Fern Andra

{{Infobox person

| name = Baroness Fern Andra von Weichs

| image = Fern Andra.png

| imagesize =

| caption =

| birth_name = Vernal Edna Andrews

| birth_date = {{birth date|1893|11|24}}

| birth_place = Watseka, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{dda|1974|2|8|1893|11|24}}

| death_place = Aiken, South Carolina, U.S.

| occupation = Actress, writer, film director/producer

| years_active = 1913–1930

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Baron Friedrich von Weichs||1917|end=died}}
{{marriage|Kurt Prenzel|1924| |end=divorced}}
{{marriage|Ian Keith|1932|1934|end=divorced}}
{{marriage|General Samuel Edge Dockrell|1938|1973|end=died}}

}}

Fern Andra, Dowager Baroness von Weichs (born Vernal Edna Andrews, November 24, 1893{{Cite web |title=Vernal Andrews - 1900 United States Federal Census - Ancestry.com |url=https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/?name=Vernal_Andrews&birth=_Illinois&gender=f&residence=_Illinois |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=www.ancestry.com}} – February 8, 1974) was an American actress, film director, script writer, and producer. Next to Henny Porten and Asta Nielsen, she was one of the most popular and well-known actresses in German silent film.

Biography

Vernal Edna Andrews was born in Watseka, Illinois, on November 24, 1893, the daughter of William P. Andrews and Sarah Emily Evett, also known as Sadie. Vernal was of English and Scottish descent on her father's side, while she was of English and German on her mother's.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}}

When William died in 1898, Sadie remarried Frank St. Clair, a vaudeville actor, circus performer and tight-rope walker. Andra was already appearing in public in a tightrope act by the age of four. She later trained in song and dance. As early as 1899, in New York, she made her first film, a version of Uncle Tom's Cabin.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}}

However, she remained with the circus, with which she embarked on an extensive tour across the United States, Canada and Europe. For a time, she was a member of Bird Millman's acclaimed troupe of wire artists."Marriages: Millman-[O'Day]; Fern Andra," Billboard, May 10, 1924, p. 114 In Berlin she met Max Reinhardt, who gave her acting lessons. In 1913, aged 19, she appeared in her first German film, Das Ave Maria. Still only moderately well known, she made her only Austrian film in 1915: Zwei Freunde. From 1916 to 1918 she appeared almost exclusively on camera with Alfred Abel. In 1920 she starred in Robert Wiene's expressionist horror film Genuine. In the mid-1920s she lost her public appeal in Germany. {{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}

Andra became a producer in Germany with Georg Glen as manager. The company produced more than 80 films during World War I. That effort ended after Nazis took control in the country.

On July 4, 1922, she was involved in the Hamburg-Berlin mail plane accident. The pilot, Lothar von Richthofen, younger brother of World War I flying ace Manfred von Richthofen (the "Red Baron"), was killed. Andra was initially misreported as dead,New York Times/Chicago Tribune (July 5, 1922) Fern Andrea, Formerly of Illinois, Killed [sic] by Fall-Richtoff, Airman, Also Killed [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/07/05/99033273.pdf Hamburg-Berlin mail plane accident] for original article but survived. Her companion, director Georg Bluen, also survived and continued working with her until 1925.[http://www.stripes.com/news/von-richthofen-s-mother-actress-fern-andra-meet-1.51196 Stars and Stripes Forever: "Von Richthofen's mother, actress Fern Andra meet] November 14, 1954; Retrieved November 17, 2016

Andra's activities on stage included acting at the Hollywood Playhouse in the 1930s. She also founded the Windsor Theater in Los Angeles. Her final stage appearance came in 1936.

From 1928 she worked in the UK and the US, later expanding her range to include radio and television. {{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}

Marriages

Fern Andra was married four times; all of the unions were childless:

Baron Friedrich von und zu Weichs-Zur-Wenne{{cite news |title=Baroness Fern Andra to Wed |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/101303282 |access-date=January 15, 2021 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=November 17, 1935 |page=N 7|id={{ProQuest|101303282}} }} (died in 1917)

Ian Keith (February 15, 1934 – May 18, 1935, divorce){{cite news |title=Ian Keith Is Divorced: Baroness Fern Andra Wins Chicago Decree From Actor |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/101524725 |access-date=January 15, 2021 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=May 19, 1935 |page=5|id={{ProQuest|101524725}} }}
Gen. Samuel Edge Dockrell (1938–1973; his death)

Death

Fern Andra died in Aiken, South Carolina, on February 8, 1974, aged 80.{{cite news |title=Fern Andra, Producer and Star Of German Silent Movies, Dies: Picaresque Career |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/120181129 |access-date=January 15, 2021 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=February 12, 1974 |page=36|id={{ProQuest|120181129}} }}