Tragic Destinies at the Silent Times
RELATED LISTS: Tragic Destinies   https://www.imdb.com/list/ls000065265/ Cancer deaths     https://www.imdb.com/list/ls003194534/ Deaths by AIDS   https://www.imdb.com/list/ls003194308/

Dedicated to William H. Harbeck, pioneer of cinema https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/william-harbeck.html
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Mace Greenleaf began as a stage actor starring and supporting in many popular plays, perhaps his best known roles was as Herbert, the King's Forrester in 'The Prisoner of Zenda' in the 1890's and in 1898 played Mr. Hunston in Sir Arthur Wing Pinero's play 'Trelawny of the Wells' at the Lyceum Theatre in New York, other Broadway performances was in 'The Pride of Jennico' with James K. Hackett at the Citerion Theatre in 1900 and played Myrtle May's lover in 'The Parish Priest'. Over the first decade of the new century played starring roles in stock companies all over America, he returned to Broadway in 1905 to play the Prince of Wales in the romantic musical 'Edmond Burke'. In 1911 he joined the film industry where he would star in at least 20 drama movies, making his debut in The Golden Rule (1911) co-starring James Kirkwood at the Reliance Film Co. He is perhaps best known as Dr. Earl Headley in Alice Guy Blache's Falling Leaves (1912) for the Solax Film Co in 1912. His last film before his sudden death from pneumonia age 38 was in The Girl in the Arm-Chair (1912) with Blanche Cornwall. In 1906 Mace married Lucy Banning in Santa Ana, California, Lucy came from a very wealthy family they owned Catalina Island, she left Mace in 1910 for the son of prominent judge, Mace divorced his beautiful wife on the ground of desertion, Lucy was known as something of a free spirit and often scandalized 'polite society' with the number of men in her life.

Florence Barker was born on November 22, 1891 in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Norman Barker, was a farmer and she had four siblings. When she was a teenager she began acting with stock companies. She fell in love with actor Joe De Grasse, who was 18 years her senior; they moved in together and he helped guide her career. In 1908 she made her film debut in D.W. Griffith's "An Awful Moment." Over the next three years she appeared in more than 50 films, including "The Course of True Love," "The Diamond Star," and "The Newlyweds" with Mary Pickford. She became one of the first American actresses to make films in Europe. About acting she said "I love the work and would advise any actress to make a try for the pictures. The work is arduous to be sure. No one ever attained success unless it was accomplished by close and concerted application." The talented young actress was signed by Powers Players in 1912. She was given leading roles in the comedies "Her Yesterday" and "The Petticoat Detective." Her performances got good reviews and her future seemed bright. She also wrote the script for her 1912 comedy "Priscilla's Comedy." While visiting her mother in early 1913 she became ill. Tragically, on February 15, 1913 she died from pneumonia at only 21 years old. She was cremated and her ashes were buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Young Danish Valdemar tried to make a success in the theatre when he first appeared on Casino Teater in 1901. He never succeeded on the stage - his voice didn't sound right! But notices were otherwise kind to him.

Psilander was good-looking, charming and exuding a certain joie-de-vivre. He soon abandoned his plans of becoming an opera singer, preferring the new medium of motion pictures in 1910.

Soon he became a raving hit all over Europe (especially Russia - but never USA) and his exorbitant salary made him the most successful actor at Nordisk Film. In an international vox populi he would even out-shine Asta Nielsen, Henny Porten, Max Linder and other stars.

Psilander believed in having fun. The enormous amounts of money (pre-income tax) he made, was spent on a care-free way of life with friends and colleagues. Marrying actress Edith Buemann (1879-1968) in 1911 made no change to his bon-vivant lifestyle. When they separated in 1916 - after long periods of separations - the marriage settlement made her a very wealthy divorcée and she would always speak and write affectionately of Valdemar until she died - even after four marriages. During this only marriage and after the divorce, he was associated with actress Gudrun Houlberg. They appeared together in "Klovnen", 1917.

During the end of 1916 his salary demands were so outrageous that Nordisk Film had to let him go. He was tired of the same old material and he wanted to form his own production company. After having hired actors, actresses, directors and writers - it all suddenly came to a halt.

He died in his suite at Bristol Hotel, Copenhagen, at the age of 32 - at the pinnacle of his career.

To this very day rumors will insist that Psilander took his own life. In 1917 Nordisk Film would suppress the fact that he HAD died, afraid that the truth might hurt ticket sales.

However, records have shown that Psilander had a severe heart condition involving a lot of medication. Combining this with a stressful career as a burgeoning producer ultimately resulted in a brain hemorrhage.

But like so many others his early death made him even more popular all over Europe.

A notable theater/film colleague had this to say about Psilander: He had a wonderful physique and a splendid face. He was a great charmer and a ladies hero, but his talent was mediocre if not ordinary.

Clara Wieth (1883-1975) - who appeared with him in 11 films - had this to say of Psilander: In front of the camera he would just prance around "putting on airs", but he did it so splendidly with a keen knowledge of camera technique that it was truly believable.

Early information on Florence La Badie is sketchy. She is thought to have been born in New York City in 1888, and she was either taken away from or she was given up for adoption by her birth mother. Florence was adopted by a married couple named LaBadie, who legally gave the child their last name. Her adoptive father, Joseph LaBadie, is believed to have been an attorney in Canada, and the family spent time in Montreal, where Florence grew up. She was educated in both Montreal and New York, and after graduation from high school she worked as a model for well-known illustrator (and, later, film director) Penrhyn Stanlaws.

She took up a career on the stage in 1908. She signed up with director Chauncey Olcott's theatrical company, and went on the road with them. In 1909 she went with a friend, Mary Pickford, to the American Biograph film studio in New York to watch Pickford at work in In the Window Recess (1909), and Pickford got her a bit part in the picture. La Badie didn't make any films for a year after that, and then she signed a contract with Biograph.

In 1911 she left Biograph for Thanhouser. She met with great success in Thanhouser's pictures, and she was gradually promoted to lead roles, working there from 1911-1917 (making her the player who worked at Thanhouser the longest). She became the best-known of all of Thanhouser's players and she was wildly popular in fan magazines and trade journals.

Although she was engaged twice (to actor Val Hush and to writer Daniel Carson Goodman), she never married. She was the "companion" of film mogul Marcus Loew for several years.

On August 28, 1917, while driving a car near Ossining, New York, with her fiancé Daniel Goodman, the car's brakes failed and the car plunged down an embankment at high speed, rolling over when it hit the bottom. Goodman escaped with relatively minor injuries, but she was thrown from the car, incurring a compound fracture to her pelvis. She was taken to a hospital in Ossining, where her conditioned worsened. She died of septicemia (infection) on August 28. She was 29 years old.