Gladys Walton

American silent film actress (1903–1993)

Frank Liddell

(m. 1923; div. 1923)

Henry Merritt Herbel

(m. 1923; div. 1947)

Spiro (Samuel) Dilles

(m. 1953; div. 1955)

Kenneth James Wells

(m. 1971; div. 1973)

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Gladys Walton (April 13, 1903 – November 15, 1993)^[2] was an American silent film actress.

Early life and career

Born in Boston, Massachusetts and educated in Portland, Oregon, Gladys Walton debuted in films at the Fox Sunshine comedy studio's in 1919, doing small parts in their comedy short films.^[3] As her acting talent came more out into the open, she was given larger and more important roles in films, such as La La Lucille in 1920 with Universal Studios, as well as The Secret Gift, also in 1920. She was also given her first starring role in Pink Tights (1920), opposite film star Jack Perrin. She was a contract player for Universal from 1920 to 1923, completing 28 films and earning $600 a week^[4] at the peak of her career. After leaving Universal she went on to do a few independent films. Only 5 of her 38 films exist: Pink Tights from 1920, All Dolled Up from 1921, The Untameable and Sawdust both from 1923, and A Little Girl in a Big City, released in 1925.

Walton retired from acting in 1925.^[5] Gladys has been said to have done theater productions, but this is untrue. There were in fact two Gladys Waltons performing in the early 1920's. One was a theater actress on the East Coast, doing traveling stage productions, while the movie star Gladys was making films on the West Coast. Writers of the time often confused the two.^[6]

Personal life

Walton married screenwriter Frank Liddell in 1920. She later married Henry M. Herbel in 1923, with whom she had six children. She later married Spiro (Samuel) Dilles and Kenneth James Wells. All the marriages ended in divorce.

Death

Walton died of cancer on November 15, 1993, aged 90.^[5]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1908	The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays		Lost film
1920	La La Lucille	Peggy Hughes	Lost film
	The Secret Gift	Winnie	Lost film
	Pink Tights	Mazie Darton	Lost film
	Risky Business	Phillipa	Lost film
1921	Rich Girl, Poor Girl	Nora McShane / Beatrice Vanderfleet	Lost film
	All Dolled Up	Maggie Quick
	Desperate Youth	Rosemary Merridew	Lost film
	The Man Tamer	The Lion Tamer	Lost film
	Short Skirts	Natalie Smith	Lost film
	The Rowdy	Kit Purcell	Lost film
	High Heels	Christine Trevor	Lost film
	Playing With Fire	Enid Gregory	Lost film
1922	The Guttersnipe	Mazie O'Day	Lost film
	The Wise Kid	Rosie Cooper	Lost film
	Second Hand Rose	Rose O'Grady	Lost film
	The Trouper	Mamie Judd	Lost film
	Top o' the Morning	'Jerry' O'Donnell	Lost film
	The Girl Who Ran Wild	M'liss	Lost film
	The Lavender Bath Lady	Mamie Conroy	Lost film
	A Dangerous Game	Gretchen Ann Peebles	Lost film
1923	The Love Letter	Mary Ann McKee	Lost film
	Gossip	Caroline Weatherbee	Lost film
	The Town Scandal	Jean Crosby	Lost film
	Crossed Wires	Marcel Murphy	Lost film
	Sawdust	Nita Moore
	The Untameable	Edna Fielding / Joy Fielding	Lost film
	The Wild Party	Leslie Adams	Lost film
	The Near Lady	Nora Schultz	Lost film
1925	Easy Money
	Enemies of Youth		Lost film
	The Sky Raider	Marie	Lost film
	Anything Once	Dorothy Nixon	Lost film
	A Little Girl in a Big City	Mary Barry
1928	The Ape		Lost film^[7]

References

^ "Gladys Walton; Starred in Silent Films". Los Angeles Times. November 21, 1993. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ Dates of birth and death are submitted by her son, John Walton, from her death certificate
^ Michael G Ankerich (1993) Broken Silence: conversations with 23 silent film stars. p.299
^ Michael G Ankerich (1993) Broken Silence: conversations with 23 silent film stars. p.300
^ ^a ^b "Gladys Walton Dead; Silent-Film Actress, 90". The New York Times. December 23, 1993. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
^ "The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, October 15, 1922, SECTION FOUR, Page 7, Image 61 « Historic Oregon Newspapers". oregonnews.uoregon.edu.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.