production company in the USA. Anyway I have emailed them so the ball is in their court.
|
|
|
Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 17, 2010 19:43:55 GMT -6
I thought that at one time too, but someone once told me that they were not quite the same Biograph Company as they would have been before. Of course with time, things do change, but I heard they weren't even really the same entity. :unsure: However, I never really bothered to verify the authenticity of that. I honestly do hope you are able to prove me wrong, Brian. :thumbsup: Anyway I have emailed them so the ball is in their court. May you have much better luck than I have had.
|
|
|
Post by Hedvig on Mar 17, 2010 19:49:24 GMT -6
I thought Biograph shut down during the silent era. At least, the original Biograph. I do think at least Nordisk is the same entity as it was, with the same polar bear symbol.
|
|
|
Post by sommerrayne on Mar 2, 2012 23:04:22 GMT -6
Greetings all - admittedly, I've not read all of the posts in all of the 5 pages on this thread but I stumbled upon you all looking for an archived obit for my grandmother, Gladys Egan. Not YOUR Gladys Egan but A Gladys Egan. The obit of Lu Opelia, sister of Gladys Egan, is of my great aunt. The referrence to Gladys Egan in that Obit is NOT the GE you're looking for. MY Gladys Egan was Gladys Theresa Opelia (maiden) Egan (married) born in 1933 in Browerville, Minnesota & dying 1-11-06 in Saint Cloud, Minnesota (living most of her life in Alexandria, Minnesota and briefly in various cities in Southern California, where my mother and uncle were born). She was, as described, a child of 7 but I assure you that this was not the silent film actress you're looking for. I did, however, find such joy to see that my beloved grandmother who raised me had an intriguing name that I never knew before!
|
|
|
Post by sommerrayne on Mar 2, 2012 23:18:56 GMT -6
And now I have read all of the thread and I'm soooooooooooooooooooo intrigued!!!! I would LOVE to see a film with this woman or a photo!!!!
|
|
|
Post by Midge on Mar 3, 2012 4:01:29 GMT -6
Hi, sommerrayne! Welcome to the Diner. It's nice to meet you. That's really interesting about your connection to the obituary posted here of your great aunt, and that your grandmother was the "other" Gladys Egan.
|
|
|
Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 3, 2012 7:57:39 GMT -6
First off, I would like to take a moment to personally welcome you to Larry's 66 Diner and say that I hope we see you pop in around here every now and then. We are a small, but social group, founded on our interests in classic and silent movies, and Historic Route 66. I would also like to thank you for taking a few minutes to talk with us about your grandmother and share your information with us. I think I finally might have gotten on the trail of the Gladys Egan I've been searching for for so many years. I kind of came to a stand-still because I started investing extreme amounts of time into my quest, and other things wound up being on the "back burner". ;D I hope to eventually get back to finishing what I'd started so long ago. We look forward to seeing more of you and feel free to jump into any conversation in which you feel so inclined. In the mean time, sit back and relax, and Gladys will stop by to pour you a cup of coffee in a few moments! PS: Although Gladys Egan appeared in numerous DW Griffith films of the early 20th Century, In the Border States is, in my opinion, one of her best performances. She is featured prominently in this film, and her acting abilities at such a young age are in full display here.
|
|
genez
Browsing the Menu
Posts: 3
|
Post by genez on Jun 17, 2013 19:35:37 GMT -6
I've been researching Gladys Egan for an article for my website, 11east14thstreet.com/ and was curious if you've gotten more information on her since your post on Nitrateville (where I occasionally contribute) or on your site here. I think she is the Gladys Egan who appears in the 1900 and 1910 US census, the daughter of Thomas F. and Margarette Egan, but I'm not 100% sure by any means. The age is about right -- Gladys appears to have been about 8 years old (or a bit younger) when she first appeared for Biograph and D. W. Griffith in 1908. Gladys also appears in the 1915 New York state census, age 15. She had stopped making films apparently after 1914, per IMDB, although I never completely trust their information, and certainly don't rely upon Wikipedia. Both of their entries on Gladys Egan are problematic to say the least. Let me know if you have anything! Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by Midge on Jun 17, 2013 19:59:59 GMT -6
Hi, genez, and welcome to the Diner! As far as I know, there hasn't been any new information about Gladys Egan, but our resident expert is Larry, so he'd be the one to ask. Good luck with your site, and we hope to see you back here again soon.
I enjoyed your essay on Bebe Daniels, "The Most Popular Girl in Hollywood," and all the great photos. She was really beautiful!
|
|
|
Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Jun 25, 2013 4:16:21 GMT -6
I've been researching Gladys Egan for an article for my website, 11east14thstreet.com/ and was curious if you've gotten more information on her since your post on Nitrateville (where I occasionally contribute) or on your site here. I think she is the Gladys Egan who appears in the 1900 and 1910 US census, the daughter of Thomas F. and Margarette Egan, but I'm not 100% sure by any means. The age is about right -- Gladys appears to have been about 8 years old (or a bit younger) when she first appeared for Biograph and D. W. Griffith in 1908. Gladys also appears in the 1915 New York state census, age 15. She had stopped making films apparently after 1914, per IMDB, although I never completely trust their information, and certainly don't rely upon Wikipedia. Both of their entries on Gladys Egan are problematic to say the least. Let me know if you have anything! Thanks! Thank you for joining Larry's 66 Diner. My apologies for taking such a long time to reply to you, but there have been so many other priorities any more that the Diner has fallen several notches down the list amongst them. I have not gotten much more information about Gladys Egan on my own. I have, however, been given some very exclusive information a while back from a source who has asked me to not release anything just yet; this individual has done some research and is compiling the information for a book. I have respected and honored the request to not share the information, and I am uncertain about when the information will become released or made public. All things considered, some of the information seems to parallel the vague information from other sources already available, yet some of it seems to be new information; I must confess I was pleased with the discoveries. Although I'm not at Larry's 66 Diner on a frequent basis, I do hope that I will see you continue to pop in for visits, and thank you for following up with me regarding our beloved mascot, Ms Egan. Larry
|
|
maxster
New Diner Customer
Posts: 15
|
Post by maxster on May 15, 2014 0:23:14 GMT -6
Well, Brian, here's another interesting lead to follow up on! WCFields (over at Jill's message board) relayed this information to me: As I told WC, I knew that Gladys was in that 1909 production with Marguerite Clark, but I never knew anything about any other member of her family. Perhaps, this could be another start! :thumbsup: Hopefully the Gladys Egan he located will not turn out to be the Gladys Engle we just finished following, since they both had birth years of 1905. The California Death Index lists a Gladys (Egan) Jacoby, born May 24, 1901 in New York, who died on March 8, 1985. This Gladys Egan is not only of the correct age and location, she also has a sibling of the same name (Pearl) as the person who was co-billed with Gladys Egan in a production reviewed by the New York Times in 1909. As for the birth date, the Social Security Death Index lists the same person as having been born on May 24, 1900. I say this solves the mystery.
|
|
|
Post by Midge on May 15, 2014 3:04:31 GMT -6
How interesting! Welcome, maxster, and thanks for the information. I hope you're right and that this does solve the mystery.
|
|
|
Post by Larry's 66 Diner on May 15, 2014 17:48:47 GMT -6
Maxster, that would be awesome if we have finally located her! I hope the mystery is indeed solved and that I can rest easy now, haha. Now I'll have to see if I can locate her on FindAGrave or some other website that deals with celebrity graves and bring some closure to this long sought-after quest. Thanx a million, Maxster, and welcome to Larry's 66 Diner!
|
|
maxster
New Diner Customer
Posts: 15
|
Post by maxster on May 15, 2014 22:12:33 GMT -6
Hello Larry and Midge:
Thanks for the welcome. Here is a transcription of Pearl M. Wagner's obituary from the September 23, 1971 edition of the New York Times: WAGNER--Pearl M. On September 20th, 1971, beloved sister of Gladys Jacoby and Eleanor V. Kozakis, fiance of Rocco DiNatoli. Funeral Friday 10:00 A.M. from the McLaughlin & Sons Colonial Home, Third Avenue at 97th Street, Brooklyn. Mass of the Resurrection, 10:30 A.M., St. Patrick's Church.
The birth dates in the Social Security Death Index entries for both Gladys Jacoby and Eleanor Kozakis match those of the Egan siblings in the 1910 U.S. Census. Can we agree that we have found the elusive Gladys Egan?
|
|
|
Post by Midge on May 16, 2014 3:24:42 GMT -6
Yes, it sounds like we have a winner. Good job, maxster! Larry, I searched "Gladys Jacoby" at Find a Grave using a birth date of 1901 and a death date of 1985, but there were no matches.
|
|
maxster
New Diner Customer
Posts: 15
|
Post by maxster on May 16, 2014 11:18:16 GMT -6
The California Death Index is wrong: she was born in 1900.
|
|
maxster
New Diner Customer
Posts: 15
|
Post by maxster on May 17, 2014 10:39:37 GMT -6
Well, I finally had contact with Sally Zavitz, but I'm afraid the news is quite disturbing. She confirmed her mother's name as it was printed in the obituary of the newspaper from AUG 4, 1997. However, as I had already surmised when our conversation began, this would be a let-down. She informed me that her mother was not the person I was looking for, and that she was not familiar with the actress Gladys Egan. She seemed to be a very pleasant lady and wished me well in my endeavors. Back to Ground Zero. I took the liberty of creating a Find-a-Grave memorial for Gladys Beal, and was hoping that Sally would be kind enough to provide a photo. As for Gladys Egan, she had a daughter, Joyce, who was born about 1937.
|
|
|
Post by Midge on May 17, 2014 17:14:19 GMT -6
Oh, dear. Another dead end! Thank you for sharing this news, maxster, even if it wasn't what we wanted to hear.
|
|
maxster
New Diner Customer
Posts: 15
|
Post by maxster on May 17, 2014 22:16:18 GMT -6
Midge, Gladys Egan was found. She was born in New York on May 24, 1900 to Thomas and Margarette Egan. After her film career ended, she married John E. Jacoby, mothered a daughter, Joyce, about 1937, and died in Chula Vista, CA on March 8, 1985.
Work is underway to find her place of interment (if any) and obituary.
For what it's worth, the clues needed to solve this mystery were on page four of this thread. Kudos to WC Fields for supplying the two vital pieces of information: the 1909 New York Times review of the production billing both Gladys and her older sister Pearl; and the obituary that supplied the married names of all three Egan sisters and confirmed that Margarette (Egan) was also known as Pearl. The 1910 US Census lists only one family in NYC with daughters named Margarette, Gladys and Eleanore, respectively, and that makes it all but certain that Gladys (Egan) Jacoby was the long-missing child actress.
As for Sally Zavitz, she died on September 28, 2013 in London, Ontario.
|
|
|
Post by Midge on May 18, 2014 17:27:04 GMT -6
OK, sorry, maxster. I must have misunderstood what you wrote. Nice detective work!
|
|
|
Post by Larry's 66 Diner on May 19, 2014 17:25:08 GMT -6
So, am I understanding correctly that Gladys had a mother named Margarette and a sister named Margarette also (who went by the name of Pearl)? Maxster, I wish to thank you kindly and most sincerely from the deepest depths of my heart for all that you have done to help me in my quest for the elusive young child actress, Gladys Egan. I had begun this search in the early part of 2006 (one of my founding reasons for launching this message board), but over time I kind of placed it on the back burner, because other life priorities began taking more precedence! If you'll note on other areas of this website, I even had T-shirts printed with her picture on the back, asking "Where's Gladys?". If we can find her obituary (not likely with a photo, I'm sure), that would definitely cinch this!!! Kudos and thumbs up, my new friend!!!
|
|
maxster
New Diner Customer
Posts: 15
|
Post by maxster on May 19, 2014 23:16:20 GMT -6
So, am I understanding correctly that Gladys had a mother named Margarette and a sister named Margarette also (who went by the name of Pearl)? That is correct; Pearl, being the first daughter, was named after the mother, just as Thomas, the first son, was named after the father. In 1915, Pearl married Michael Wagner, with Margaret Egan on the marriage certificate, but at some point, she took to calling herself Pearl, as can be seen in the public records. You're welcome, Larry; it was my pleasure. Didn't see that. That's a work in progress, but perhaps in a month we will have found it. The problem is that it likely has not been digitized, and thus must be searched for on microfilm at Chula Vista-area libraries. The funeral home that handled her services, if it is still in business, may be able to point us to which paper it was published in.
|
|
|
Post by Midge on May 20, 2014 3:25:42 GMT -6
I checked the Find a Grave website but didn't turn up anything. I searched the names "Gladys Egan" and "Gladys Jacoby," born in 1900 and died in 1985 in California.
|
|
|
Post by gina1975 on May 20, 2014 9:35:48 GMT -6
Her daughter married a man named Larry Allen Henderson on May 2 1952 in Los Angeles, California. Joyce Angela Jacoby was 16 her husband 19. Joyce's marriage info Maybe this will lead to more info.
|
|
maxster
New Diner Customer
Posts: 15
|
Post by maxster on May 20, 2014 13:38:16 GMT -6
I checked the Find a Grave website but didn't turn up anything. I searched the names "Gladys Egan" and "Gladys Jacoby," born in 1900 and died in 1985 in California. Search on a maiden name of Egan and it will show.
|
|
|
Post by Midge on May 20, 2014 16:54:49 GMT -6
OK, thanks, maxster. I'll try that.
|
|
|
Post by Larry's 66 Diner on May 20, 2014 19:06:28 GMT -6
Gina, thanx for finding your bit of information too. Perhaps we can locate Mrs Joyce Angela Jacoby Henderson if she is still alive and I can talk with her regarding her mother; I guess that may be my next project. In the mean time, we'll gear up for Gladys' birthday in 4 days ....
|
|
|
Post by Larry's 66 Diner on May 20, 2014 19:07:51 GMT -6
I checked the Find a Grave website but didn't turn up anything. I searched the names "Gladys Egan" and "Gladys Jacoby," born in 1900 and died in 1985 in California. Search on a maiden name of Egan and it will show. Maxster, I guess I did it wrong too because I hadn't found it either.
|
|
|
Post by Midge on May 20, 2014 19:21:51 GMT -6
I just tried it, and all the Gladys Egans that came up had the wrong dates or the wrong married name.
|
|
|
Post by Larry's 66 Diner on May 20, 2014 19:40:45 GMT -6
|
|