Vera Sisson

Vera Sisson (July 31, 1891 – August 6, 1954)^[1] was an American actress of the silent era.^[1]

Vera Sisson
Born	(1891-07-31)July 31, 1891 Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, U.S.
Died	August 6, 1954(1954-08-06) (aged 63) Carmel, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1913–1926
Spouse	Richard Rosson ​ ​ (m. 1916; died 1953)​

Biography

Vera Sisson was born on July 31, 1891, in Salt Lake City.^[2] She received her education at Brownlee Collegiate School for Girls in Denver, Colorado. In 1912, Sisson applied for work as an extra at Universal Pictures and made her film debut in The Helping Hand (1913). Sisson received recognition as J. Warren Kerrigan's leading lady in seven successful films, including The Sandhill Lovers (1914), The Oyster Dredger (1915), and A Bogus Bandit (1915).

In 1915, Sisson was offered a contract with Biograph Studios, and the following year she married actor and director Richard Rosson.

Sisson costarred with Harold Lockwood and Virginia Rappe in Paradise Garden (1917), Rudolph Valentino in The Married Virgin (1918), and Constance Talmadge in Experimental Marriage (1919). Her final film appearance was in Love 'Em and Leave 'Em (1926), starring Evelyn Brent and Louise Brooks.

On May 1, 1939, Sisson and her husband Rosson, along with two other British nationals, were arrested on a charge of espionage in Vienna, Austria by the Gestapo, allegedly for filming military hardware. They were held in solitary confinement for 34 days and released.^[3]

On May 31, 1953, Richard Rosson committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. A year later, on August 6, 1954, Sisson committed suicide by barbiturate overdose.^[4] She is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery near her brother in law Arthur Rosson.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1913	A Mix-Up in Pedigrees	The Stenographer	Short
	Always Together	The Old Bricklayer's Daughter	Short
	The House in the Tree	May – age 18	Short
	The Helping Hand	Ellen – age 19	Short
	How Freckles Won His Bride	Vera	Short, Unconfirmed
	Helen's Stratagem	Helen Rockwood – John's Sister	Short
1914	The Ten of Spades	Jess – the Waif	Short
	An Academy Romance	Vera	Short
	The Rival Dentists	Jane Payne	Short
	Some Boy		Short
	A Murderous Elopement	Mabel	Short
	Hawkeye and the Cheese Mystery	Pansy Buttermilk	Short
	Too Much Married	Tottie Coughdrop	Short
	The Seat of the Trouble	Edna	Short
	The Bolted Door	Natalie Judson	Short
	The Lion	Harriet Courtney	Short
	Women and Roses	Wallace's Wife	Short
	As Fate Willed	Marion Stearns	Short
	Toilers of the Sea	Jessie Scott	Short
	The Call Back	Emily Forbes	Short
	The Golden Ladder		Short
	The Sandhill Lovers	Meg, Hardy's Daughter	Short
	The Silent Witness	Vera	Short
	A Twentieth Century Pirate	Penelope Hampton	Short
	At Mexico's Mercy	Brenda	Short
	Value Received	Frances De Vere	Short
	Out of the Valley	Mrs. Osborne	Short
	A Man and His Brother	Eleanor Hess – the Farmer's Daughter	Short
	Weights and Measures	Kitty Donely	Short
	There Is a Destiny	Jeanne de Jean – the Fisherman's Daughter	Short
	The Man from Nowhere	Lolita – the Stranger's Sweetheart	Short
	Little Meg and I	Meg Anderson	Short
	A Gentleman from Kentucky	Nell Hastings	Short
	The Proof of a Man	Alma Wilson	Short
	Disillusioned	Velma Benning	Short
	His Father's Son	Mrs. Horton - Cal Jr.’s Mother	Short
	His Heart His Hand and His Sword	Princess Beatrix de Grandlieu	Short
	The Empire of Illusion	Princess Beatrix de Grandlieu	Short
The Inn of the Winged Gods	Princess Beatrix de Grandlieu	Short
1915	A Bogus Bandit	The Drifter's Daughter	Short
	Martin Lowe, Financier		Short
	The Storm	Helen Cartwright	Short
	The Guardian of the Flock	Rosaria	Short
	The Stool Pigeon	Mildred Moore	Short
	For Cash	Vera Ronceval	Short
	The Oyster Dredger	Vera – an Heiress	Short
	Martin Lowe, Fixer	Helen Stebbins	Short
	The Trust	Florence Allison	Short
	According to Value	Mabel Stewart – Arthur's Sweetheart	Short
	The Chimney's Secret		Short, Uncredited
	The Rehearsal	Evelyn Payne	Short
	His Wife's Story	Louise Blair	Short
	The Worth of a Woman	Mrs. Holmes	Short
	His Hand and Seal		Short
	The Laurel of Tears	Esther Browne	Short
	The Chief Inspector	Lucille Palmer – George's Daughter	Short
	A Woman Without a Soul	Cora Martin	Short
	Her Stepchildren	Rose	Short
	The Tides of Retribution	Nellie Carpenter	Short
1916	The Avenging Shot		Short
	Stronger Than Woman's Will		Short
	The Iron Will	Henrietta	Short
	The Guilt of Stephen Eldridge	Eleanor Curzon	Short
	The Mystery of Orcival	Laurence	Short
	The Battle of Truth	Belle Bolter	Short
	The Man Who Called After Dark	Dorothy – Whitmore's Ward	Short
	The Larrimore Case	The Girl in the Case	Short
	Fit for Burning	Constance Grey	Short
	The Iron Woman	Elizabeth Ferguson
	That Sharp Note		Short
1917	The Hidden Spring	Thora Erickson
	Paradise Garden	Una Habberton
1918	The Married Virgin	Mary McMillan
1919	Experimental Marriage	Dot Harrington
	The Veiled Adventure	Eve Gardiner
	The Heart of Youth	Evie Atherton
	His Official Fiancée	Cicely Harradine
1920	The Marriage Blunder
1921	The Avenging Arrow		Unconfirmed
	The Sage–Brush Musketeers		Short
1926	Love 'Em and Leave 'Em	Mrs. Whinfer

References

1. "Vera Sisson". BFI. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
2. "Stellar Attractions". The Movie Magazine. 2 (3): 30. December 1915. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
3. Erickson, Hal (May 31, 1953). "Richard Rosson > Overview". AllMovie. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
4. Ellenberger, Allen R. (May 1, 2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 150. ISBN 978-0786450190.

External links

• Vera Sisson at IMDb
• Vera Sisson at Find a Grave
• Vera Sisson at AllMovie