Charlotte Burton

Charlotte E. Burton (May 30, 1881 – March 28, 1942)^[1] was an American silent film actress.^[2][3]

Charlotte Burton
Photograph by Fred Hartsook, 1916
Born	(1881-05-30)May 30, 1881 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	March 28, 1942(1942-03-28) (aged 60) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Charlotte B. Stuart, Charlotte Burton Stuart
Occupation	Actress
Spouses	Weston Birch Wooldridge ​ ​ (m. 1904, divorced)​ William Russell ​ ​ (m. 1917; div. 1921)​ Darrell Stuart ​ (m. 1928)​
Children	1

Biography

Burton (1903)

Early life and education

Charlotte E. Burton was born on May 30, 1881, in San Francisco, California.^[1] However there is some debate on her date of birth; some sources state she was born ten years later, on May 30, 1891;^[4] and other sources state she died at age 48 (which would be a date of birth around 1894).^ ^[3]

Burton attended The Cooper–Gerson School of Acting in San Francisco, where she studied under Leo Cooper.^[5] In December 1902, Burton participated in a theatrical program in South Park, San Francisco, presented by The Cooper–Gerson School of Acting.^[6][5]

Career

Burton was signed by the American Film Manufacturing Company in 1912 where she worked for several years.^[4] She joined Essanay Studios which she sued in 1919 for $25,000 for breach of contract. She originally signed with the company believing she would be acting in mostly drama film but she was cast in mostly comedy films. Her salary had been $200 a week with an option for her services at the rate of $300 a week for a second year.^{[citation needed]}

Charlotte claimed that she was signed by Essanay business manager, Vernon R. Day, to a contract extending from November 1916 until November 1918. She was discharged without reason. When Burton came to the Chicago, studio she refused a role offered her in a Black Cat comedy, presented to her by Essanay president George K. Spoor. She declined because she was not a comedian. Instead, she accepted a role as leading lady in a film featuring Henry B. Wallace. She admitted that she was paid for ten weeks, at $200 per week, prior to being dumped by Essanay. Essanay executives claimed Burton automatically voided her contract when she refused the comedic part.^{[citation needed]}

Upon arriving in California, Burton stayed for a time at the Angleus. She came there from New York and was on her way to Santa Barbara, California, to work for the American Film Company, which had its studios there. In May 1916, Burton was involved in making The Man Who Would Not Die, directed by William F. Russell and Jack Prescott.^{[citation needed]}

The company of American and Canadian players spent a week in Long Beach, California, filming water scenes. Others in the cast were Harry Keenan and Leona Hutton. The script was written by Mabel Condon. Among her many co-stars in motion pictures were Mary Miles Minter, William Russell, Harold Lockwood, and Lottie Pickford.^[7][8]

Personal life

Burton's first marriage was to Weston Birch Wooldridge in 1904. They had a daughter together, Charlotte Burton Wooldridge (married name Coombs).^[9][8] After her divorce she moved to Santa Barbara and dated Victor Fleming.^[10]

In May 1917, Burton married actor William Russell in Santa Ana, California.^[1][11] They divorced in 1921.^[12] She remarried to contractor Darrell Stuart around 1928.^{[citation needed]}

She died at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on March 28, 1942, from a heart attack.^{[1][8][7][13]}

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1912	It Happened Thus	the older daughter	[14]
1913	The Awakening
	The Adventures of Jacques	Queen of France	[4]
	The Finer Things	saddler's wife	[4]
	The Rose of San Juan
	The Road to Ruin		[4]
	Her Big Story
	The Oath of Pierre	Julia Naughton, of the border line
	Through the Neighbor's Window
	The Flirt and the Bandit
	Trapped in a Forest Fire
	The Shriner's Daughter
	Calamity Anne, Heroine
1914	Lola	May, Lola's sister
	The Mirror
	The Redemption of a Pal	Irene, his sister
	Jail Birds	Mrs. Patterson
	The Final Impulse	Ruth
	A Slice of Life	Jessie, Jim's wife
	Old Enough to Be Her Grandpa	Lilyan DeVoe
	In the Candlelight	Nina, a model
	The Archeologist	Edna Lee
	The Beggar Child	Rosa, his servant
1915	Refining Fires	Nina, the judge's daughter
	Heart of Flame	Beppa
	A Touch of Love	Martha
	The Day of Reckoning	Rita Marr
	She Walketh Alone	Rita Horton
	The Diamond from the Sky	Vivian Marston
1916	The Thoroughbred	Angela Earle	[12]
	The Craving	Roby
	The Bruiser	Fen Bernham	[12]
	The Highest Bid	Elsie Burleigh	[12]
	The Strength of Donald McKenzie	Mab el Condon
	The Man Who Would Not Die	Agnes
	The Torch Bearer	Janet Dare
	The Love Hermit	Marie Bolton
	Lone Star	Helen Mattes
	The Twinkler	Rose Burke
1918	Up Romance Road	Marta Millbanke
	Hearts or Diamonds?	Adrienne Gascoyne
1919	Man's Desire	Vera Patton
1920	Polly of the Storm Country	Evelyn Robertson