Charlotte Henry
{{Short description|American actress (1914–1980)}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Charlotte Henry
| image = Charlotte Henry PP134.jpg
| caption = Henry in 1934
| birth_name = Charlotte Virginia Henry
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|03|03|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1980|04|11|1914|03|03|mf=y}}
| death_place = La Jolla, California, U.S.
| resting_place = Holy Cross Cemetery, San Diego, California
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1930–1942
| spouse = Dr. James J. Dempsey
}}
Charlotte Virginia Henry (March 3, 1914 – April 11, 1980) was an American actress who is best remembered for her roles in Alice in Wonderland (1933) and Babes in Toyland (1934). She also starred in the Frank Buck serial Jungle Menace (1937).{{cite book|last=Lehrer|first=Steven|title=Bring 'Em Back Alive: The Best of Frank Buck|publisher=Texas Tech University press|year=2006|pages=xi-xii|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UNnhbq9gwTUC|isbn=0-89672-582-0}}
Early years
Henry was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Robert Emmett Henry and Charlotte Ann Sayers Henry. She began modelling at a very young age, and was always fascinated by the theatre. At age 14, she was cast in an important role in Courage, a hit Broadway play, in 1928.{{cite book|last1=Tibbetts|first1=John C.|last2=Welsh|first2=James M.|title=American Classic Screen Profiles|date=2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810876774|page=112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LpcWzZfVEa4C&pg=PA112|accessdate=29 April 2017|language=en}}
Hollywood
The following year, Henry's mother brought her to Hollywood. She repeated her part in the movie version of Courage (1930) and enrolled at Lawlors, the school for professional children. Some of her classmates were Jackie Cooper, Frankie Darro, Mickey Rooney, Anita Louise, and Betty Grable. Junior Durkin, who had worked with her in Courage, suggested Henry for a play in which he was appearing at the Pasadena Playhouse. By then, she had appeared in two more feature films: Huckleberry Finn in 1931 and Lena Rivers in 1932.{{Citation needed |date=May 2023}}
Alice in Wonderland garnered unanimous praise for Henry.{{Citation needed |date=May 2023}} In 1933, she appeared in the film Man Hunt as Josie Woodward.
File:Jungle Menace (1937) film still.jpg and Clarence Muse in Jungle Menace (1937)]]
''Jungle Menace''
In his autobiography, director Harry L. Fraser described filming the scene in Jungle Menace during which a boa constrictor attacks the heroine Dorothy (Henry). The villain has tied Dorothy hand and foot and she thrashes about wildly, terrified when she suddenly sees the huge snake:
{{quote|The snake was in no hurry. Slowly he slithered across the girl's body, while she screamed and struggled. He turned, looking for a spot to slip under her to make his first wrap. I motioned to the reptile crew to get ready, and a split-second later gave them the signal to move in. But now, the maddened snake fought them and did its best to coil around one of the men. Before that happened, however, I had cut, and we had a good cliff-hanger with our terror-stricken heroine to close the episode.Harry L. Fraser. I Went That-a-Way. The Scarecrow Press, Inc. (November 1, 1990). P 117}}
Stage
Henry said that her success as a child actress left her "typed, definitely typed" and cited the difficulty of proving "that I am quite capable of playing serious adult parts."{{cite news |title='Alice' Finds that Wonderland Proved Just a Myth, After All |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23733722/charlotte_henry/ |work=The Times |date=July 20, 1939 |location=Indiana, Munster |page=10|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = September 14, 2018}} {{Open access}} The resulting lack of work in films led her to act on stage in production of the Federal Theatre Project.
Later life and death
Henry retired from the movies and moved from Hollywood to San Diego, where she ran an employment agency with her mother. She then became executive secretary for 15 years to the Roman Catholic Bishop of San Diego, Charles F. Buddy. She was married to Dr. James Dempsey and continued with her acting, appearing in several stage productions at the San Diego Old Globe Theatre.
Henry died of cancer at age 66 in 1980. The San Diego Union newspaper carried the obituary and noted that she was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery.[http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/tauspace/charlotte_biography.htm Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221153837/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/tauspace/charlotte_biography.htm |date=February 21, 2018 }}, Charlotte Henry website, tiscali.co.uk; accessed July 9, 2015.{{Unreliable source?|date=August 2018}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| {{sort|1930.1|1930}} | Harmony at Home | {{sort|Haller|Dora Haller}} | |
| {{sort|1930.2|1930}} | Courage | {{sort|Colbrook|Gwendolyn Colbrook}} | |
| {{sort|1930.3|1930}} | On Your Back | Belle | |
| {{sort|1931.1|1931}} | Huckleberry Finn | Mary Jane | |
| {{sort|1931.2|1931}} | Arrowsmith | {{sort|Pioneer|The Pioneer Girl}} | Uncredited |
| {{sort|1932.1|1932}} | Forbidden | Roberta - Age 18 | |
| {{sort|1932.2|1932}} | Murders in the Rue Morgue | Blonde Girl in Sideshow Audience | Uncredited |
| {{sort|1932.3|1932}} | Lena Rivers | {{sort|Rivers|Lena Rivers}} | |
| {{sort|1932.4|1932}} | Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm | Emma Jane | Uncredited |
| {{sort|1932.5|1932}} | Rasputin and the Empress | Minor Role | Uncredited |
| {{sort|1933.1|1933}} | Man Hunt | {{sort|Woodward|Josie Woodward}} | |
| {{sort|1933.2|1933}} | Alice in Wonderland | Alice | |
| {{sort|1934.1|1934}} | {{sort|Last|The Last Gentleman}} | {{sort|Barr|Marjorie Barr}} | |
| {{sort|1934.2|1934}} | {{sort|Human|The Human Side}} | {{sort|Sheldon|Lucille Sheldon}} | |
| {{sort|1934.3|1934}} | Babes in Toyland | Bo-Peep | |
| {{sort|1935.1|1935}} | Laddie | {{sort|Stanton|Shelly Stanton}} | |
| {{sort|1935.2|1935}} | {{sort|Hoosier|The Hoosier Schoolmaster}} | Hannah | |
| {{sort|1935.3|1935}} | Forbidden Heaven | Ann, The Girl | |
| {{sort|1935.4|1935}} | Three Kids and a Queen | {{sort|Orsatti|Julia Orsatti}} | |
| {{sort|1936.1|1936}} | {{sort|Return|The Return of Jimmy Valentine}} | {{sort|Davis|Midge Davis}} | |
| {{sort|1936.2|1936}} | Hearts in Bondage | {{sort|Buchanan|Julie Buchanan}} | |
| {{sort|1936.3|1936}} | {{sort|Gentleman|The Gentleman from Louisiana}} | {{sort|Costigan|Linda Costigan}} | |
| {{sort|1936.4|1936}} | Charlie Chan at the Opera | {{sort|Kitty|Mlle. Kitty}} | |
| {{sort|1936.5|1936}} | {{sort|Mandarin|The Mandarin Mystery}} | {{sort|Temple|Josephine Temple}} | |
| {{sort|1937.1|1937}} | Jungle Menace | {{sort|Elliott|Dorothy Elliott}} | Serial |
| {{sort|1937.2|1937}} | God's Country and the Man | {{sort|Briggs|Betty Briggs}} | |
| {{sort|1937.3|1937}} | Young Dynamite | {{sort|Shields|Jane Shields}} | |
| {{sort|1941.1|1941}} | Bowery Blitzkrieg | {{sort|Breslin|Mary Breslin}} | |
| {{sort|1941.2|1941}} | Flying Blind | Corenson's Secretary | |
| {{sort|1942.1|1942}} | She's in the Army | {{sort|Burke|Helen Burke - WAC Enlistee}} | |
| {{sort|1942.2|1942}} | I Live on Danger | Nurse | (final film role) |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography|New York City|Film}}
- {{IMDb name|name=Charlotte Henry|id=0377766}}
- {{IBDB name|44897}}
- {{YouTube|-_B7zQ4hR4w|Video: Frank Buck saves Dorothy (Charlotte Henry) from a snake in Jungle Menace}}
- {{find a Grave|8214417}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Charlotte}}
Category:Actresses from San Diego
Category:American child actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:Deaths from cancer in California