Monroe Salisbury | |
|---|---|
 Moving Picture World, 1919 | |
| Born | Orange Salisbury Cash (1876-05-08)May 8, 1876 Angola, New York, US |
| Died | August 7, 1935(1935-08-07) (aged 59) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1898–1930 |
Monroe Salisbury (May 8, 1876 – August 7, 1935) was an American actor. He appeared on thestage for several years and then became an early film star.
Salisbury was amatinee idol. He began hisacting career on the stage in 1898, appearing in numerous romantic leads. He also appeared in fiveBroadway productions. He was in more than 40silent movies between 1914 and 1922, working frequently with directorCecil B. DeMille. Salisbury, who appeared in severalwestern films, also appeared in twotalkies, in 1929 and 1930. After his career was at an end, Salisbury died at amental hospital from a fractured skull sustained during a fall.
He was bornOrange Salisbury Cash inAngola, New York,[1] the son of David Cash (c. 1840–1899) and Ellen Louise Salisbury (1842–1929). Orr's two elder sisters were Adelaide Mary Cash (1864–1956), who married John Casper Bosche (1861–1929), and Anna Louise Cash (1868–1951), who married Edward Wright Clarke (1873-1938).
His mother had a younger brother named Orange James Salisbury (1844–1907). She also had an elder brother named Monroe Salisbury (1835–1905), a government contractor and well-knownturfman who bred racehorses.
Orr took the name Monroe Salisbury as his stage name. He appeared behind the footlights with such notables asRichard Mansfield,Eleonora Duse,John Drew,Nance O'Neil,Minnie Maddern Fiske, andKathryn Kidder.
While he was performing inProvidence, Rhode Island, in June 1900, Salisbury and his mother were staying in a hotel on Weybosset Street when theU.S. Federal Census was taken.[2] His debut onBroadway was in the playMarta of the Lowlands (1903).
Salisbury's film debut was in the uncredited role as Sir Henry, Earl of Kerhill, inDeMille'sThe Squaw Man (1914). He also worked for DeMille in such movies asBrewster's Millions,The Master Mind,The Virginian, andRose of the Rancho, which were all released in 1914. He also appeared alongsideDouglas Fairbanks inThe Lamb andDouble Trouble (both [1915).
Salisbury scored his greatest success when he starred as Alessandro inRamona (1916) oppositeAdda Gleason in the title role. He then signed withUniversal Studios, where he was among the top movie stars for several years.
When he registered for the draft ofWorld War I, in late 1918, Salisbury and his mother were living in the Mountain View Inn at 5956Hollywood Boulevard inHollywood.[3]
In the late 1910s he bought a 40-acre (160,000 m2) citrus ranch nearHemet, and, between pictures, it was his habit to drive out and drop in unexpectedly on theNative American overseer and his family who lived on the place and worked in the groves.[4]
In 1920 Salisbury and his mother were still living at the Mountain View Inn on Hollywood Boulevard.[5] He formed his ownproduction company, that same year, andproduced and starred inThe Barbarian (1920). His final starring role was in thedramaGreat Alone (1922), in which he played a half-Native American college student and football player, a character presumably half his age. He then retired from the screen.
In June 1928, he returned to the U.S. at the Port ofSan Francisco, fromKobe, Japan, aboard the S.S. Taiyo Maru, and gave his U.S. address as Hemet, California.[6]
With the advent of sound in the late 1920s, Salisbury returned to the screen in two talkies. He appeared in aChristiecomedyshort,Her Husband's Woman (1929). He then played John Lamar in Universal's 10 chapterserialThe Jade Box (1930).
The Jade Box serial was Salisbury's final movie appearances. In 1930, he was living at the Warner Kelton Hotel at 6326 Lexington Avenue, just west of Vine Street, in Hollywood,[7] later called theHotel Brevoort (and Tropical Gardens)[8][9][10]
In February 1932, he returned toSouthern California, atSan Pedro, fromEnsenada, Mexico, aboard the S.S. Ruth Alexander, and gave his U.S. address as 6326 Lexington Hollywood.[11]
On July 2, 1935, Salisbury enteredPatton State Hospital, amental facility nearSan Bernardino, as a patient. He may have been admitted under his real name, Orr Cash. His occupation was given as hotel clerk. A month later, he suffered a bad fall at the institution and was fatally injured.
Monroe Salisbury died at age 59 from a fractured skull sustained in his fall at the institution.[12][13] He was at a local mortuary for a day before his true identity was discovered. Only four mourners were present at his funeral on August 9, 1935, at the mortuary in San Bernardino.[14] His body was returned toLos Angeles, forcremation and his ashes interred with his mother in the family plot atRosedale Cemetery.[15]
