Carla Laemmle

Rebekah Isabelle Laemmle^[1] (October 20, 1909 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Carla Laemmle, was an American actress and dancer, and the niece of Universal Pictures studio founder Carl Laemmle. As an actress/dancer, she is known primarily for her roles in The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and Dracula (1931). At the time of her death, she was one of the last surviving actors of the silent film era, with her career spanning nearly 90 years, also with one of the longest gaps.^[1][2]

Carla Laemmle
Laemmle (as Beth Laemmle) on a magazine cover in 1932
Born	Rebekah Isabelle Laemmle (1909-10-20)October 20, 1909 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 12, 2014(2014-06-12) (aged 104) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1925–1939; 2001; 2010–2014

Career

Laemmle entered films in 1925, as "Carla Laemmle", in an uncredited role as a ballet dancer in the original silent film version of The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and later had a small role in the early talkie version of Dracula (1931). In that film, she portrayed (again uncredited) a bespectacled passenger riding in a bumpy horse-drawn carriage with Renfield as he is travelling to Dracula's castle, and had the first spoken line of dialogue in the film.^[3] Laemmle continued to appear in small roles until the late 1930s, when she disappeared from the movie screen. She briefly came out of retirement to play a vampire in The Vampire Hunters Club (2001).

In 2009, the book Growing Up with Monsters: My Times at Universal Studios in Rhymes, co-authored by Laemmle and Daniel Kinske, was released. The book was illustrated by the legendary Jack Davis (of Mad magazine fame) and details her life at Universal Studios from 1921 to 1937.^[4] On October 20, 2009, she celebrated her 100th birthday with a guestlist which included Ray Bradbury, George Clayton Johnson, Bela Lugosi Jr., Sara Karloff, and Ron Chaney.^[5]

On October 3, 2010, she appeared in BBC Four documentary A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss, sharing memories of her early film work with Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi. She also recited her opening lines from Dracula.^[6]

In November 2010, she made an appearance in the documentary Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood for Turner Classic Movies and in May 2011 she appeared in Paul Merton's Birth of Hollywood on the BBC. In March 2012, Turner Classic Movies presented a screening of Dracula, where Laemmle appeared at the screening in connection with its Classic Movie Festival.^[7]

Death

Laemmle died at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 104 on June 12, 2014. She never married nor had children, but was the companion of actor-writer Raymond Cannon until his death in 1977. She was buried at Home of Peace Cemetery (East Los Angeles).^[8][9]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1925	The Phantom of the Opera	Prima Ballerina	Uncredited
1927	Topsy and Eva	Angel
	Uncle Tom's Cabin	Auction Spectator
1928	The Gate Crasher	Maid	Credited as Beth Laemmle
1929	The Broadway Melody	Specialty Dancer	Uncredited
	The Hollywood Revue of 1929	Pearl Dancer
1930	King of Jazz	Chorine	Credited as Beth Laemmle
1931	Dracula	Coach Passenger	Uncredited
1935	The Mystery of Edwin Drood	Schoolgirl
	His Last Fling	Role unconfirmed	Short film, credited as Beth Laemmle
1936	The Adventures of Frank Merriwell	Carla Rogers
	The King Steps Out	Ballerina	Uncredited
1939	On Your Toes	Ballet Dancer
2001	The Vampire Hunters Club	Elder Vampire	Direct-to-video release
2010	Pooltime	Zelda
2011	Among the Rugged Peaks	No	Producer only
2013	A Sad State of Affairs	Connie
2015	Mansion of Blood	Maribelle	Scenes filmed in 2014, posthumous release
2017	The Extra	Minnie	Scenes filmed in 2014 (final film role), posthumous release

References

1. Biodata (with correct birthname) Archived January 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, laemmle.us; accessed June 25, 2014.
2. Holman, Jordyn (June 13, 2014). "Carla Laemmle Dead: Silent Film Actress Niece of Universal Founder Dies at 104". Variety.
3. DVD Documentary The Road to Dracula, produced by David J. Skal, included in the 2-DVD set Dracula: The Legacy Collection (2004), Universal Home Entertainment release # 24455.
4. "Growing up with Monsters". Growing up with Monsters. Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
5. Tarpinian, John King. "Carla Laemmle Celebrates 100", File 770 (online version), October 23, 2009.
6. "Four Programmes – A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss". BBC. October 11, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
7. McCue, Michelle (March 28, 2012). "TCM Classic Film Festival Continues To Expand In Final Weeks Before April 12 Opening". We Are Movie Geeks. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
8. Barnes, Mike. "Carla Laemmle, Actress and Niece of Universal Studios Founder, Dies at 104". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
9. Hilb, Rosemary. "The New Generation". The Official Laemmle Family Website. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.

External links

• Antonia Carlotta's Official Family YouTube Channel
• Carla Laemmle at IMDb