Gertrude Astor

The first actress to sign a contract with Universal in 1915, 'Gertrude Astor' (qv) (born in Ohio as Gertrude Irene Astor) began her career playing trombone and saxophone on a riverboat. Towering over most of her leading men at 5'11", she often played golddiggers, rich socialites or a leading lady's best friend in such one-reeled films and feature length silents as _Polly Redhead (1917)_ (qv), _The Price of a Good Time (1917)_ (qv), _The Girl Who Wouldn't Quit (1918)_ (qv), _The Lion Man (1919)_ (qv), 'Mary Pickford' (qv)'s _Through the Back Door (1921)_ (qv), _The Wall Flower (1922)_ (qv), _Alice Adams (1923)_ (qv), _The Ne'er-Do-Well (1923)_ (qv), _Stage Struck (1925)_ (qv), _The Boy Friend (1926)_ (qv), _Kiki (1926)_ (qv), _The Strong Man (1926)_ (qv), _Shanghaied (1927)_ (qv), _The Cat and the Canary (1927)_ (qv) and _Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927)_ (qv) (as Little Eva's mother). The popular female stars she bolstered included Pickford, 'Norma Talmadge' (qv), 'Gloria Swanson' (qv), 'Patsy Ruth Miller' (qv), 'Colleen Moore' (qv), 'Shirley Mason' (qv), 'Olive Borden' (qv) and 'Laura La Plante' (qv)With the advent of sound, Astor's career continued, landing her in a number of two-reel comedies, mostly with the 'Hal Roach' (qv) studio and occasionally with 'Stan Laurel' (qv) and 'Oliver Hardy' (qv), the "Our Gang" gang and 'Charley Chase' (qv). "I've never been so embarrassed in all my life!" seemed to be one of her most used lines in films. Acting until the 1960s and often in bit parts (she once played a corpse in _The Scarlet Claw (1944)_ (qv), her last movie bit was for 'John Ford' (qv) in _The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)_ (qv). Astor often relayed her film memories to friends, fans and historians. At one point in her career she and actress 'Lilyan Tashman' (qv), were known as the most elegant and best dressed women in Hollywood. Astor died following a stroke on her 90th birthday at the Motion Piture Home in Woodland Hills.::[email protected]