Myrtle Gonzalez | |
|---|---|
 Gonzalezc. 1916 | |
| Born | (1891-09-28)September 28, 1891 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 22, 1918(1918-10-22) (aged 27) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1913–1918 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Myrtle Gonzalez (September 28, 1891 – October 22, 1918) was an American actress. She starred in at least 78silent era motion pictures from 1913 to 1917, of which 66 were one and two-reelshorts.[1]
Gonzalez was best known for her role as Enid Maitland inVitagraph's six-reelfeature lengthdramaThe Chalice of Courage (1915) oppositeWilliam Duncan. A magazine writer once called her "The Virgin White Lily of the Screen".[2]
Myrtle Gonzalez was born in Los Angeles, California on September 28, 1891, the daughter of Manuel George Gonzalez (1868–1919) and Lillian L. Cook (1874–1932). Her siblings were Stella M. Gonzalez (1892–1965) and Manuel G. Gonzalez Jr. (1898–?). Her father's family was a HispanicCalifornio family of Mexico,[1] which had long settled the California territory before the U.S. took it over. Her mother, the daughter of immigrants fromIreland, was a former opera and popular singer. Her father was a retail grocer.
From early childhood, Myrtle displayed remarkable dramatic talent, and she had a goodsoprano voice.[3] She appeared in many local concerts andbenefits and sang inchurch choirs. She later played juvenile parts on thestage withFanny Davenport and Florence Stone.
Because she grew up in Los Angeles, the shift of movie production to her hometown was a big advantage for her. Gonzalez worked for suchstudios asVitagraph andUniversal.
Out of a total 80 movies in her career,[4] she appeared in five movies oppositeWilliam Desmond Taylor at Vitagraph: the comedy/dramaHer Husband's Friend (1913), the dramaTainted Money (1914), the comedyMillions for Defence (1914), the dramaThe Kiss (1914), and the dramaCaptain Alvarez (1914).
In 1919, Photoplay Magazine honored Myrtle Gonzalez with a Bronze Plaque for her exceptional performance in “The Mexican,” considered one of her finest roles.[5]
In many of her roles, Gonzalez typified a vigorous out-of-doors type ofheroine. During the last six years of her career, many of the movies she starred in were stories of the snow country and of the forests.
Gonzalez married J. Parks Jones on August 25, 1910. They had one son, James Parks Jones, Jr., and divorced in November, 1914. Gonzalez charged Jones with desertion.[6] On December 1, 1917, she and actor/director Allen Watt (1885–1944) were married in Los Angeles.[7] She gave up her screen work and retired. They had met when Watt was working as anassistant director at Universal. By the time of their marriage, the US had enteredWorld War I and Watt was an officer in the US Army. He was stationed atCamp Lewis, nearTacoma,Washington.
As Gonzalez's health was too frail for the climate, Capt. Watt was placed on the retirement list so he could return her toSouthern California. He went back to work at Universal and began directing.[citation needed]
Gonzalez, atage 27, died during the worldwideSpanish flu pandemic of 1918. At the time of her death, she was at her parents' home in Los Angeles, at 908 West Thirtieth Street.[8][9]
On November 23, 2022, Google featured her in aGoogle Doodle in the United States.[10] November 23 is the anniversary of the release of the short filmThe Level (1914), in which she starred.[10][11]
A writer in a Tokio magazine once called her "The Virgin White Lily of the Screen," and that was the tribute she most prized of the hundreds she received during her career.
For three years she has been a serious student under a good teacher, and between them, with the mother's encouragement, it is the plan to make Myrtle a bright and particular star on the concert stage.
J. Parks Jones lost his wife and his son in the divorce court yesterday. He failed to get a decree some months ago and Mrs. Jones thought she would try it, charging desertion.
At an impromptu wedding ceremony last Saturday evening, Miss Myrtle Gonzalez, moving-picture actress, became the bride of Capt. Allen Watt of the Three Hundred and Sixty-third Infantry, Camp Lewis. Besides the bride and groom, only their parents and two or three close friends were present.
Miss Myrtle Gonzales (Mrs. Allen Watt.) one of the famous outdoor girls of motion pictures, daughter of an old Spanish family and native of Los Angeles, died yesterday of heart disease at the home of her parents.
No will seems to have been found. The heirs are the widower and a son by a former marriage, James Jones.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
