Beryl Mercer
Mercer in 1918
Born(1882-08-13)August 13, 1882
Seville, Spain
DiedJuly 28, 1939(1939-07-28) (aged 56)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park
OccupationActress
Years active1916–1939
Spouse(s)
Maitland Paisley
​
​
(m. 1896; div. 1909)​

Holmes Herbert
(m. 1909; div. 19??)
Children1

Beryl Mercer (August 13, 1882 – July 28, 1939) was a Spanish-born American actress of stage and screen who was based in the United States.[1]

Early years

Beryl Mercer was born to British parents in Seville on 13 August 1882. Her father was Edward Sheppard Mercer, said to be Spanish despite his name, and her mother was the actress Effie (née Martin).[2][note 1][3]

Career

She became a child actor, making her debut on 14 August 1886 at the Theatre Royal, Yarmouth, when she was age 4. She returned to the stage when she was ten. In London, she appeared in The Darling of the Gods and the production by Oscar Asche of A Midsummer Night's Dream.[2] In 1906 she appeared as a Kaffir slave in the West End play The Shulamite.[4] She travelled with this play to the United States, where she received good reviews.[2] That 1906 play marked her Broadway debut.[5]

Mercer with Shirley Temple in The Little Princess (1939)

Mercer was honored by Dowager Queen Alexandra for her work as an entertainer during World War I.[6]

Mercer's film debut came in The Christian.[7] She was best known as a film actress for her motherly roles. She played Lew Ayres' mother in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and James Cagney's mother in The Public Enemy (1931). She also regularly appeared as a grandmother or cook or maid in some high-profile films. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1916 and 1939, and her career was at a peak in the 1930s when she regularly appeared in several films per year. Mercer appeared in Cavalcade (1933), Jane Eyre, The Little Minister, and The Richest Girl in the World (all 1934). She was in two versions of Three Live Ghosts (1929 and 1935) and The Little Princess (1939) as Queen Victoria.

Personal life

Mercer was married to Maitland Paisley early in her life. Her only other marriage was to actor Holmes Herbert in the late 1920s. She had one child, Joan Mercer, later Bitting, born on 16 September 1917.[8]

Death

On 28 July 1939, Mercer died in Santa Monica, California, aged 56, following surgery for an undisclosed ailment. She was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.[9]

Filmography

Notes

  1. ^ The reference work An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films: 1895-1930 says of Mercer, "... her mother was the famed actor Beryl Montague."

References

  1. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Beryl Mercer: biography". AllMovie. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Nissen, Axel (February 21, 2012). Mothers, Mammies and Old Maids: Twenty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood. McFarland. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-7864-9045-5. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  3. ^ Lowe, Denise (2014). An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films: 1895-1930. Routledge. ISBN 978-1317718963. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  4. ^ Wearing, J. P. (December 5, 2013). The London Stage 1900–1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-8108-9294-1. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  5. ^ "Beryl Mercer". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  6. ^ "Her Stage Career Began in Childhood". Detroit Free Press. December 3, 1930. p. 18. Retrieved March 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  7. ^ "The Show Window". Hartford Courant. September 16, 1930. p. 19. Retrieved March 12, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ "Joan Mercer Bitting, 92; Founding Member of St. Matthew". Palisadian-Post. Pacific Palisades, Calif. September 10, 2009. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  9. ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 52. ISBN 978-0786409839. Retrieved March 13, 2018.

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