2603:9001:FF00:13:DC82:2413:4426:BC37 at 05:51, 26 April 2025

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{{Short description|American actress (1897–1940)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Refimprove|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Helene Chadwick
| image = Helenechadwick.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Chadwick in 1921
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1897|11|25}}
| birth_place = Chadwicks, [[New York (state)|New York]], NY, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1940|9|4|1897|11|25}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| othername = Helen Chadwick
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1916–1937
| spouse = [[William A. Wellman]] (July 2, 1921–September 5, 1923)
}}

'''Helene Chadwick''' (November 25, 1897 – September 4, 1940) was an American actress in [[Silent film|silent]] and in early [[sound films]].

==Early life and career==
Chadwick was born in the small town of Chadwicks, [[New York (state)|New York]], which was named for her great-grandfather. Her parents were George W. Chadwick Jr. and Marie Louise Norton Chadwick.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Evelyn R. |title=The Sauquoit Valley |date=2000 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=9780738502861 |page=80 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OOEhtRBANQcC&q=%22Helene+Chadwick%22&pg=PA80 |access-date=10 June 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Her mother was a singer who performed on the stage and her father was a business man.{{Citation needed |date=April 2023}}

She began making films for [[Pathé|Pathé Pictures]] in [[Manhattan]], New York. Her first film was ''The Challenge'' (1916), which was produced by [[Astra Film Corporation]] and released by Pathé.<ref name="gsy">{{cite book |last1=McCaffrey |first1=Donald W. |last2=Jacobs |first2=Christopher P. |title=Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema |date=1999 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780313303456 |url=https://archive.org/details/guidetosilentyea00mcca |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/guidetosilentyea00mcca/page/70 70] |quote=Helene Chadwick. |access-date=10 June 2018 |language=en}}</ref> A director was impressed by Chadwicks's talent as an [[equestrianism|equestrian]], thus she began acting as a western star but this did not continue with the exodus of film production from the east to the west coast. Signed by [[Samuel Goldwyn]], Chadwick went to California in 1913 and entered silent movies in 1916. At the pinnacle of her acting career, she earned a salary estimated to have been $2,000 per week.<ref>{{cite news |title=Star of Silent Films Helene Chadwick Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20847164/helene_chadwick/ |work=The Ottawa Journal |agency=Associated Press |date=September 6, 1940 |location=Canada, Ottawa, Ontario |page=21|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 10, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> From 1929 until 1935, she found success as a [[Character actor|character actress]] when sound was being introduced to films.

In the final five years of her life, she was reduced to taking roles as an [[Extra (actor)|extra]], playing "atmospheric parts".<ref>{{cite news |title=Helene Chadwick, Silent Film Star, Dies of Injury, 41 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20847368/helene_chadwick/ |work=The Tampa Tribune |agency=Associated Press |date=September 6, 1940 |location=Florida, Tampa |page=2|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 10, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> Helene made movies with [[Warner Brothers]], [[Columbia Pictures]], [[20th Century Fox]], [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], [[Paramount Pictures]], and other studios. Her final film was ''[[Mary Burns, Fugitive]]'' (1935).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Katchmer |first1=George A. |title=A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses |date=2009 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9781476609058 |page=56 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VnGeCQAAQBAJ&q=%22Helene+Chadwick%22&pg=PA56 |access-date=10 June 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

Her most noteworthy performances came in ''Heartsease'' (1919), ''The Long Arm of the Manister'' (1919), ''[[The Cup of Fury (film)|The Cup of Fury]]'' (1920), ''[[Godless Men]]'' (1920), ''[[Dangerous Curve Ahead]]'' (1921), ''[[From the Ground Up (film)|From The Ground Up]]'' (1921), ''Yellow Men and Gold'' (1922), ''Dust Flower'' (1922), ''The Sin Flood'' (1922), ''The Glorious Fool'' (1922), and ''[[Quicksands (1923 film)|Quicksands]]'' (1923).

==Personal life and death==
Helene's great-grandparents were the founders of [[Chadwicks, New York]], a small village in [[Oneida County, NY]]. Her great-grandfather built a cotton factory on Sauquoit Creek and was one of the premier manufacturers of textiles in the Mohawk Valley. Her family came from England, in Oldham, Lancashire County. She attended school at a [[one-room schoolhouse]] provided by her great-grandfather for the mill workers.{{Citation needed |date=April 2023}}

In January 1919, Chadwick became engaged to [[William A. Wellman]], an American pilot with the [[Lafayette Flying Corps]]. He had just returned from France and was cited for bravery for his valor in World War I. The couple had met at a party at the house of a friend. Wellman was signed to play a prominent role in an upcoming movie with [[Douglas Fairbanks Sr.]] The couple wed in July 1921, but in the summer of 1923, Chadwick sued Wellman for divorce on grounds of desertion and nonsupport. At the time of their separation, Wellman was directing movies for [[Fox Film]].{{Citation needed |date=April 2023}}

Chadwick's funeral was conducted by Pierce Brothers Mortuary and attended by stage and screen friends. Cause of death was cirohosis of the liver. Her body was returned to Chadwicks and she was first buried in the Sauquoit Valley Cemetery and the following year her remains were moved to Forest Hill Cemetery, Utica.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Women belong in history books : Herkimer and Oneida Counties, New York, 1700-1950|date=2015|publisher=Jane Sullivan Spellman, Publisher|others=Spellman, Jane Sullivan,, Burtch, Shirley Tucker,, Buteux, Mary Anne Luebbert,, D'Ambrosio, Anna Tobin,, Dieffenbacher, Jane Winterbottom,, Dunadee, Barbara Sabo|isbn=978-1-4951-6778-2|location=[New York]|oclc=923853267}}</ref>

==Filmography==
[[File:The Glorious Fool (1922) - 2.jpg|thumb|270px|{{center|Helene Chadwick and [[Richard Dix]] in ''The Glorious Fool'' (1922)}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
| 1916
| ''[[The Challenge (1916 film)|The Challenge]]''
| Alberta Bradley
|
|-
| rowspan=6 | 1917
| ''[[The Mystery of the Double Cross]]''
|
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Iron Heart (1917 film)|The Iron Heart]]''
| Grace
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Blind Man's Luck]]''
| Helen
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Last of the Carnabys]]''
| The Kept Woman
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Angel Factory]]''
| Florence Lamont
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Vengeance Is Mine (1917 film)|Vengeance Is Mine]]''
| Marion De Long
| '''Lost''' film
|-
|rowspan=7 | 1918
| ''[[Convict 993]]''
| Neva Stokes
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[For Sale (1918 film)|For Sale]]''
| Annie
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Naulahka (film)|The Naulahka]]''
| Kate Sheriff
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The House of Hate]]''
| Queenie Kate
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Yellow Ticket (1918 American film)|The Yellow Ticket]]''
| Miss Seaton
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''Getaway Kate''
| Kate Sherwood
| Short <br />'''Lost''' film
|-
| ''Go-Get-Em Garringer''
| Wilma Wharton
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| rowspan=7 | 1919
| ''[[Girls (1919 film)|Girls]]''
| Kate West
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Heartsease (film)|Heartsease]]''
| Margaret Neville
|
|-
| ''Caleb Piper's Girl''
| Mary Piper
|
|-
| ''The Solitary Sin''
| Mary
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''A Very Good Man''
| Ruth Douglas
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''The Long Arm of Mannister''
| Sylvia De La Mere
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[An Adventure in Hearts]]''
| Countess D'Orano
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| rowspan=5 | 1920
| ''[[The Cup of Fury (film) | The Cup of Fury]]''
| Marie Louise - 'Mamise'
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Godless Men]]''
| Ruth Lytton
|
|-
| ''[[Scratch My Back (film)| Scratch My Back]]''
| Madeline
|
|-
| ''[[Cupid the Cowpuncher]]''
| Macie Sewell
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''Cupid''
|
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1921
| ''[[Dangerous Curve Ahead]]''
| Phoebe Mabee
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Made in Heaven (1921 film)|Made in Heaven]]''
| Claudia Royce
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[From the Ground Up (film)|From the Ground Up]]''
| Philena Mortimer
|
|-
| ''[[The Old Nest]]''
| Emily at 22
|
|-
| rowspan=5 | 1922
| ''[[The Sin Flood (1922 film)|The Sin Flood]]''
| Poppy
| '''Lost''' film
|-
|''[[The Glorious Fool]]''
| Jane Brown
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''Yellow Men and Gold''
| Bessie
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''Dust Flower''
| Letty Gravely
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Brothers Under the Skin]]''
| Millie Craddock
| '''Incomplete''' film
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1923
| ''[[Gimme (film)|Gimme]]''
| Fanny Daniels
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Quicksands (1923 film)|Quicksands]]''
| The Girl
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Reno (1923 film)| Reno]]''
| Mrs. Emily Dysart Tappan
|
|-
| rowspan=7 | 1924
| ''[[The Masked Dancer (film)|The Masked Dancer]]''
| Betty Powell
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Why Men Leave Home (film)|Why Men Leave Home]]''
| Irene Emerson
|
|-
| ''[[Love of Women]]''
| Cynthia Redfield
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Her Own Free Will]]''
| Nan Everard
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Border Legion (1924 film)|The Border Legion]]''
| Joan Randle
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Trouping with Ellen]]''
| Ellen Llewellyn
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Dark Swan (film)|The Dark Swan]]''
| Cornelia Quinn
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1925
| ''[[The Re-Creation of Brian Kent]]''
| Betty Joe
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Woman Hater (1925 film)|The Woman Hater]]''
| Marie Lamont --the Actress
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Golden Cocoon]]''
| Molly Shannon
|
|-
| rowspan=5 | 1926
| ''[[Pleasures of the Rich]]''
| Mary Wilson
| '''Lost''' film <br /> Trailer survives Library of Congress
|-
| ''[[The Still Alarm (1926 film)|The Still Alarm]]''
| Lucy Fay
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Hard Boiled (1926 film)|Hard Boiled]]''
| Marjorie Gregg
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes]]''
| Helene
| Short film
|-
| ''[[Dancing Days (film)|Dancing Days]]''
| Alice Hedman
|
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1927
| ''[[Stage Kisses]]''
| Fay Leslie
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[Stolen Pleasures]]''
| Doris Manning
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| ''[[The Bachelor's Baby]]''
| Eleanor Carter
|
|-
| ''[[The Rose of Kildare]]''
| Eillen O'Moore
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1928
| ''[[Say It with Sables|Say It With Sables]]''
| Helen Caswell
| '''Lost''' film
|-
|''[[Women Who Dare]]''
|Stella Mowbray
|
|-
| ''[[Confessions of a Wife]]''
|Marion Atwell
|
|-
| ''[[Modern Mothers]]''
| Adele Dayton
| '''Lost''' film
|-
| 1929
| ''[[Father and Son (1929 American film)|Father and Son]]''
| Miss White
|
|-
| 1930
| ''[[Men Are Like That]]''
| Clara Fisher Hyland
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1931
| ''[[Hell Bound (1931 film)|Hell Bound]]''
| Sanford's Sister
|
|-
| ''[[Bad Sister (1931 film)|Bad Sister]]''
| Amy, Sam's Wife
| Uncredited
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1932
| ''[[So Big! (1932 film)|So Big!]]''
| Townsperson
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[Night World (1932 film)|Night World]]''
| Night Club Customer
| Uncredited
|-
| rowspan=6 | 1933
| ''[[Employees' Entrance]]''
| Attendee at Meeting of Department Heads
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[The Circus Queen Murder]]''
| Crying Woman
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[Emergency Call (1933 film) | Emergency Call]]''
| Miss McCabe - Averill's Secretary
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[No Marriage Ties]]''
| Adrienne Deane's Secretary
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[Morning Glory (1933 film) | Morning Glory]]''
| Miss Murray
| Uncredited
|-
| ''Merrily Yours''
| Mrs. Rogers
|
|-
|rowspan=6 | 1934
| ''[[Managed Money]]''
| Mrs. George Rogers
| Short
|-
| ''[[Good Dame]]''
| Mrs. Crosby
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[School for Girls]]''
| Larson
|
|-
| ''[[Ever Since Eve (1934 film) | Ever Since Eve]]''
| Governess
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[It's a Gift]]''
| Mrs. Abernathy
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[A Wicked Woman]]''
| Mother
| Uncredited
|-
| rowspan=6 | 1935
| ''[[Mississippi (1935 film)| Mississippi]]''
| Attendee at Opening
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[Call of the Wild (1935 film)|Call of the Wild]]''
| Dawson Townswoman
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[Mary Burns, Fugitive]]''
| Prison Matron
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[School for Girls]]''
| Larson
|
|-
| ''[[Another Face]]''
| Nurse Daniels
| Uncredited<br>Alternative title: ''It Happened in Hollywood''
|-
| ''[[Frisco Kid]]''
| Saloon Girl
| Uncredited
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1936
| ''[[Crime Does Not Pay (film and radio series)|The Perfect Set-Up]]''
| Mary
| Short <br /> Uncredited
|-
| ''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]''
| Earthquake Survivor
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[Pennies from Heaven (1936 film) | Pennies from Heaven]]''
| Mrs. Arbuthnot
| Uncredited
|-
| 1937
| ''[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star Is Born]]''
| Woman at preview
| Uncredited
|}

==Sources==
*''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'', "Flashes, Picture Star To Wed", January 11, 1919, Page II3.
*''The Los Angeles Times'', "She Could Ride", October 15, 1922, Page III30.
*''The Los Angeles Times'', "Film Star Seeks Divorce", July 24, 1923, Page II1.
*''The Los Angeles Times'', "Former Star of Films Dies", September 6, 1940, Page A1.
*''The Los Angeles Times'', "Helene Chadwick Paid Last Honor", September 8, 1940, Page A2.
*''[[The Oakland Tribune]]'', "Cinema Close-Ups", June 3, 1923, Page 92.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{IMDb name|0149484}}
*[http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/10922/helene-chadwick Helene Chadwick] at Virtual History

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chadwick, Helene}}
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American silent film actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from New York (state)]]
[[Category:1897 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]

Helene Chadwick - Revision history

2603:9001:FF00:13:DC82:2413:4426:BC37 at 05:51, 26 April 2025