Helen Ann Rork Light (June 12, 1908 – January 23, 1988) was an American silent film actress. She was credited under the name Ann Rork.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Ann Rork Light
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During her divorce from J. Paul Getty, 1935
Born
Helen Ann Rork

(1908-06-12)June 12, 1908
DiedJanuary 23, 1988(1988-01-23) (aged 79)
OccupationActress
Spouses
(m. 1932; div. 1935)
  • Herbert Douglas Wilson
  • Jay Ruppert Ross
  • Joseph Stanton McInerney
Dr. Rudolph Alvin Light
(m. 1960; died 1970)
Children3, including John Paul Getty Jr.
Gordon Getty
ParentSam E. Rork
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Early life

Helen Ann Rork was born June 12, 1908, in Darien, Connecticut.[1][2] Her father, Sam E. Rork, was a film producer at First National Pictures, and her mother the former Helen Welch.[1][3] Actor Will Rogers was her godfather.[3]

Career

She starred in silent films such as The Blonde Saint and Old Loves and New in 1926, followed by The Notorious Lady, A Texas Steer and The Prince of Headwaiters in 1927. Her co-stars included Will Rogers and Rudolph Valentino.[4]

Personal life

She was married five times.[1] Her first husband was J. Paul Getty, an oil heir from San Francisco, California, from 1932 to 1935.[1][5] They had two sons: John Paul Getty, Jr. and Gordon Getty.[5] From her first-born son, John, she had a grandson, John Paul Getty III, who also became an actor.

She then married a succession of three other men.[1] In 1960, she married her fifth husband, Dr. Rudolph A. Light, an Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company heir and Professor of Neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][3] Rork became the first female member of St Catherine's College, Oxford, being awarded an Honorary Fellowship in the 1970s in recognition of her and Dr Light's philanthropic donations to the College.[6]

Death

She died of emphysema and lung cancer on January 23, 1988, at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is buried with her husband Dr. Rudolph Light, at the Royal Palm Memorial Gardens in West Palm Beach, Florida.[1] She was seventy-nine years old.[3]

References

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