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(January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938)
was a Canadian inventor and silent film actress, who is often
referred to as "The First Movie Star". She was also known as "The
Biograph Girl", "The Imp Girl" and "The Girl of a Thousand Faces".
During her lifetime, Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films for
various motion picture companies.
 Born
Florence Annie Bridgwood in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario,
she was the child of Charlotte A. Bridgwood, a vaudeville actress
who went by the name Lotta Lawrence, was the leading lady and
director of the Lawrence Dramatic Company. Nothing is known of her
father. Florence's surname was changed at age four to her mother's
stage name. While she was still a small child, Florence, her mother
and two older brothers moved from Hamilton, Ontario to Buffalo, New
York. She attended local schools and developed her athletic skills,
in particular horseback riding and ice-skating.
She was one of several Canadian pioneers in the film industry who
were attracted by the rapid growth of the fledgling motion picture
business. In 1906, at twenty years of age, she made her first motion
picture. The next year, she appeared in 38 movies for the Vitagraph
film company.
After touring with the road show for a year, Lawrence resolved that
she would 'never again lead that gypsy life.' In the spring of 1908
she returned to Vitagraph where she played the lead role in The
Dispatch Beare. Largely as a result of her equestrian skills, she
received parts in eleven films in the next five months. Also at
Vitagraph was a young actor, Harry Solter, who was looking for 'a
young, beautiful equestrian girl' to star in a film to be produced
by the Biograph Studios under the direction of D.W. Griffith.
Griffith, the head of Biograph Studios, saw one of Vitagraph's films
with a beautiful blonde-haired woman whose screen presence captured
his interest but he wanted to give the part to Biograph's leading
lady, Florence Turner, but Lawrence managed to convince Solter and
Griffith that she was the best suited for the starring role in The
Girl and the Outlaw. Because the film's actors received no mention,
Griffith had to make discreet enquiries to learn she was Florence
Lawrence and to arranged a meeting. With the Vitagraph Company, she
had been earning $20 a week but over and above acting, she was
required to work as a costume seamstress. Griffith offered her a job
acting only and with a raise to $25 a week that Florence jumped at.
After her success in this role, she appeared as a society belle in
Betrayed by a Handprint and as an Indian in The Red Girl. In total,
she had parts in most of the sixty films directed by Griffith in
1908.
Lawrence quickly gained much popularity but because her name was
never publicized, fans began writing the studio asking for it. But,
even when her "anonymous" face had gained wide recognition,
particularly after starring in the highly successful Resurrection,
Biograph Studios only labeled her as "The Biograph Girl."
She continued to work for Biograph in 1909, and demanded to be paid
by the week, rather than on a daily basis. Her demands were met, and
she received double the normal rate of pay. She achieved great
popularity in the Jones series, film's first comedy series. She
played Mrs Jones in about twelve films, and became known as "The
Biograph girl" because, at the time, the names of film actresses
were not revealed. Even more popular than the Jones series were the
dramatic love stories in which she co-starred with Arthur Johnson.
The two played husband and wife in The Ingrate, and the adulterous
lovers in Resurrection.
Lawrence and Solter in 1910 were able to join the Independent Motion
Picture Company of America (IMP). The company, founded by Carl
Laemmle, the owner of a film exchange (who later founded Universal
Pictures, started his own motion picture company), was looking for
experienced filmmakers and actors. Needing a star, he lured Lawrence
away from Biograph by promising to give her a marquee, making her
the first performer to be identified by name on screen and in film
advertising. |
