Alice Lake

{{short description|American actress}}

{{other uses}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Alice Lake

| image = Alicelake1921.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Lake, 1921

| birthname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|9|12|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1967|11|15|1895|11|12|mf=y}}

| death_place = Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| occupation = Actress

| years_active = 1912–1936

| spouse = {{marriage|Robert Williams|1924|1925|end=div}}

| relatives = Anita Linda (niece)

}}

Alice Lake (September 12, 1895 – November 15, 1967){{cite book |last1=Ellenberger |first1=Allan R. |title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory |date=May 2001 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5019-0 |page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZraJCgAAQBAJ&q=%22Alice+Lake%22+actress&pg=PA205 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |language=en}} was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era and often appeared in comedy shorts opposite Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.{{cite web|url=https://silenthollywood.com/alicelake.html| title=Alice Lake|publisher=Silent Hollywood|accessdate=2023-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115065714/https://silenthollywood.com/alicelake.html|archive-date=2009-11-15}}

Career

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lake began her career as a dancer.{{Cite book|last=Oderman|first=Stuart |title=Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle: A Biography Of The Silent Film Comedian, 1887-1933|publisher=McFarland|year=2005|page=88|isbn=0-7864-2277-7}} She made her screen debut in 1912, and she appeared in a number of comedy shorts by Mack Sennett. Lake was often the leading lady of Fatty Arbuckle in comedies such as Oh Doctor! (1917) and The Cook (1918). Arbuckle directed both films and was joined by Buster Keaton who had a leading role in Oh Doctor!. Lake also played dramatic roles with Bert Lytell in Blackie's Redemption and The Lion's Den, both from 1919.

File:Body and Soul (1920) - 1.jpg

She starred in the 1920 film Body and Soul and appeared in a number of Metro silent film features in the 1920s as the lead actress. At the height of her career she earned $1,200 per week as a motion picture actress. Lake had only limited success in dramatic roles. Following the introduction of talkies, her parts in films began to wane and she only performed in supporting roles. Her last appearance in film was in 1935 with a bit part in Frisco Kid. In all her screen credits numbered ninety-six.{{cite web|url=https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/alice-lake/index.html| title=Alice Lake|work=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=2023-04-06}}

Personal life

In March 1924, Lake married fellow actor Robert Williams, but they were divorced in 1925.{{Cite news|date=26 March 1924|title=Alice Lake Wed by Actor|page=22|work=Los Angeles Times}} The couple separated and reunited three times before they permanently separated. Williams was a vaudeville performer who had appeared in a number of stage plays. He was previously married to singer Marion Harris. Lake was the aunt of Filipina actress Anita Linda.{{Citation |title=Habambuhay: Remembering Philippine Cinema {{!}} Episode 1: Sandaan, Sangandaan |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p15Kh0AGFs8 |language=en |access-date=2022-03-06}}

Death

Lake died of a heart attack at Paradise Sanitarium in Hollywood, California.{{Cite news|date=17 November 1967|title=Silent Film Star Alice Lake Dies|page=22|work=Oakland Tribune}} She was 72. She was buried at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Alice Lake has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1620 Vine Street.

Selected filmography

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1916

|The Moonshiners

|Lady Jocelyn

|

1916

|The Waiters' Ball

|A Fair Customer

|

1916

|A Creampuff Romance

|

|Alternative title: His Alibi

1916

|The Grab Bag Bride

|

|

1917

| The Butcher Boy

|

|Uncredited

1917

|A Reckless Romeo

|Wife

|Alternative title: A Creampuff Romance

1917

|The Rough House

|Mrs. Rough

|

1917

|His Wedding Night

|

|

1917

|The Texas Sphinx

|

|

1917

|Coney Island

|Undetermined Role

|Uncredited

1917

|A Country Hero

|Schoolteacher

| Lost film

1918

|Out West

|Salvation Army Woman

|Alternative title: The Sheriff

1918

|The Bell Boy

|Cutie Cuticle, manicurist

|

1918

|Moonshine

|Moonshiner's Daughter

|

1918

|Good Night, Nurse!

|Crazy Woman

|

1919

| Camping Out

|

|

1919

|The Lion's Den

| Dorothy Stedman

|

1919

|A Desert Hero

|

| Lost film

1919

|Lombardi, Ltd.

| Norah Blake

|

1919

|Blackie's Redemption

|Mary Dawson

|

1919

|Full of Pep

|Felicia Bocaz

|

1920

| The Misfit Wife

| Katie Malloy

|

1920

|The Garage

|Undetermined Role

|Uncredited

1921

|The Hole in the Wall

| Jean Oliver

| Lost film

1921

| Over the Wire

| Kathleen Dexter

|

1922

|More to Be Pitied Than Scorned

|Viola Lorraine

| Lost film

1922

| Environment

| Sally 'Chicago Sal' Dolan

1922

|I Am the Law

|Joan Cameron

| Unknown/presumably lost

1923

|Broken Hearts of Broadway

|Bubbles Revere

|

1923

| Modern Matrimony

|Patricia Waddington

|

1923

|The Unknown Purple

|Jewel Marchmont

|

1924

|The Law and the Lady

| Marion Blake

|

1924

| The Dancing Cheat

|'Poppy' Marie Andrews

|

1925

| The Price of Success

| Ellen Harden

|

1926

| Broken Homes

|Arline

|

1926

| The Truth About Men

|Dora

|

1926

|The Wives of the Prophet

| Judith

|

1926

| The Hurricane

|The Wife

|

1927

|The Angel of Broadway

|Goldie

| Lost film

1927

| Roaring Fires

|Sylvia Summers

| Lost film

1928

|Runaway Girls

|Agnes Brady

| Lost film

1929

| Untamed Justice

| Ann

|

1934

|The Girl from Missouri

|Paige's Manicurist

|Uncredited

1934

|Babes in Toyland

|Townswoman

|Uncredited

1935

|Frisco Kid

|Undetermined Role

|Uncredited

Footnotes

{{Reflist}}

References

  • Los Angeles Times, "Another Romance Of Films On Rocks", March 16, 1925, Page 20.
  • Los Angeles Times, "Ex-Actress Alice Lake Dies at 71", November 17, 1967, Page 29.

Further reading

  • {{cite book | author=Michael G. Ankerich | author-link=Michael G. Ankerich | title=Hairpins and Dead Ends: The Perilous Journeys of 25 Actresses Through Early Hollywood| publisher=BearManor | year=2017 | isbn=978-1-62933-201-7}}