 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Winnie Lightner" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Winnie Lightner | |
|---|---|
 Lightner in 1930 | |
| Born | Winifred Josephine Reeves (1899-09-17)September 17, 1899 |
| Died | March 5, 1971(1971-03-05) (aged 71) Sherman Oaks, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, Los Angeles County California US[1] |
| Years active | 1922–1934 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Thomas Del Ruth |
Winnie Lightner (bornWinifred Josephine Reeves;[2] September 17, 1899 – March 5, 1971) was an Americanstage andmotion picture actress.[3]
Perhaps best known as the man-hungry Mabel inGold Diggers of Broadway (1929), Lightner was oftentypecast as a wise-cracking gold-digger and was known for her talents as a comedian and singer. She is also noted for introducing the song "Singin' in the Bathtub" in the 1929 motion pictureThe Show of Shows.
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Winnie Lightner" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Also known as Winifred Hansen (using the last name of herfoster family),[2][4][5] she started off invaudeville at age fifteen and adopting Winnie Lightner as her stage name, she was an immediate success and played the fabled Palace theater in New York City only three months after beginning her career.[citation needed]
With vaudeville in decline in the early 1920s, she switched toBroadway revues, where she starred inGeorge White's Scandals of 1922, 1923, and 1924, inGay Paree in 1925 and 1926, and inHarry Delmar's Revels in 1927.[6]
In 1928, she made aVitaphone short in which she sang "We Love It", "Heaven Help a Sailor on a Night Like This", "That Brand New Model of Mine", and "We've Got a Lot to Learn". A censorship board in Pennsylvania held up the release of the film because of the content of Lightner's songs. According to film historianAlexander Walker, "Warners asked the censors to merely pass judgment on the visuals – the censors refused."[citation needed]
The musicalGold Diggers of Broadway was a 1929 triumph and made her a star. Warner Bros. quickly signed her up for additional films. The first of these wasShe Couldn't Say No (1930), in which Lightner was cast in a maudlin dramatic role that did not suit her talents. This was followed byHold Everything, a lavish all-Technicolor musical comedy that was a huge hit. It was followed by another highly successful picture,The Life of the Party, which was also shot entirely in Technicolor but from which most of the songs were cut prior to release.
By the end of 1930, audiences had grown tired of musicals, while Lightner was in the process of shooting three of them:Sit Tight (1931),Gold Dust Gertie (1931), andManhattan Parade (1932). They all were released with most of the music cut. This was especially noticeable onManhattan Parade, in which even the background music was completely removed.
In response to the changes in public tastes, Warner Bros. decided to try another dramatic role for Lightner; the result was a picture calledSide Show (1931) which proved to be unsuccessful. She appeared in two more comedies, in which she co-starred withLoretta Young – without songs – before she left Warner Bros. In the first of these,Play Girl (1932), she was billed with her name above the title, but in the second,She Had to Say Yes (1933), Young received first billing.
Lightner was the mother of multiple-Emmy-award-winning cinematographerThomas Del Ruth and was married to film directorRoy Del Ruth until his death in 1961.[7] She died in 1971, aged 71, and was interred in theSan Fernando Mission Cemetery.[1]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Gold Diggers of Broadway | Mabel | Incomplete film |
| The Show of Shows | Performer in "Pingo Pongo" & "Singing in the Bathtub" Numbers | ||
| 1930 | She Coundn't Say No | Winnie Harper | Lost film |
| Hold Everything | Toots Breen | Lost film | |
| The Life of the Party | Flo | Cut black-and-white print survives, full Technicolor version islost | |
| 1931 | Sit Tight | Winnie | Cut black-and-white print survives, full Technicolor version islost |
| The Stolen Jools | Winnie | Short | |
| Gold Dust Gertie | Gertrude "Gertie" Dale | Cut print survives, full version islost | |
| Side Show | Pat | Cut print survives, full version islost | |
| Manhattan Parade | Doris Roberts | Cut black-and-white print survives, full Technicolor version islost | |
| 1932 | Play Girl | Georgine Hicks | |
| 1933 | She Had to Say Yes | Maizee | |
| Dancing Lady | Rosette LaRue | ||
| 1934 | I'll Fix It | Elizabeth | (final film role) |
Lightner, David L. (2016)Winnie Lightner: Tomboy of the Talkies. University of Mississippi Press.ISBN 978-1496809834.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
